[Dear Editor],
I cannot thank you enough for a brilliant day out. Heavy rain was threatened and so we thought forget the beach and go to a winerie. I contacted you so that I could get in touch with Colin Harkness who writes Cork Talk each week.
We asked Colin to recommend a winerie about an hour from El Campello and he suggested the Bodegas Castano in the centre of Yecla. He provided all the contact details and we phoned Raquel and got there at 11.30.
Raquel is really personable, very knowledgeable and fluent in English. She drove us up to a boutique winerie in the hills in a very beautiful location called Puerta. All you can see for miles are vines, almond and olive trees. We had a tour there and then back to the main winerie in Yecla which is easy to find as it is next to the bullring. Another tour and then a tasting with some snacks and then a few case of wine to buy. We left at 2.30, a very pleasant 3 hours for just 7 euro each. Raquel suggested the bullring restaurant for lunch which had a very reasonable menu deldia and they allowed us to visit the bullring and museum.
You can contact Colin, colin@colinharknesswine.com and he also has a website www.colinharknessonwine.com.
Next summer we are going out to Yecla again but there will be 10 of us. If you have a party of 10 or more they organise a full day’s tour, tasting and a lunch in their stunning restaurant for 27 euro a head for the full day and we will certainly keep in touch with Colin and hope to attend some of his tastings in theAlicante area. As it was the rain held off which made the visit even more enjoyable.
Sent by email, Maureen and John Yates
