Bodega Picos de Cabariezo are winemakers and distillers. They are located just outside Potes a quaint town in the Spanish Province of Cantabria. Their full title is Bodega Picos de Cabariezo, Vinos y Licores de Liébana and we found them while touring the area in our campervan.
Our tour of Cantabria is the latest of our monthly travels for MotorCaravanner Magazine. Every month we write a destination feature for the magazine which is published in their Out and About section. Mostly we feature destinations in the United Kingdom but on at least two occasions each year we travel to near Europe. This September we visited Northern Spain.
Free one hour tour
Bodega Picos de Cabariezo offer those who visit a free one hour tour of their winery and distillery. At the end there is a tasting of the various wines and liquors that they make there. The tasting takes place in the shop where you can buy products before you leave. There is however no obligation to do so.
We recommend visiting their website to make a booking for the tour. English speaking tours are available, but it is best to book.
Veronica Ramos the resident tour guide is very knowledgeable and thoroughly describes the processes that Bodega Picos de Cabariezo use.
That process begins with winemaking and is not dissimilar to that used throughout Spain. Grapes are harvested, fermented to become wine, stored in barrels, then bottled for sale. It is only then that Bodega Picos de Cabariezo break from the normal. Rather than dispose of the grape residue, known as Marc, left after the wine making process, they use it again!
Orujo
This time they distil these solid remains in copper condensation stills to create a raw alcohol. At this point they use much of it to make Orujo a transparent spirit with an alcohol content over 50%.
The amber coloured orujo envejecido or “aged orujo” is fermented and distilled in the same way. But then it is poured into oak barrels to age for at least two years.
They also create and sell a range of flavoured Orujo. Our favourite was Licor de Hierbas an Orujo flavoured with Te Puerto or Rock Tea
It is a plant that grows in the mountains on rock at an altitude above 1800 metres.
