As we arrived to the winery, we boarded an interesting looking trolley for our tour of the grounds. The trolley had a recorded guide for us to listen to as we passed each point on our tour. We learned the differences between red and white wine and how each is made. We also learned about the history of the Torres Winery in particular and about their processes. I was very impressed with the ingenuity and forward thinking of this organization in contrast to the age of the wine industry itself. A global company, they have vineyards and sell their wine all over the world. Some is even sold at home in Kansas City.
We learned that when grapes are harvested, they are pressed on the same machines with which they are picked, within 20 minutes of being picked, so that they get pressed before the fermentation process begins. We also got to go into the underground aging rooms while we were on the trolley to see the barrels where wine is aged and we got to see a few fields of grapevines in action.
Once the driving tour was over, we had a Torres representative take us into a courtyard area where we were able to hear more about the history of the winery from the beginnings with Benedictine monks and about the Torres family. We saw the rock formation sculpture called "The Family" that shows the patriarch and the children of the Torres family who now run the winery. The Torres family winery takes incredible care to care for the earth and use environmentally friendly methods. When we entered, there was a wide area of sand used to cover the wine storage area in an effort to keep the area below the ground cool. The sand reflects the heat of the sun to keep the temperatures below cooler. The winery also uses solar panels and other means by which to harness what the earth can provide and to reduce the carbon footprint left on the planet by their operations.
Kati, our guide, took us by foot into the same room we had passed while underground. Since we weren't just seeing it behind glass this time, I can try to adequately describe the wonderful smell of this room. You can smell the plump berry flavor of the grapes doing their job within the casks as they age, and the oak of the barrels in which they are being aged.
After our outdoor tour, we were taken inside for a tasting of one of their wines, and then had the opportunity to try some others. First time doing something like this and it was a lot of fun as we were guided through the process. The day could not have been more beautiful to spend time at the winery.
We returned to the hotel that afternoon and I caught a little nap and got some work done. For dinner, Colleen, Danelle and I went out to dinner. We wanted to stay fairly close to the hotel, so we asked for a recommendation and ended up a few blocks away at a hotel that reflected some American flair in the decor and sports bar feel, but was certainly European. We were taken upstairs to a nice lounge like area that was more suitable to a sit down dinner. We had the opportunity to get some veggies in with a couple of delicious salads and then some tapas. We had bruschetta and tuna on toast as a part of our dinner. As always, the meal was great, and it was nice to eat a little closer to our hotel and enjoy the surrounding neighborhood in a less touristy area.
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