![\"Autumn](\"https:\/\/thesoundofthecosta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/oude-wijnroutes-spanje-closeup-770x770.jpg\")
Monks, pilgrims and the wine of faith<\/h4>\n
Centuries later, in the Middle Ages, the monks took over. They brought not only faith but also winemaking back to life. In monasteries along the Camino de Santiago, wine was pressed for mass \u2014 and for the travellers making their way to the Holy Tomb. Wine there was comfort, symbol and sustenance. Drive through Navarra or Rioja today, and you can still see the shadow of those ancient vineyards across the landscape. <\/p>\n
The wine routes of today<\/h4>\n
Today\u2019s Rutas del Vino<\/i> are more than tourist trails. They are the heirs of those same ancient routes. In Alicante, you follow the path of the Romans; in Jerez, you taste traces of the Arab and Andalusian heritage; in La Rioja, you catch the scent of monks and pilgrims. Each region tells its own story, yet they all speak the same language \u2014 that of earth, sun and time. <\/p>\n
I often realise how little has truly changed. The wine still travels \u2014 only now not by donkey or cart, but by bottle and by memory. The road remains, and the people keep walking. <\/p>\n
\u201cValencian Tuscany\u201d<\/h4>\n
Between the mountains and the inland valleys of Alicante lies a region increasingly nicknamed the \u201cValencian Tuscany\u201d: Fontanars dels Alforins (see the photos with this story). Here the landscape rolls in gentle waves of vineyards, olive groves and cypress trees, with old farmhouses that still recall the days of hand harvesting. The air smells of rosemary and earth, and the silence feels almost tangible. Yet this is no forgotten land \u2014 on the contrary. New winemakers have rediscovered these ancient soils and are bringing them back to life with respect for tradition and nature. <\/p>\n
Wine as memory<\/h4>\n
Each wine region preserves its own history in scent and taste: the salty notes of the coast, the dusty accents of the inland plains, the herbal aromas of the mountains. When you raise a glass, you taste not just the grape, but the journey it has taken. And perhaps that\u2019s why\u2014because wine moves, ages, transforms\u2014it always feels alive. <\/p>\n
Sometimes I think wine is the most patient traveler of all. For centuries it has listened to people\u2019s stories\u2014without ever saying a word itself. <\/p>\n
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