Come and explore the oil culture of Catalonia, paired with a good wine. You’ll learn about oil from the people who love and care for it: the producers themselves. Cooperatives, oil presses and wineries all open their doors to tell you how they obtain this elixir of the land that was first brought to Catalonia by the Greeks. Come and enjoy oil tourism in 2018, Cultural Tourism Year.
Oil with the imprint of the tramuntana wind
In this excursion, the tastes and aromas of the land mingle with the salt from the sea on the Costa Brava. In the Alt Empordà you’ll have the opportunity to pair extra virgin olive oil with wine and an irresistible culinary offering. At the Empordàlia winery you’ll discover how they make Pau oil in the oil press, and you’ll have a chance to try it. At La Vinyeta, the best winery in Catalonia in 2018, you’ll be invited to savour their wines from the DO Empordà, surrounded by a unique landscape that has been shaped by the tramuntana wind. And to round off the experience, an overnight stay with a dinner paired with wine at the Michelin-starred Hotel Emporium, and lunch with products from the Empordà region, where you’re sure to find anchovies and veal from Girona. Enjoy your meal!
Oil with an ancient tradition in Ulldecona
Why not visit a unique place and taste a centuries-old oil? Near Ulldecona you can enjoy a day of oil tourism in a setting of historical monuments. A visit to the Arión estate is to enter a place that is unique in the world. Some 400 ancient olive trees represent the most numerous and oldest olive grove conserved on the Iberian Peninsula and in the world. Here you can take part in a tasting session featuring its age-old single varietal oil, then discover an artistic and historic legacy of outstanding quality and quantity: the cave paintings of Los Abrigos at the shrine of La Piedad. This site is part of the most important series of Levantine-style cave paintings in Catalonia, and has been awarded the UNESCO World Heritage designation.
Terres de Lleida: the arbequina olive and a long history
If you’d like to experience the history and oil of the Terres de Lleida, this is your opportunity. At the Catalan Oil Centre in Granadella you can submerge yourself in the world of oil: oil tastings from the D.O.P. Las Garrigues, pairings with local products and food fairs, and if you’re in the mood, you can take an old-fashioned bike ride through the olive groves on a “burricleta”. This excursion is also an opportunity to learn more about the Iberian history of this area and the dry-stone cabins that are so typical of Catalan popular architecture. A stay at the Castillo-Palau de Torrebesses, an ancient building raised by the Arabs in the ancestral kingdom of Lleida, is a chance relax in peace and quiet in the heart of nature.
Discover the essence of El Priorat
Wine and oil are experienced and produced with passion in El Priorat. A guided tour and a tasting session in the Vinícola del Priorat winery in Gratallops will help you understand the care and effort that goes into producing their wine. This is the only winery in the D.O.Q. Priorat that is entirely managed by producers and farmworkers. In La Vilella Alta you can sample oil from the D.O.P. Siurana, and you’ll be able to see the inside of an oil mill. And if you’re ready for more, a veritable cathedral of Catalan wine opens its doors so you can try the oils and wines from the D.O. Montsant. The Celler Cooperatiu de Cornudella, built by Cèsar Martinell, a disciple of Gaudí, is a Modernist building with spectacular dimensions and functionality.
Oil at the foot of the Montserrat mountain
Come and follow the oil trail in Collbató. While you walk among olive groves, a local producer will explain the peculiarities of this world. You’ll learn whether the Montserrat mountain influences the olives that grow at its base. During the route you’ll make a stop to taste some oil made with the Vera variety, typical of the area, which is prepared in the traditional way by cold pressing. And after the oil tasting, a little music. In the heart of the town you can visit the birthplace of the composer Amadeu Vives, the cofounder with Lluís Millet of the Orfeó Català choir in 1891.
Sample Catalan liquid gold.
