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CHEERS! SALUD!
The oenological tours I propose include the famed two production areas in Southern Spain, the Andalusia region -Spanish wine appellations (D.O.) of Malaga and Jerez -Sherry-.
- East of Marbella for Malaga bodegas -wineries and cellars- producing wines known for their sweetness, most of them being obtained from moscatel -muscat- mature grapes and Pedro Ximenez grapes variety also used for the production of sultanas. A few villages are visited according to the duration of the tour. Typically, it will include some towns and white villages like Marbella the jetsetters showplace with its old town and its plush Five Stars palace hotels and private palaces like Arabia Saudi's King summer residence. Mijas and its wine museum is also on our route. Malaga and its tapas bars by the Picasso Museum. Axarquia area -like travelling in the 19th century-, Macharaviaya, Nerja, Frigiliana, Competa, Almáchar and its Raisin Museum, Comares, and can lead as far northeast as Antequera so well described by Washington Irving in its famous "Tales of the Alhambra".
- West of Marbella, in the Cadix province, the amateur will be looking for a variety of Jerez wines known as sherry, dry or sweet, from light gold to dark mahogany, manzanilla, oloroso etc. They are produced in world famous wineries like Gonzalez Byass makers of "Tio Pepe" sherry and Lepanto brandy and Osborne in which cellars the "Soberano" brandy is being aged. In the province of Cordoba the less known "fino" is produced in a great number of wineries around Montilla Moriles villages. There are many mouth watering options , from tapas on the beaches near Jerez town to a wonderful lunch in a famed restaurant, from seing the famous Jerez Horse Show, to visiting places like Gibraltar, Sotogrande Valderrama Golf Club home of the Ryder Cup, Medina Sidonia, Casares, Ronda, Gaucin, Algatocin and many more.
My personal advice
In case you did not read the "Cheers" page, I repeat this paragraph. You are tempted by both the Jerez and the Malaga oenological tours but you have neither time nor budget for both. Which one to choose? I strongly advise you to take the Malaga wine tasting tour firstly because the wines of Malaga are less available abroad and thus less known than the Sherry wines, but they are as good or even better. Secondly, the winery tour in Malaga is at a family scale (the 4 Malaga wines tasting session is conducted by the owner and you taste Gold Medal awarded Wine!) and the scenery around the winery in the middle of vines and olive trees at 2200 ft elevation and with a view to the far away sea and the snowy cap of the Sierra Nevada is absolutely breathtaking, whereas in Jerez we are in a plain and we have a wonderful tour in the biggest sherry winery, "a la mode Napa". with video show, little train for the tour and I conduct the 4 sherry wines tasting session. Thirdly there is more driving time for the Jerez tour than for the Malaga tour. Finally, the Malaga tour includes the visit of the Mijas and eventually the Malaga Wine Museum, a must for the amateurs of good wines and beautiful and original table decoration items (another 3 or 4 wines tasting takes place inside). The tapas are delicious in both places but they are more authentic family style cuisine in the little white village of Almachar home of the "ajo blanco" by excellence. Consequently, in case you hesitate, my recommendation goes to the Malaga tour. Of course I will be delighted to guide you on both options because they are absolutely different and complementary to get a global view on the Andalusian wines. A special discount will be applied when both tours are done.
Depending on your travel dates you may have the opportunity to view the world over famous Jerez Horse Show, the Jerez F1 trials, the Jerez Motorcycle Grand Prix, the Feria del Caballo -Horse Fair-, the Semana Santa -Holy Week-.
cata de vinos Jerez Malaga dégustation vins Xérès
Relax with a total immersion in the Southern Andalucia atmosphere... See and taste what other tourists don't because of the hassle of bus tours. From Marbella or any other resort on the Costa del Sol, one full day exclusive tour is the best solution to satisfy your curiosity for wine tasting excellent Spanish Sherry and Malaga wines while discovering the unique specificity of Andalusia, its culture, history, cuisine and traditions.
