Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (Wine Day, Catalonia)

The day we've all been waiting for, dear reader, 'Wine Day' (because god knows we haven't had enough wine yet). Except for those amongst us who stayed up till the wee small hours imbibing. 'Twas not I and I shall not name names.

Breakfast today was the usual array of delicious fresh fruit and jamon and cheese toasties. Yum. The day was off to a belated start because the NRL major semi-final was on. Again. This time it was Penrith and Brisbane. I've never cheered for a Brisbane team before and I wasn't keen on doing that today, but the thought of Penrith winning another grand final ... I'd rather have explosive diarrhoea on a plane. Thankfully the football god was smiling and and Penrith managed to turn a 14 point winning margin into a 2 point loss. Quality.

An olive tree ... over to you Raylee.

Sorry, that has nothing to do with today's activities but it was so good to write it. We piled into our respective vans and headed for the first of two wineries, Jean Leon. The name might not ring a bell, that is Quasimodo's job (eh, Jan?), but Jean Leon was the owner of the ultra famous restaurant La Scala in the Hollywood hills.

Most of the gang at Jean Leon.

To complement his superb food offering, he wanted to craft his own wine. The search for land brought him back to his native Spain where he cleared the land of Spanish vines and planted the French varieties; Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Hmmm. Grapes just waiting to become wine.

After the obligatory tease of a winery tour and a walk through the pictures of the rich and famous from the 1960s and '70s, you know, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando and a couple of dead Kennedys, we finally got to the tasting. Cue the link to today's title Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous by Good Charlotte. 

There were five wines, three whites and two reds, with matching cheeses. These were sampled in the aptly named, 'tasting room', surrounded by the original artworks that grace the labels.

The tasting.

The backstory to Jean Leon's life would make him a worthy entrant on any reality TV show. There would be equal parts admiration, sympathy and amazement. Anyway, he's gone now but his restaurant continues under the guidance of his daughter and the winery was sold to a close friend. The labels have changed but the idea and passion behind the wine remains the same.

Yep, the barrel room.

Feeling like it was an episode of Idol (whatever, you know I have no clue, dear reader) I turned my chair and raced for the shop to purchase a couple of wines.

The real backstory to this part of the day was Jayne's Pandora bracelet coming open and depositing her Spain charm in parts unknown. A search of the van revealed little but small pieces of limestone picked up in our shoes. The day and the search continued.

Next stop was Can Rafols Dels Caus. Another winery. Well, it was Wine Day. We were welcomed with an excellent glass of bubbles which was enjoyed al fresco. No. Seriously. This was a glass of bubbles as close to anything French I have ever tasted. The drawback was the price €30,50 or about $55 AUD. Given the other wines we had tasted, it was difficult to justify the price. Although I did have a second glass when it was offered.

See how restrained I've been? The wine was orgasmic.

Can Rafols Dels Caus needs to be congratulated because, unlike the other wineries we've visited, they put  a glass in hand as soon as we arrived. No big hour long tease about terroir, wine making processes and grape varieties. Warmed by the sun and the bubbles, we went for a tour of the historic house and the winery. The scale of each winery we have visited varies greatly, Can Rafols Dels Caus produces around 320,000 bottles per year and they emphasise quality not quantity.

The house.

That being said, the scale of their enterprise is mind blowing - our tour of the new cellaring facilities and function rooms left us all calculating the cost of the engineering feat to construct the massive space within the limestone and granite sub-structure, supported by huge concrete beams.

One of the spaces where concerts are held.

Lots of space and lots of concrete.

Once the tour was concluded we retired to the blue room for lunch. I know right, more wine and more food. Well, it is a wine and food tour so it makes sense. The lunch featured magnificently curated local dishes, accompanied by matching wines.

The blue room.

After the feast, it was back to the villa for a 'light supper' of Valencian paella with chicken and rabbit, followed by the burnt cheesecake we had created a couple of days ago. This tour is not for the faint hearted or those with dodgy digestion - it requires staunch commitment to over-indulgence and excess of every kind!

Let's change the world.

Happily, the day finished with Kris locating the missing Spanish charm on the floor of the hacienda so Jayne's prayer to St Anthony was successful and all was once again right with the world.

Goodnight.

Until tomorrow.