Wine tasting near Jávea: moscatel, bodegas and riuraus in the Marina Alta

Can you taste wine near Jávea?

Yes, although the wine houses themselves lie outside the town. The Marina Alta, which Xàbia belongs to, is a subzone of the DOP Alicante, and the bodegas that welcome visitors are 10 to 30 minutes' drive inland. We found no bodega in Jávea that receives individual visitors at fixed times. Almost everywhere, you need to book ahead.

The official production rules name the La Marina Alta subzone, which includes Xàbia, Xaló, Parcent, Llíber, Teulada, Benissa, Dénia, Gata de Gorgos, Pedreguer and Jesús Pobre. The six bodegas further on in this article are roughly 10 to 30 minutes' drive from the old town of Xàbia.

What is moscatel, the grape of the Marina Alta?

Moscatel de Alejandría is the flagship of the Marina Alta, a white grape that takes many forms here. You can taste it as a dry white wine, as a sweet fortified wine (vino de licor) and in mistela. The grape ripens early: the harvest is one of the earliest in Spain and sometimes starts as soon as mid-August.

The DOP Alicante calls the moscatel the flagship of the Marina Alta. The same grape also gives sparkling white wine and raisins. A label may carry the words Moscatel Alicante, but only if the white or vino de licor is made entirely from Moscatel de Alejandría. One bodega also calls the same grape Moscatel Romano.

Mistela is sometimes mistaken for wine, but it is not a fermented wine. It is grape must with wine alcohol added, so that alcoholic fermentation never gets going and the sugars of the grape are kept. The official rules describe white and red mistelas as a centuries-old tradition tied to the local fiestas. What that looks like in Jávea, you can read further on.

What is a riurau and what do raisins have to do with the region?

A riurau is a rural building where grapes were dried into raisins, sheltered from rain and damp. The heritage centres on the raisin of the Moscatel de Alejandría, and in the 19th century raisin exports to Europe, Russia and North America reached their peak. The riuraus are the lasting result.

What sets the region apart is that the grapes were scalded before drying, which made them ready much sooner. The tourist route even calls riuraus monuments to the raisin. Some still stand on the grounds of a bodega, as at Montesanco and Casa Agrícola Pepe Mendoza.

The history of Xàbia itself is tied to it too. The port district of Duanes de la Mar flourished in the 19th century thanks to the raisin trade. The Riurau d'Arnauda was moved stone by stone to the Parc Municipal de Montaner and has been a municipal cultural space since the works were finished in December 2014. If you want to see what such a building looks like, you will find it in that park. For a longer route, the Ruta dels Riuraus, presented in Jesús Pobre and with Xàbia among the participating municipalities, is listed on the Comunitat Valenciana website.

Which bodegas can you visit?

Six bodegas are serious candidates for a visit: Les Freses in Jesús Pobre, Montesanco in Teulada, Casa Agrícola Pepe Mendoza in Llíber, Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega in Parcent, and Bodegas Xaló and Bodegas Riko in Xaló. For all six, count on an appointment or a booking, not on turning up on the off chance.

Les Freses is in Jesús Pobre, in the municipality of Dénia, at the foot of the Montgó, on former strawberry fields. It is the closest bodega and makes dry and sweet moscatel. A visit consists of a tasting of three wines with local products, always by reservation, in Spanish and English.

Montesanco in Teulada makes its own wine from 100 percent moscatel, with riuraus on the estate. The visit also covers how raisins are made. You taste four wines, it takes about an hour and a half, and you book through the bodega's website.

Casa Agrícola Pepe Mendoza in Llíber is an organic bodega from 1900 beside an old riurau. Besides Moscatel de Alejandría, the house works with the Giró grape. There are guided tours at fixed times, and you book at least 24 hours ahead.

Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega in Parcent is a family business that has existed since 1978. The family started in a riurau in Xàbia and moved in 1982 to an old olive mill in Parcent. A visit is by appointment only and is led by the family themselves, in English or Spanish.

Bodegas Xaló is a cooperative founded in 1962 and the most accessible address of the six. You will find simpler wines there alongside the better bottles. Guided tours run on fixed days. You book online at least 24 hours ahead, a minimum number of participants applies and the visit is for adults only. The shop is open daily.

Bodegas Riko in Xaló is an organic family business with roots going back to 1921. A visit takes you along the Toll de Gos vineyard and includes a tasting of wines and mistelas, through the Ruta del Vino de Alicante. Check beforehand whether there is room.

How far is the drive to each bodega?

Les Freses is the closest, at about 10 minutes' drive from the old town of Xàbia. Next come Montesanco (about 19 minutes), Casa Agrícola Pepe Mendoza (about 26), Bodegas Riko (about 29) and Bodegas Xaló and Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega (about 30). The times are calculated without traffic.

Les Freses, Jesús Pobre, about 10 minutes: the short drive, dry and sweet moscatel at the foot of the Montgó. Montesanco, Teulada, about 19 minutes: its own 100 percent moscatel and an explanation of raisins. Casa Agrícola Pepe Mendoza, Llíber, about 26 minutes: organic, a bodega from 1900 beside an old riurau. Bodegas Riko, Xaló, about 29 minutes: an organic family business with a vineyard and mistela. Bodegas Xaló, Xaló, about 30 minutes: the accessible cooperative. Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega, Parcent, about 30 minutes: a family business in an old olive mill.

How do you plan half a day of wine tasting?

Pick one or two bodegas and book ahead. Les Freses suits well if you want to keep it short: 10 minutes' drive, followed by a stop in Jesús Pobre itself. If you want more, drive inland and combine two bodegas in Xaló, Parcent or Llíber, which lie close together.

Bodegas Xaló and Casa Agrícola Pepe Mendoza ask you to book at least 24 hours ahead, Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega works by appointment only and Les Freses always receives visitors with a reservation. So do not leave the planning to the last minute. When you book, ask how long the visit lasts, so that two visits in one morning or afternoon do not end up too tight.

If you want to experience the harvest, come in late summer: it sometimes starts as early as mid-August. Book well in advance then, and ask the bodega what you can see at that time.

Can you taste or buy wine in Jávea itself?

Buying is certainly possible: in the old town you will find Bodega Miguel, a wine shop since 1972, and Bodega Jávea regularly holds tastings, according to its own website. A true bodega tasting with a vineyard is not on offer there, but for a bottle of Marina Alta to take home it is a good start.

In Jávea you mostly taste mistela during fiestas. On the eve of Santa Llúcia, in mid-December, pumpkin fritters and mistela are part of the occasion, at the Cremà del Pi around Sant Antoni nuts and mistela are passed around, and at Sant Sebastià in late January it is coca maria with mistela. Which fiestas fall when, you can find in our festival calendar.

Can you drive after a wine tasting?

Only if you stay under the Spanish limit: 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood, or 0.25 milligrams per litre of exhaled air. For novice drivers in their first two years and for professional drivers, the limit is 0.3 grams per litre of blood or 0.15 milligrams per litre of breath.

You need a car to reach the bodegas. So appoint a driver beforehand, or spit the wine out as is customary at a proper tasting. The limits come from the Spanish general traffic regulations.