A place close to my heart, just north of here where the scorched summer earth becomes green once again. Cool water runs off the sierra and where the wines are meant to enjoyed, not examined. Writing in Roads and Kingdoms about a toast to an old friend.
Malaga means grapes, and has for a long time. While the ancient Greeks were spreading philosophy and art throughout the Levant, they thankfully left behind the art of viniculture on the Costa del Sol. The pious Muslim traveler Ibn Battutah, who passed through in 1350, may have frowned on it, but even centuries of Muslim…
Imagine the Caliph’s entire army hot on your tail and you with around a hundred guys on your side. Where would you want to hole up? The answer is here. High atop a mountain smack in the middle of one of Spain’s most productive wine regions lies the ruins of a castle where, back in…
Walking through the small, lonely mountaintop village of Trevejo, you’ll often find yourself alone with the sheep and goats that roam among the ancient stone houses. Perched atop the mountain, the Templar castle of Trevejo surveys the Sierra de Gata along the Portuguese border. Built on the ruins of an Arabic fortress, this 15th-century castle…
You’ve really gone off the beaten path when the GPS in your rental car shows you are literally off the map. You’re out here castle hopping your way north from Andalusia just as the Moors did a thousand years ago. A beautiful mountain range rises out of a carpet of vineyards. Set in the Sierra…