Wine making in the Malaga province of Andalucia is as old as the history recalls and was perpetuated by all the different civilisations in place, from Phoenicians to the Romans, from the Barbarians (Andalus means barbarian in Arabic) to the Moors. Yes the Moors, occupied Spain over a period of seven centuries till their expulsion in 1492 and in spite of the Coranic prohibition to drink alcoholic beverages, the sunny climate of the region named Axarquia enticed them to produce and appreciate the delicious products of the area.

High class oenotourism. I will take you to the most unusual wine tasting session you ever had at the Bodega Antigua Casa de Guardia (see pics on the "wineries" page), located in the heart of the Malaga Mountains, in the Axarquia area at an altitude of 2200 ft amongst vines ,olive and fig trees, and a majestuous landscape crowned by a perpetual blue sky. The wine tasting session is conducted, by appointment only, by my friend Ignacio Garijo, member of the family owned winery. No bus tour visit the winery, it is out of the touristic circuits. But various of their wines which you will taste have been awarded international medals like the "Pedro Ximen 1908" which obtained the Grand Gold Medal to the best licoroso wine at Vinitaly 2004 and the Gold Medal Award at the 2005 Brussels wine Fair. The wines you will taste were the favourite of Her Majesty the Queen of Spain Isabel II who appointed the Bodega Antigua Casa de Guardia as sole official purveyor of Malaga wines to her table between 1833 and 1868. We then drive to the little white village of Almachar with twisted slopy streets and we have the best home made family style tapas you can dream of at the Café-Bar Lopez. Weather permitting, you will see the snow capped Spanish highest mountain of the Sierra Nevada, sixty miles away. Later in the afternoon we have another degustation at the Mijas Wine Museum as described on front page.

A few villages or towns are visited according to the duration of the tour and your own interest to combine wine tasting and touring. Typically, it will include some towns and villages like Marbella, not only the jet set showplace but also a typical fishermans white village, Mijas pueblo with stunning views of the Mediterranean sea as far as Gibraltar and Morocco and the Mijas Wine Museum. Malaga, capital city of the province with the beautiful moorish fortress - Gibralfaro alcazaba - controlling a magnificent view of the harbour where great Cruise Lines have moorings for their enormous ships . Also we stroll in the typical old town including a unique barocco Cathedral near the Pablo Picasso Museum. The Axarquia area, like going back to the 19th century in a few miles, Almáchar and its raisin Museum, Nerja - Europe's most Southern Balcony - and also a picturesque white village, Frigiliana bordering the tropical coast where they still make cane sugar molasses in the only European cane sugar processing plant. Competa nesting in the mountains, and we may drive as far northeast as Antequera, an old and picturesque town which is the crossroad of all the touristic routes followed by Washington Irving, former US Ambassador to Madrid, as described in his famed book -Tales from the Alhambra -, a wonderful description of 19th century Andalusia.
Oh! And what about an afternoon cap at the Mijas wine Museum, near Marbella or on a typical beach "chiringuito"?