Madrid wine country tour:

The tour shown on this post is one of the tours available in our Madrid winery tour section which you can find here. 

Most people know Madrid as the sprawling, bustling and amazing capitol city of Spain, filled with great food, art, nightlife and all those good things that make Spain so unique. It's true that there are almost too many things to see and do within the city limits but something not many people know about is that Madrid has its own wine country as well. Rioja and Ribera del Duero might be more well-known, but just one hour outside of the city of Madrid you can find spectacular wineries making award-winning wines as well. So, you really can “have your cake and eat it to”: the exciting big city experience of Madrid and the secluded laid-back charm of wine country. If you are planning on staying in Madrid and want to play a small getaway this is definitely the plan for you.
At Wine Tourism Spain we offer a day tour to the Madrid wine country and in this article, we will go over a typical itinerary.

You can book you Madrid winery tour here:

Itinerary:

The day starts around 9:00. After breakfast, your guide will be waiting in your hotel lobby to pick you up in one of our luxury minivans. On the way, they will explain a little bit of the history of Madrid and the winemaking tradition in the region. You will make your way south through the Madrid countryside and soon you will begin to see olive and almond tree plantations everywhere. Once those give way to vineyards, you know you are getting close.

The first stop will be in Colmenar de Oreja:

Here you will visit an ancient winery that has been producing wine since the 1800’s. When you pull into the winery, you almost won’t believe you are in the right place. The winery is located on an unassuming street in the center of the little town of Colmenar, but don’t let the exterior fool you. The winery prides itself on following traditional methods of production unique to the area, such as the “Sobre Madre” method with which they produce their white wine. The winery features an ancient cave style wine cellar where they age their wine, that winds deep bellow the winery. The cave creates the perfect conditions in which to mature the wine and it's interesting and beautiful to see. They still conserve the old “tinajas”, giant clay pots, in which the first fermentation would take place. They were once made in a kiln outside of town and transported by hand to the winery. The wine was transported from the cellar to the bottling area, up until very recently, in goatskins that held up to 80 liters of wine, and two men were needed for the task working in a relay.

Above you will visit the modern facility where they currently make the first fermentation of the grape juice and where the bottle the wine. The winery is so good at what they do that other wineries employ their services to turn their grapes into the magical elixir. Here you will also find the tasting room, where they offer other delicious goodies besides their wine. You can find olive oil, organic honey, the local version of moonshine, a selection of cheeses and charcuterie… a little bit of everything.

The tasting usually consists of 4 wines, paired with amazing cheese. You will taste their White wine, made with the “Sobre Madre” method, their rosé, and two of their reds which are absolutely out of this world.

From here, the next stop will be at totally different style of winery but equally as amazing:

If the first winery felt modest and secluded, this second on is the complete opposite. The winery is a giant complex complete with Hotel, restaurant, cellar, tennis courts, pool, spa, etc. the highlight of the winery is clearly their wine bar. After visiting the cellar, the tasting will take place upstairs in at the wine bar.

The tasting usually features 3 of their award-winning red wines.

After the tasting you and your guide will select one more wine to pair with your meal and head over to the dining room for lunch. The meal consists of three courses of traditional Castilian cuisine including dessert and coffee. Enjoying delicious Spanish food, sipping on spectacular wine, enjoying the spectacular views of the vineyards… pretty hard to beat. 

After lunch it’s time to head back to Madrid. Your guide will drop you of back at your hotel, all you have to do is take a nap and get ready to enjoy the evening and a bit more wine.