Wine Tourism in Autumn

Vibrant Vineyard and Wine Experiences 

With the onset of autumn, a sense of peace envelops the landscape, inviting contemplation and serene enjoyment. This is the perfect moment to delve into rich cultural and life experiences, to delight in diverse culinary offerings and the warm welcome granted by the people who make them. An ideal time to explore regions that, much like our own home, are steeped in an ancestral vinicultural tradition. 

The Vineyard: A Sensory Experience of Colour and Dormancy 

• The horizon is shades of copper and ultramarine. Row upon row, the vines meld and blend into the natural palette of earth tones gathered around their trunks… and below our feet. This autumnal chromatic serenity will give way to the gradual and inevitable dormancy of the vines. 
• Leaf fall announces the imminent arrival of cold weather and with it the end of the growth season. The shoots turn into lignified canes, and slowly the vineyard rows, as seen from above, lose their green hue, transforming into an autumnal enclave of ochres and earth tones that convey a false sense of tranquillity. This is how the vine latently stores carbohydrate reserves in its trunk, arms, and roots. These energy reserves will be vitally important to nourish the growth of new shoots until the leaves are mature enough to provide the plant with the carbohydrates it requires.  

Known as “winter dormancy”, the plants enter a type of “airplane mode” which protects them from the cold and other inclement weather that can occur during this time of year. 

Autumn view of the Grans Muralles vineyard (DO Conca de Barberà) 

• The leaves have ceased their activity and turn brown, first changing the colour of the vineyards and then the ground. A lot is in play here. Early autumn frost can result in an insufficient accumulation of energy reserves, which in turn would mean a notable decrease in the vine’s production capacity in the years to come. 

Experiences: Beauty, Tranquillity, and Enjoyment 

Before the winter has everyone and everything turn inward, autumn still beckons with light and mild temperatures, perfect conditions for excursions and activities that revolve around vineyards and their surroundings. For example, take a look at these suggestions for any given autumn day, perhaps even today. 

Exceptional Activities and Events 

• The Familia Torres Wine Centre in the heart of Penedès is consistently updating, revamping, and introducing exceptional new activities and events to expand on the experiences already on offer, which have become an internationally renowned and award-winning reference in top-notch wine tourism. Follow the link to check out everything we have to offer and make a reservation. 
• The Mas La Plana estate alone is well worth a stroll through its vineyards, followed by an unforgettable wine tasting at the exceptional Waltraud winery, birthplace of the flagship wines that comprise the Familia Torres’s anthology collection.  

Enjoying a glass of wine amid Familia Torres vineyards 

El Celleret: The Most Delicious Viewpoint in Penedès 

• After returning to Mas La Plana, round out your wine-and-nature day with a stop at El Celleret. Familia Torres’s restaurant in Penedès  is an elegant and welcoming space in which to enjoy the best local gastronomy. It overlooks an olive grove that blends into the Mas La Plana vineyard with the peaks of Montserrat providing a stunning backdrop.  
• The culinary legacy and landscape of Penedès, from the interior to the sea, informs the cuisine of our winery’s restaurant. In celebration of the Mediterranean spirit, we create pairings with our most cherished legacy – our wines – to bring the landscapes of Penedès to life in every dining experience.    

The Wines: Our Autumn Selection 

• Staying in Penedès, Familia Torres’s home, we begin with its flagship wine Mas La Plana. A wine that excels, vintage after vintage. A legend dressed in black. 
• Reposing in the bottle, and released when uncorked, is the soul of a place. In its expression and structure, the wine embodies its provenance; unmistakable in the quality and richness of its fruit-laden, fleshy tannins; identifiable in its intense varietal notes derived from the estate’s microclimate, imparting a deep and captivating nose of Mediterranean woodland, blueberries and blackberries. 
• Eighteen months of ageing in French oak rounds out and fine-tunes the quality of the tannins and adds spicy nuances. On the palate, the wine unfolds with great length, once again revealing the maturity and fruit of its tannins, enveloping the mouth in a full, velvety sensation of such elegant scope and volume that it seems seamless, organic, and natural.   

Mas La Plana, DO Penedès, paired with a typical autumn dish

• Let’s now move on to Costers del Segre. Here, the history of Purgatori begins with banishment and culminates in a wine that, despite its short life so far, has earned countless accolades. In 1770, the monks of the Montserrat abbey came to the remote estate to do penance, working the land to provide the diocese with a steady food supply, as well as quenching its thirst.  
• Purgatori displays a mesmerizing, incredibly deep cherry red colour. Intense floral and fruit (violets, cassis) notes emerge on the nose framed by Mediterranean scrubland reminiscent of thyme. The oak influence offers seductive smoky and spicy (cocoa) notes, adding to the wine’s elegant complexity and character. The palate offers fleshy extract and temptation. Intensity and volume. Garnacha, Cariñena, and Syrah once again join forces to turn our life into a celebration of pure pleasure.

Purgatori, DO Costers del Segre, paired with an autumn dish 

Autumn invites us to delight in countless sensory experiences. Below the apparent sense of tranquillity is the latent activity of the vines, and the landscape, tinged in ochres and earth tones, invites us to a wide array of activities to immerse ourselves completely in the world of vineyards and wine.