Let’s enjoy a fun experience. Getting to know Cordoba together!
Before I tell you my experience about this little weekend trip, I would like to locate geographically without much detail not to bore you where these two municipalities are located. Montemayor and Monturque are two villages situated in the south of the province of Cordoba, in the countryside of Cordoba surrounded by cereals and olive groves.
I don’t want to exhaust you mentally with so much unnecessary information that even I couldn’t remember, so let’s start telling this experience as if it were a story.
MONTEMAYOR
The day of the visit was last weekend in the middle of November when the temperatures started to drop, and you could feel that the cold Andalusian winter was getting closer and closer.
We arrived early in the town of Montemayor to visit the Interpretation Centre ʺMemories of Pedro Ximénezʺ, which I was completely unaware existed.
We moved a few meters to an open-air extension of land that, according to what we’re told during the visit, in the summer months the grapes were placed there to dry them in the sun and turn them into ʺraisinsʺ, which was called ʺpaseraʺ (raisin).
Due to the strong wind that was blowing that cold day we had to take shelter inside the Interpretation Centre where we could see a gallery of explanatory images about the production process of sweet Px wine.
In addition, they showed us some videos of the process to obtain the wine from the time the grapes are harvested until it becomes wine. It was very interesting because the traditional methods transmitted from generation to generation were still preserved.
What caught my attention the most was the way the grapes are pressed to obtain the juice, as it is done with some ʺcapachosʺ (Esparto sphere where the grapes are spread out to be pressed), similar to olive oil, at very high pressures. Finally, we were able to taste some of this sweet nectar produced in Montemayor.
Do no think that all sweet wines taste the same because it is a very common mistake. Each wine has a unique essence that differentiates it due to the type of grape, the climate, the soil, the production process, and many other factors. A sweet wine from Montemayor and a sweet wine from Montilla do not taste de same. After learning a bit more about wine and warming up our bodies, we headed to Monturque.
MONTURQUE
Continuing our journey getting to know Cordoba, we found ourselves in Monturque. The first thing I thought of was the many hills in the village and how tiring it would be to climb up to the cemetery. However, when we got to the end and saw the views, all tiredness disappeared.
You read that right, I said cemetery, don’t be surprised, I’ll tell you about it right now.
Curiously, under the municipal cemetery were found some Roman remains of great archaeological, patrimonial and cultural value. These Roman remains were large Roman Cisterns, which are constructions from this period used to collect rainwater and transport it to the thermal baths.
It is quite surprising to find out that this type of construction was made in a less technologically advanced time and with fewer resources.
The experience of going under a cemetery and see that underneath are these cisterns is totally surprising and will not disappoint you at all. The Roman Cisterns of Monturque like others scattered around the world are vestiges of past times that we can only image and interpret.
IF YOU LIKE HISTORY, YOU WILL LOVE THIS VISIT. CONTINUE GETTING TO KNOW CORDOBA WITH US!
For more information visit our websites Viajomas & ConoceCordoba. If you want to enjoy this wonderful experience, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be delighted to welcome you!
