The Archaeology of Wine – From Prehistory to Present, Priorat 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 Priorat wine region about two hours south of Barcelona, to the first stop - the archaeological site of Cartoixa d'Escaladei, the Carthusian Monastery of Santa Maria d'Escaladei. Here, you'll have a private tour of the remains of the abandoned medieval monastery that once ruled the Priorat wine region.  Here, you'll discover the deep history of the wine region, with evidence for the earliest wine cultivation in Catalonia dating from some 2,700 years ago.

The history of wine in the Priorat goes back to the Iberian Iron Age, and 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. The Priorat also witnessed the introduction of Roman society and their wine culture, and the monastery of Cartoixa d'Escaladei marks the medieval part of this long history.

Lunch
From there you'll continue through the picturesque Priorat wine region to have your leisurely lunch in a local restaurant of your choice or your specially prepared, gourmet Catalan picnic.

Afternoon
After lunch, you'll experience a private tour of the winery of your choice from the wide variety of high quality organic vineyards of the world famous Priorat wine region.

During the tours you’ll experience first hand the enthusiasm and pride of the local wine producers for their wines and their use of traditional techniques. You'll learn how the Priorat went from a 'normal' Spanish wine region, to one of the most famous in the world in a generation, and you'll meet some of the winemakers responsible for this remarkable revolution.  All our short-listed favourites are family-run wineries.