Urla Winery

I know, I haven't updated the blog in a while.  We had a particularly busy week this week, both at work during the day and events in the evening.  But now it's Sunday afternoon and I have a few hours free to catch up.

Last week our client (IZTEK TechnoPark) arranged for a tour and wine tasting at the local Urla Winery.  So we knocked off work a little early and all went to the winery around 4:30.  While I did remember to take my camera, the memory card was still sitting in my laptop so all the pictures below are stolen from my teammates. :-)

Even though I personally don't like wine, the winery has a fascinating history.  The owner of some adjacent land was walking through the field and stumbled upon terraces and the remains of a 1,000 year old vineyard.  He had always been interested in plants and had imported dozens of exotic species for his own property so he thought "What the heck, let's revive the vineyard and start a winery!".  OK, maybe I paraphrased that a bit but he did have an interest in plants and he did revive the vineyard.  You can read more of the official story if you wish.

The grapes are grown locally and are fed through a machine that washes and dries the grapes.  Then into another machine that removes the grapes from the stems.  Then they are shaken down a conveyer belt where 4 workers watch for bad grapes or other particles and pick them out while the grapes proceed down the line.  From there, they are crushed and gravity fed into the holding tanks below.  After a few weeks of fermentation in large metal vats, the wine is moved to oak barrels and stored to age.

A few months ago they added 2 hotel rooms on site.  If you like wine, it would be a lovely place to stay for a few days.  You can even help with the wine making process while you stay there!