Wine and History – Wednesday February 1st
Wine and History – Antique Bodega Wine Trip – Wednesday February 1st 2017
We headed to the tiny village of Aviles, located about 20 km west of Lorca on the road to Caravaca de la Cruz. There, after a delay for a funeral which brought the whole village to a halt, we visited a fantastic antique bodega built in 1940 and shut just 12 years later. Essentially the doors were shut, the keys were turned and not much happened in the 60 years since. Some of the great-grandchildren of the original owner intend to convert it into a museum, but meantime we had a remarkable opportunity to visit and see it as it had been left.
In the 40´s we were told that wine was purely seen as nutrition to make up for lack of “proper” food, a couple of eggs would be cracked and mixed in for a healthy breakfast.
The wine was also treated as a precious commodity and a guard was set on the bodega but was told to sing so that when singing stopped it would be assumed that he had passed out from the alcoholic fumes and help would be forthcoming. Despite its short lifespan the winery we were told that it made its owner a lot of money.
It was interesting to see, in situ an original Cadillac car engine which had been used to power the machinery.
There were still giant terracotta vessels, each one signed by the potter still fixed into the cellar and sticking up through the winery floor, and we had to step very carefully.
After touring the bodega we crossed the yard to visit the new bodega built next door for modern wine making and of course the compulsory wine tasting.
Most of these wines differentiate from the wines we find in Almeria as they are primarily made from the Monastrell, a distinctive grape indigenous to the Murcia region.
We finished the day with a great lunch at Restaurante Meson Mi Cortijo in Puerto Lumbreras and guess what? MORE WINE!
