There will never be a shortage of wine along the Camino de Santiago. The route passes through some of Spain’s most iconic hillsides of the vine. In many cases, the cost of drinking the local “vino” will be less than purchasing a 500 ml. bottle of water. Many a pilgrim menu dinner will find a bottle of the local wine placed at the centre of the table. The pilgrim family that you make on your journey will often be formed around glasses of wine, discussing the the walk at day’s end. This is a little primer on the types of wines you will drink in Spain as well as the various regions you will cross on your way to Santiago de Compostela.
A little Spanish lesson..
- A glass of wine is a “copa”
- A bottle is “botella”
- white wine is “vino blanco”
- pink wine is “vino rosado”
- red wine is tricky because the Spanish call red wine “tinto”, not “rojo” as the colour red would suggest, so… red wine is “vino tinto”
- To order a glass of red wine, say simply “una copa de vino tinto”
Next – Pamplona and the wines of Navarra.