The Archaeology of Wine – From Prehistory to Present, Empordà Tour

Itinerary

Morning
Tour leader Killian Driscoll and your chauffeur will pick you up from your chosen location, and you’ll start your tour driving out of the city with Killian introducing the day ahead, and answering any questions you may have.

Throughout the day, Killian will share with you his knowledge of the history and archaeology of the region, and the places you visit. You will be given an insight into the lives of the people that inhabited the area over the millennia.

You’ll travel through the Empordà wine region about 2 hr.s north of Barcelona, to the first stop - the archaeological site of Ullastret. Here, you'll have a private tour of the remains of the abandoned prehistoric and medieval hilltop village. This site is an ongoing excavation of an Iberian (Iron Age) and later settlement in the Empordà wine region, with evidence for wine cultivation in Catalonia dating back some 2,700 years.

Ullastret is an Iron Age village perched on a hilltop overlooking the rich countryside of the Ter River's alluvial plain. With over seven decades of active research, the ongoing excavations of the site have revealed a wealth of information about the Iron Age. Ullastret is the largest Iberian settlement discovered so far in Catalonia, and you'll explore the ancient streets and buildings on the hill. During the tour you'll learn about the development of wine and alcohol, and how wine culture and wine production was introduced to Iberia by the Phoenicians and Greeks during the Iron Age. Ullastret also witnessed the introduction of Roman society and their wine culture.

You'll then visit the beautifully preserved medieval village of Peratallada about 10 minutes away, where you can explore one of the most stunning villages in Catalonia. After enjoying a coffee break and a stroll around the village, you'll head 30 minutes south to the Bell-Lloc Winery for a special lunch and private tour of the vineyard and cellar.

Lunch
On arriving at the Bell-Lloc Winery, you'll be enjoy a sumptuous Catalan lunch overlooking the vineyards, olive groves, and Mediterranean Sea.

Afternoon
After lunch, you'll have a private tour of the vineyard and winery that includes a tasting of their organic wines and organic olive oil. The Bell-Lloc Winery is a small, family run winery with five hectares of vineyards, along with olive groves, vegetable gardens, and farmlands, where they keep chickens, sheep, goats and Iberico pigs. The wine cellar is a remarkable, award winning semi-buried structure, that is a joy to explore. The cellar provides a unique space to sample the wine and soak in the Mediterranean wine culture of Spain.