Wine tourism: a different way to fall in love with Benissa

In Benissa you can not only have fun on the beach or move to another era in its historic centre, you can also enjoy its grape, wine and vineyards.

Enjoy the wine and vineyards of Benissa

We are in full grape harvest, a moment of great importance for the farmer. It is the moment in which the grape is collected, after a year of hard work.

The grape process

First the leaves fall, in winter the useless branches are cut, later in March or April the leaves grow again. Flowering takes place in June, the weather plays an important role here; it is now when rain is feared, especially hail. In many towns there are celebrations in honour of the saints Abdón and Senén, better known as Sants de la Pedra (Saints of the Stone), as people believed that if they honoured these saints, hail would not fall on the harvest.

Enotourism

In Benissa you can enjoy the grape-beamed landscapes if you make the Route to the Molí del Quisi, as well as the route MTB Route of the Moscatell, which aims to know the vineyards, being the production of Muscat grapes one of the most recognized for the elaboration of sweet wine. This route links Benissa with the Vall de Pop, by agricultural paths away from the road.

In Benissa there are two wine cellars that can be visited making an appointment: Celler Joan de la Casa in Benimarraig, and Bodega Uvas Cabrera in Benimallunt. In them you can taste some of the sweet wines produced with local grapes.

The Riuraus Route

Formerly our economy was not based on the services sector and tourism, since our main source of wealth was the Muscat grape, and more specifically the raisin. In these riuraus the raisin was dried (resting on wattles) and protected in case of rain or humidity. The riurau is a porch with semicircular arches, many of them located in the front of the house, although there are some away and others attached to its side. If you are curious, Benissa belongs to the Route of Riuraus through which you can take a circular route of about 9 km visiting 8 private riuraus in the municipality.

The Alicante wine route

Although Benissa is on the coast, it is still part of the Vall de Pop. That is why it is included in the Alicante wine route, a wine tourism proposal in the province to promote the D.O. Alicante (Appellation d'origine), encourage the tasting of agricultural products and organize different activities.

Estissorar (cutting with scissors)

If you want to know this traditional work, you can visit a warehouse where the grapes are cleaned using scissors, and then sold as dessert grape. A very curious work in which formerly many women participated while telling their stories and singing songs to amuse themselves.

Come to Benissa, we are sure you will fall in love.