Cava fizz… and a whizz round historic Cadiz
On a cruise around the coast of Spain I was expecting historic cathedrals, tiny chapels, even the occasional remains of a Roman temple. What I wasn’t expecting was the chance to worship at a cathedral of wine. As we pulled up at Adernats winery in the village of Nulles, a 15-minute drive from Tarragona, I was looking forward to a vineyard stroll, a lesson in viticulture and a few glasses of vino.
What I received was a lesson in Spanish resilience and determination. Nulles’s livelihood was destroyed by the 1880s phylloxera pest infestation – so they built back better.
Needing an architect, they reached out to Barcelona’s Cesar Martinell, a contemporary of the great Antoni Gaudi, and by 1920 he had built a modernist building with soaring arches and decorative brick work – more beautiful than many churches. A century later and it still delivers excellent wine.
The tasting began with the aptly named seduccio (seduction). Next up was xarello vermell, a fruity white. And finally the creamy cava with small, gentle bubbles.
I exited through the gift shop, well refreshed, with my backpack now heavier. The Tarragona trip was halfway through my 15-night cruise on Fred Olsen’s flagship Bolette, sailing from Southampton, southern England.
With a maximum of 1,338 passengers, Bolette is big enough to offer a good choice of restaurants and entertainment, but small enough to give friendly, personal service. All-inclusive fares include a fine dining restaurant, buffet and poolside cafe, but it was worth paying an extra €18 to try either of the two Asian restaurants: the Goan-inspired Vasco, or fusion food at Colours and Tastes.
There were films and cookery demonstrations in the auditorium, a spa, gym, quizzes, guest speakers and lessons in bridge to playing the ukulele. Every night saw a new show, with musical theatre-style performances, comedians and magicians.
But the real stars were undoubtedly the ports of call. If there’s a prettier sight from a cruise ship balcony than Cadiz, I’ve yet to see it. This vibrant city made its name thousands of years ago by putting a huge hit of Andalusian flavour into Roman food, with garum, the local fermented fish sauce. Today you can enjoy all the flavour the city has to offer for a few euro. My walking tour covered Cadiz’s two cathedrals, ancient
city walls and Roman theatre before becoming a bar crawl with epic snacks.
We started in the Central Market’s Rincon Gastronomico, packed with tapas stalls, then moved on to Las Banderas, a buzzing bar, to eat sliced pork belly with hunks of bread.
Other stops included the 1st Century Tower of Hercules as well as Valencia, with its thrilling space-age City of Arts and Sciences. Next was Cartagena’s Roman forum and 7,000-seat Roman theatre, followed by Malaga from where I visited the spellbinding Nerja Caves.
The cruise grand finale was in Funchal, Madeira’s capital, for a ‘meet the fleet’ party with all three of Fred Olsen’s ocean-going ships – Bolette, Borealis and Balmoral.
The Madeiran capital loves a party, and we certainly gave them one with music and fireworks. I could still feel the glow when I got back home – before grabbing that backpack full of cava and silently giving thanks to the cathedral of wine.