Wine culture in Madrid

Up until recently, all those wines that weren’t Ribera del Duero, Rioja or Navarra were looked at in a somewhat disdainful way. Luckily, this is no longer the case and as well as the broadening of our gastronomic criteria it’s also true that wineries from all over the world have doubled their efforts in order to produce good quality wines.

This is what happens with the 21 wineries registered in the Madrid D.O., spread around the region in three sections: Arganda, Navalcarnero and San Martín de Valdeiglesias. All of them can be visited and it’s a highly recommended day trip so you can leave the asphalt of the great city behind for one day.

One of the wineries you can visit is Bodegas Bernabeleva, located 45 minutes from Madrid, at the feet of Cerro de Guisando, where its 86 acres of vineyards are. They offer a tour around the vineyard (“the best way to understand its wines” they say on their website) that allows visitors to appreciate the aromas, colours, landscape and all the little things around the production of this popular wine.

The visit takes approximately two hours and it is carried out in groups from Monday to Saturday. Write to bodega@bernabeleva.com and organise a tour. Once you’re there, you can, of course, enjoy its different varieties of wine: reds, whites and muscatels.

A more modern winery is Bodegas y Viñedos Valleyglesias, winners of many awards for the quality of their wines in their short existence. It’s located in the nearby town of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, a peaceful location with the Gredos and Guadarrama mountains in the background: pure nature. They also offer guided tours, activities for children and wine tastings carried out by expert oenologists which you need to book in advance for.

Divided in three parts (the vineyard, the elaboration and the tasting), it’s an immersion into wine culture of the highest level. It costs 15 euros per person and it includes a tasting with a minimum of 5 wines with tapas on the side. After the visit, you can buy wines for less than what they cost in the shops. You can book here.

Categories: Gastronomía en Madrid