Torres Winery Tour

Steve James, the biology teacher with our program, graciously organized this trip for the group. After the 1.5 hour bus ride we were led on a tour in which we saw the vineyards and the underground storage units. The underground storage units were very cool, literally and figuratively. There are at least 8 rows of barrels on top of each other in these storage units. Each barrel is used for about 5 years and then either recycled or used to make brandy.

Sophia, Brett, Madi, Ariel, and I

The Torres Winery has been gone through 5 generations of Torres'. This winery uses renewable energies (solar panels and wind parks) and are studying the exploitation of vineyard and forest biomass to lessen their effects on the climate. It is the end of the harvest season so there were no grapes left on the vines. But the leaves still had great color.

Most of our tour was led by an audio recording but when our guide did talk you could tell how passionate she was about this winery and the products they produce. Something she did tell us is that Torres has wineries all over the world. They have wineries in Spain, Chile, the Canary Islands, China, Sweden, Andorra, Brazil, and even the United States! The one in the United States is in Sebastopol, California! It is called Marimar Estate. I found it oddly comforting knowing that there is a place making the same wine so close to home.
To wrap up the tour, our whole group went wine tasting. We were offered 3 wines to try; one white and two reds. Most people tried them all, I barely tried two. My friend Ariel and I had a great time tasting the wine as you can see below.

After many people bought wine, we piled back on the bus and headed to Sitges for lunch. Ariel, Krista, Jennifer, Brett, Sophia, Madi, Dylan, and I went to lunch at the American. It was a nice restaurant on the beach. Unfortunately, it took a while to get our food and the food was not as good as expected. But, I ate with great company and had a beautiful view of the ocean.