by admin | Jul 28, 2022 | Blog
The Tomato and Garden Vegetable Festivals return to Priorat from 19 August to 11 September with greater participation than in any other years, including almost 30 members of Priorat Enoturisme.
This third edition of the Tomato Festival (the first one dating back to 2019) aims to showcase the region’s vegetables, while promoting the recovery of traditional varieties as well as their production and consumption in tourist establishments in Priorat. In other words, the event will celebrate the gastronomic tradition of the region, while mitigating the loss of cultivated biodiversity.
As for the festivals, organised by the Priorat Enoturisme association, the businesses participating include restaurants as well as tourist accommodations, wineries, travel agencies and oil mills.
As for the eating establishments, their menus during the festival days will feature tapas and dishes made with local vegetables accompanied by wines from two destinations of origin in the region – Priorat DOQ and Montsant DO.
As for the tourist accommodations, wineries, travel agencies and oil mills, they are joining the initiative for the first time and will offer tastings of Priorat garden produce in their day-to-day activities, whether it be visits, stays or tourist packages.
The main events of the Tomato Festival will take place in Falset between Friday the 19th and Sunday the 21st of August. On Friday evening, the festival will officially kick off in Falset Castle, with a speech and dinner from Priorat Enoturisme. However, the tomato stalls won’t fill the large square in front of the Falset Cooperative Bodega (Bodega Cooperativa de Falset) until the weekend.
This event will gather gardeners and farmers from all over the Priorat region; no matter whether they are professionals or amateurs, everyone is encouraged to bring a sample of their produce, especially their tomato varieties.
This festival is merely another date in the calendar of initiatives that have been taking place in the Priorat region in recent years. For instance, 2017 saw an initiation of the identification and recovery of traditional vegetable varieties in the Montsant Nature Reserve, as well as formation of the La Safranòria association, whose mission is to consolidate the Priorat seed bank. In the same year, some private initiatives such as La Somaia were launched, dedicated to producing unique vegetables as well as selecting, reproducing and protecting the seeds of native varieties.
In fact, on Friday the 19th at 7pm in Falset Castle, the Miquel Agustí Foundation (FMA) is set to present the first results of their Sembrem Priorat project. The project is coordinated by the Priorat County Council, as part of the ‘Alive and active towns’ (‘Pueblos vivos y activos’) initiative from Territorial Specialisation and Competitiveness Project (Proyecto de especialización y competitividad territorial, PECT), which aims to identify the traditional varieties of garden vegetables and fruit trees in the region.
by admin | Jul 18, 2022 | Blog
Olive oil tourism is, along with wine, one of the main branches of our region and our association. The so-called liquid gold is essential to the Mediterranean diet and playing thus a key role in our nourishment. As you well know, at Priorat Enoturisme we have several mills that produce extra-virgin olive oil, so… would you like to learn more about this precious product?
Since one can never know too much, here are some fun facts:
- The Spanish word for oil, ‘aceite’, derives from the Arabic ‘az-zait’, meaning ‘olive juice’.
- It takes 5 kilos of olives to make 1 litre of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Spain is the largest producer of olive oil, with approximately 2.3 million hectares (5.7 million acres) of land in the country dedicated to olive groves.
- However, even though we are the leading producer, we are not the biggest consumers. Countries like Greece actually surpass us in olive oil consumption.
- Olive oil does not lose its qualities when used for cooking (in other words, when subjected to high heat). Nonetheless, some of its nutritional components evaporate and it loses intensity when heated.
- Is olive oil fattening? In general, any fat, whether of animal or plant origin, provides the same amount of energy: 9 kcal per gram. We can say that only butter and margarine have a lower calorific value.
- You can recognise high-quality olive oil, above all, by the aroma. It should be fruity, intense and fresh.
- Olive oil is stored in opaque glass bottles which offer protection from oxidation caused by the light. Therefore, it is crucial to keep olive oil at the temperature of 15 to 20 degrees.
- The fresher the olive oil, the better. The truth is that as the olive oil ages, it gradually loses the taste, texture, aroma and even the nutritional components.
- As in case of wines, olive oils can be paired with dishes. For instance, light fruity olive oils are recommended for white fish, sauces like mayonnaise, chicken and vegetables. Meanwhile, intense fruity olive oils pair well with oily fish, vegetables such as broccoli, salads and red meats.
by admin | Jul 4, 2022 | Blog
With the arrival of July, many people are mentally on holidays already. You have yet to plan your getaway? In that case, we invite you to explore every corner of our region – you will not be disappointed! Just let our partner travel agencies take care of everything.
Our partner companies El Brogit and Siuranatours will be your assistants in planning activities around the region that will allow you to discover our territory and heritage. El Brogit is a local guiding company specialised in eco and wine tourism. They organise guided and self-guided activities, trips and holidays combined with wine, olive oil, beer and honey tasting. They also offer wine and culinary tours, photography walks, night and astronomy tours and even activities for mushroom enthusiasts.
The company does not only offer a wide array of activities; they are fully committed to the transmission of traditional knowledge and economic development of their territory. Your holidays will be in good hands! With them, you will discover the flora and fauna of the region, learn about the history, legends and present day, savour the gastronomy and Priorat wines in a fun and entertaining way, all while enjoying the mountain scenery and ambience around you.
Siuranatours can take care of your holidays too. They know and love their surroundings deeply, which is why they offer the finest tourist experiences in the area. In other words, a local company that shares the local best. They offer experiences for all ages and kinds of visitors: families, couples, groups, dog friendly and many more. Their range of activities includes gastronomy, wine tourism, sports, culture and the like.
You have yet to contact them? Wait no longer and get ready for summer in Priorat!
by admin | Jun 15, 2022 | Blog
We have some news at Priorat Enoturisme! Maria Jesús Sánchez Soldevila becomes the new CEO of the association, thereby replacing Roger Felip who has held the position until now.
Maria Jesús, born in Falset, has been a partner of Priorat Enoturisme since 2015 and owns the La Morera del Priorat restaurant. She studied in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Cambrils and is actively involved in the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism initiative.
It aims to continue to work on the region’s wine tourism project by adding public-private synergies and creating and/or collaborating in quality and sustainable wine tourism proposals.
As affirmed by the CEO of the Association of Hospitality Employers of the Province of Tarragona (AEHT): “United and networking, at Priorat Enoturisme each member offers our visitors a range of quality services with the human warmth that small-scale tourism entails.”
As a short-term goal, Priorat Enoturisme is currently working on a reference project in the region, the ‘Tomaca Fair’, which will be held next August. The fair will involve culinary workshops which will revolve around locally grown produce, wine and Priorat olive oil, as was the case in 2021.
by admin | Jun 7, 2022 | Blog
Priorat Enoturisme, together with the School of Wine Tourism of Catalonia, are running a fully subsidised and face-to-face training course in Falset: Tourism and wine tourism product development course.
This highly practical course will allow, based on the strategic reflection provided by marketing tools, to design a tourism product by implementing gamification tools as a strategy to generate greater interest and customer satisfaction.
Course participants will be able to create tourism products and/or services according to their territorial characteristics and socioeconomic variables. The product design includes all the reflection necessary for creating a product that follows all the post-COVID-19 safety protocols. The course will conclude with a presentation of the designed product, which must be ready for implementation.
This course is fully subsidised by the Consortium for Continuous Training of Catalonia. The course duration is 30 hours. It takes place on the days 9, 16, 23 and 30 May and also 13 and 20 June from 9am to 2pm. The course takes place on-site in Priorat Regional Archives, Falset City Council (Archivo Comarcal del Priorat – Ayuntamiento de Falset, Calle de Bonaventura Pascó, s/n).
The course is aimed at persons in active employment, self-employed workers and those subject to furlough and force adjustment plan. Also, 30% of places on the course has been reserved for unemployed persons. The target market is wineries, restaurants, lodgings and tourist agencies.
The course lead is Eva Linares, CEO of Vogantis, tourism, leisure and hospitality strategy consulting firm. The company is also expert in digital marketing, entrepreneurship training, product creation, design of wine tours, tourism business planning and international sales and marketing.
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