As you may know, Bas and I traveled with our campervan through Spain for almost 4 months! Since we moved to Pinoso (Alicante, Spain) in January 2019, I have completely fallen in love with the local wines. From tasty red Monastrells to light and fruity rose wines for hot days, there is something for everyone in this region! One of the first wines I drank here, was a wine of the Bodegas Pinoso.

From the patio of our farmhouse, we look onto the fields of one of the cooperative farmers of the Bodegas Pinoso. I mean – how can you stop thinking about wine all day in a situation like this!

We buy a large part of our wines at the Bodegas Pinoso. They are located few minutes outside of the village. The bodega offers very affordable wines of amazing quality. After we had tasted lots of them, it was about time we learned a bit more about the bodega and the wine making process 🙂 .

Wine & Cheese at Bodegas Pinoso

The Bodegas Pinoso invited me to join of their special tours in cooperation with Quesos Valle del Carche. How can anyone say no to a wine & cheese evening? 🙂

The tour kicked off at 8PM on a warm Friday night in June. We gathered with a group of about 30 people in front of the Bodegas Pinoso. Our lovely guide María spoke Spanish and a fair amount of English. This was great so everyone attending could understand.

Bodegas Pinoso – A Bit of History

We learned that the Bodegas Pinoso was founded in 1932 as a cooperative bodega. Local farmers united in a larger group to make more and better wines. The founding members of the Bodega worked according to old traditions and really focused on the quality of the wines. Many farmers wanted to join the successful cooperative and in 1974, the Bodegas had to extend. After a few extensions, the capability of the Pinoso winery was 19 million liters! With 650 cooperative members, the bodega became very prominent in the Alicante province.

But growing isn’t always good. The Bodega decided to focus more on quality and therefore today, it has 250 cooperative members. In 1996 the facilities were renewed and in 2003 the first bottles of Pinoso wine were exported. Bottling ecological wines since 1997, in 2010, 50% of the vineyards were officially declared ecological.

The Wines of the Pinoso Bodega

Christatus Wines

The christatus wines are the youngest wines, and with that the most affordable ones. You buy the bottles in the shop of the Bodega and you can get them in most restaurants in Pinoso 🙂 They are very accessible and a good intro to Monastrell if you’re into red wines!

My favourite: the red Christatus

Vergel wines

The Vergel wines are a bit more sophisticated. They are all organic and have matured longer. For example, the red wine stays in the French oak casks for about 12 months. All of the Vergel wines have won tons of international prizes!

My favourite wine in the vergel selection: the Vergel Rose

Diapiro wines

The diapiro selection holds the type of wines you find in the better Paella restaurants in town. This selection honors the hard work and love for the produce of the farmers in Pinoso. At first, you may find the labels a bit strange, but you will get used to them :-). For the red wine, the grapes are harvested by hand, fermented in stainless steel vats and then the wine rests in huge concrete tanks (which you will see during the tour!). Then there is still a few months in the oak barrels.

My favourite: The Diapiro Roble

The Pinoso Family

The wines of the Pinoso family celebrate the local grape variety Monastrell. The grapes for all of these wines (some are limited editions) are especially selected for the specific wines and take over a year to mature. Truly very special wines for special occassions 🙂

The Vermador Family

Another more exclusive wine range is the Vermador selection. The white, rose and reds all are organic and the labels are fantastic. I still have to try this range!

The Bodegas Pinoso is always innovating and often produces limited editions. Don’t forget to check out their shop regularly for any novelties 🙂

Bodegas Pinoso Tours

The tours of the Bodegas Pinoso are excellent. You spend about 45 minutes walking through the Bodega. Your guide will explain where the trucks come in and how the grapes are unloaded. You then see the fermentation tanks outside and when you move inside, you still the cleaning process and the cement tanks. Then the guide will take you to the barrel rooms and storage warehouse, and at the end to the bottling machines.

After the walking tour, you will get what you came for 😉 The wine tasting! This part takes a bit over an hour. You will be able to sample several wines (usually between 3 and 5 different ones) and most people leave very happy 😉

Can you spot us there in the back? 😉 This photo was take in the barrel room and published on the Facebook page of the Bodega.

Regular Tours

Regular tours can be booked in advance on the following times:

Monday to Friday: 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 18:00
Saturday: from 10:00 to 14:00

Tours costs €6 per person. To book tours, you must be 10 people or more, so gather all your friends and make it a lovely day 🙂

If you cannot get 10 persons together, contact the bodega. The price may increase slightly but you will still be able to do a tour 🙂 You can call to book (965 477 040) or email
info@bodegaspinoso.com

Special Wine & Cheese tours

Next to the regular tours, the Bodegas Pinoso are becoming very innovative and are partnering up with local companies to provide an amazing experience. Lately, Bodegas Pinoso, Quesos Valle Del Carche and Olive oil producer Casa de La Arsenia collaborate to put together a beautiful wine & cheese evening. Make sure to watch the events on the Facebook page of the Bodegas Pinoso to book your tickets to the next event!

Bodegas Pinoso Opening Hours

Next to the wine tour of the Bodegas Pinoso, there is also a shop where you can buy the Pinoso wines, alongside garden and household items as well as food.

Bodegas Pinoso Location

Visiting the Winery in Pinoso is a great day trip from Alicante, or a lovely morning / afternoon activity from Pinoso or from surrounding villages. You can walk there from the town center or drive there, in the direction of Rodriguillo.

A lovely visit to the Bodegas Pinoso

I can recommend anyone visiting the region to visit the Bodegas Pinoso. Buying their wines or doing a wine tour in Pinoso will directly support 250 families and the wines are awesome! Doing a wine tour will give you a great appreciation of the process and hard work of all people involved 🙂

Thank you Bodegas Pinoso for the invitation!