Wine route through Terra Alta

In the morn­ing:

The heart and soul of Cellers Unió is found in the fields and cel­lars of its 90 co­op­er­a­tive as­so­ci­ates and the 20,000 farm­ing fam­i­lies who for gen­er­a­tions have given their all to make Cellers Unió a leader in the pro­duc­tion of wine.

A com­mit­ment to the land is the dri­ving force of Cellers Unió, as it has been for over 70 years. The best way to demon­strate this com­mit­ment is by pro­duc­ing wines that re­flect the sus­tain­abil­ity of the en­vi­ron­ment. The coop aims to keep the spirit of those who for gen­er­a­tions have ded­i­cated their lives to the vine­yards, while pro­mot­ing sus­tain­able agri­cul­ture and con­tin­u­ally im­prov­ing the fa­cil­i­ties and equip­ment to pro­vide every­thing the co­op­er­a­tive mem­ber may need, from tech­ni­cal ser­vices, ad­vice and train­ing to com­puter and legal ser­vices, prop­erty man­age­ment and sup­plies.

Terra Alta is the south­ern­most Cata­lan DO and has been closely linked to wine for al­most 1,000 years. Writ­ers spoke of the per­son­al­ity of the wines of Terra Alta as far back as 1296 and 1319. That per­son­al­ity is still ev­i­dent in the peo­ple and their way of un­der­stand­ing life.

Grenache is the main grape in Terra Alta and the south­west­erly winds comb the high coun­try favour­ing the ripen­ing of the grapes, and fresh­en­ing the air in the hot sum­mer while keep­ing most dis­eases at bay. The vines grow in ter­races on mainly cal­care­ous soils that are or­gan­i­cally poor. The cli­mate is Mediter­ranean with con­ti­nen­tal in­flu­ences.

Top value for money with ex­cel­lent wines: Queen Eleanor -

Clos Pinell, Clos Dalian -Gran Copos, Mas Mets.

Guided tours for in­di­vid­u­als and groups

Tel: 977 33 00 55 / www.​cellersunio.​com

For lunch

The Se­quoia restau­rant of­fers a cui­sine based on qual­ity local pro­duce. Its menu has a va­ri­ety of sea­sonal dishes and di­etary menus su­per­vised by the med­ical staff of the spa. Din­ers can try dishes from the Ero Delta like fideus rosse­jats amb al­li­oli or arròs a banda and shell­fish and local fish dishes such as su­quet, cod with honey or oc­to­pus, as well as meat dishes, such as Iber­ian ham, ten­der­loin steak with Reus ver­mouth sauce, or farm-grown chicken stew. In the win­ter months, the restau­rant moves to the Goya restau­rant to cater bet­ter to its clients. In the sum­mer months, it takes ad­van­tage of the fa­cil­i­ties of the re­sort.

Tel: 977 814 000 /www.​ter​mesm​ontb​rio.​com