Travelling with taste: 3 destinations, 3 designations
We tell you when the grape harvesting season starts and suggest 3 destinations, with their corresponding Designations of Origin, so you can ‘taste’ them.
TRAVELLING WITH TASTE
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When is the start of the grape harvesting season in Spain?
From the end of summer to the start of autumn is the grape harvesting season in Spain. From the month of August until mid-October, wine growers start to harvest bunches of grapes at their optimum ripeness for making wines as famous as those we are lucky enough to produce, some with Designation of Origin (DO). We suggest somewhere to enjoy a meal and stay the night in three of them.
On this page is the Medieval Castle of Jumilla in the province of Murcia. Underneath is a photo of ‘zarangollo’, a traditional dish from this same province made using scrambled eggs, onions and courgettes. At the side is a vineyard between Yecia (Murcia) and Montealegre del Castillo (Albacete) that grows Monastrell grapes used to make the famous wine from Jumilla.
Murcia and the Jumilla DO
Murcia is famous for its arable land, which surrounds it on all four sides, and which give it a rich and extensive gastronomy. Highlights of its dishes include: michirones (dried beans with paprika, chorizo, pancetta and ham), zarangollo (courgette chopped with onion and scrambled with egg), arroz caldero (fish based rice dish), marineras (savoury doughnut base with Spanish potato salad and an anchovy), Murcian salad (with peeled tomato, tuna, hard-boiled egg and spring onion) or paparajotes (lemon tree leaves coated in doughnut batter and a touch of sugar and cinnamon).
There is also a big wine-growing tradition, since it has three designations of origin: Yecla, Jumilla and Bullas, although Jumilla is the standard of Murcian wines.
This DO covers 22,700 hectares of vineyards, spread between Murcia and the southeast of Albacete and is made up of 47 wineries. The main variety is Monastrell, grown in nearly 70% of the hectares.
Alicante and the DO Wines of Alicante
Fabulous beaches and coves, impressive monuments and historic sites characterise this famous city in Eastern Spain. It is also known for its gastronomy, with a range of fish-based rice dishes, where the arroz a banda rice dish stands out, in addition to arroz con costra rice casserole, typical of Elche and Vega baja, characterised for its whisked eggs which are cooked in the oven at the end. Another typical dish is ‘olleta alicantina’, a stew with beans, lentils and rice, not forgetting nougat from Jijona and Alicante which both have Designation of Origin. Those with a sweet tooth can also enjoy coca de llanda cake and sweet potato pastries.
And to try all of these dishes, Alicante has wine growing areas, split into two sub-areas: La Marina, on the coast of North Alicante, and Vinalopó, which spreads to Castilla-La Mancha and the Region of Murcia. It covers 14,256 hectares and includes 37 wineries. A renowned wine falls within this designation of origin, Fondillón, which is made from Monastrell grapes that are over-ripened on the vine, boosting the colour, aroma and sweetness of this wine. Also very typical of Alicante are sweet white wines made from Moscatel grapes.
Girona and the Empordà DO
In the heart of the Costa Brava, we find this region with a longstanding wine-growing tradition, dating back to Roman times and places like the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres or coastal towns like Cadaqués or Tossa de Mar.
The Empordà DO consists of 55 towns between l’Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà. Their vines are imbued with the Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and hot summers, but also with a constant northerly wind, the Tramuntana.
This DO has more than 2000 hectares of vineyards of the Garnacha white and black varieties, as well as Macabeo, Cariñena and Samsó and black Lledoner, including 46 wineries, where red wines predominate. However, this area is also famous for its white wines, including garnacha de l’Empordà, a natural sweet wine ideal for desserts, together with moscatel de l’Empordà.
Along with these wines, we can also enjoy the area's gastronomy, such as ‘mar y montaña’, a mixture of pieces of chicken and Norway lobsters, cooked in an earthenware pot with a sautéed sauce, which includes leeks, aromatic herbs and stock, which is then cooked in the oven. There are also dishes like monkfish and prawn ‘suquet’ or stew, L‘Escala anchovies, apples from Girona, meats like salchichón spicy sausage, fuet and butifarra sausages, and butifarra dulce or sweet butifarra sausages. Desserts are also a must, including xuixo (pastry) and panellets (typical at Easter).
