Thursday May 03, 2007

Freixenet and Torres Winery Tour Thursday began with a long bus ride to tour the wineries: Freixenet and Torres (Jean Leon). Freixenet is one of the most renowned and largest cava house in Spain.(Cava is the Spanish sparkling wine equivalent to France's champagne.) While there we enjoyed a comprehensive tour through the cellars on-foot and by train. We were educated on the wine making process, the birth of the business and given insight into the manufacturing, outsourcing and expansion processes that resulted in Freixanet being the success taht it is today. At the conclusion of the tour we had the opportunity to sample the product and were so please that many of us left with momentos. The second stop was the Torres Winery, previously Jean Leon, where the Jean Leon brand lives on. This winery was smaller than the first one we visited, but it also has its own vineyards and is more exclusive in the distribution process, producing limited quantities and providing them to select outlets. At this particular location we were informed of all stages of the process including the vineyards. We were even educated on the attributes of wine as a way of determining quality. We were guided through the wine appreciation process at the conclusion of our tour. Posted by melinda ( May 03 2007, 12:00:00 AM EDT ) Permalink