La Sirena Madrileña
Swapping the sea, coral reefs, rocks, and water for the city, cafes, restaurants, and streets of what is now my sea...Madrid
The Madrid Mermaid


Monday, March 26, 2012

Marqués de Riscal: Tasting antiquity



Is it me, or do history and things from the past seem to always carry some sort of mysterious element with them?  Ancient jewelry from the Etruscans or one of Coco Chanel´s first designs today inspire, touch and fascinate people.  After all, as Petrarch said, we are like gnomes riding on the backs of the giants of history...






On our last day, we were fortunate enough to literally step into history through the door of the first wine cellar at Marqués de Riscal, founded in the year 1860.  Upon entrance, I immediately smelled the passing of time, saw the effects of years on the bottles grasped by cobwebs, and best of all...tasted a bottle from the year 1956, older than my very own father.


The deeper we walked into the cellar, the colder it got.  The feeling was eerie yet mesmerizing while at the same time the bloggers and I walked around with our glass of ancient wine.





After finishing the tour of the old winery, we were taken to the modern section, where shipments to over 60 different countries are currently being made.  I saw boxes labeled with Australia and the USA.  Marqués de Riscal is now participating in a huge process of changing the traditional unstable wooden crates to metal ones.




The tours came to an end and we were taken to Francis Paniego´s territory, the kitchen of Marqués de Riscal...where gastronomic magic happens.  Leaving the kitchen transposed us to the balcony where the kitchen keeps their very own herb garden, not to mention with incredible views of Elciego and Gehry´s architectonic overhangings.







Finally, we finished the #experiencia Riscal in the library of the hotel, reminiscing on the weekend and every moment that was filled with something important to learn about wine, social media, the importance of bloggers today and their contribution to the visual experience...










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