Wine glasses ()
If like me, you’ve ever tossed a coin into a fountain with the wish that the reservoir of bubbling water would turn into a vat of free-flowing wine … our shared desire has become reality, my friend.
No, really.
Next time you head to Italy or Spain, be sure to pack your wine glass along with your passport, camera and travel toothbrush, and add these two vineyards to your list of must-see destinations.
Italy
Dora Sarchese, a small vineyard in the Abruzzo region of Italy, has partnered with a local non-profit group to make every vino enthusiast’s dream come true. The winery and organization worked together to construct a fountain that pumps free red wine for thirsty travelers in order to help promote and preserve the pilgrimage route of The Way of St. Thomas (Cammino di San Tommaso).
But there’s more to Cammino di San Tommaso than a free wine fountain. It is said to be a spiritual path made up of churches, abbeys and well-preserved villages through the regions of Lazio and Abruzzo. The 316-kilometer-long trail connects the town of Ortona, where the Apostle’s remains are said to have been kept since 1258, with St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Boozers beware, the fontana di vino is said to be open to all travelers, except for those who can’t control their thirst.
Spain
Italy’s free wine fountain wasn’t the first of its kind. Bodegas Irache in Spain offers free glasses of wine to pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela along St. James Way. The region is known for its fine wines and historical landmarks. While you’re in the area, check out the vintage vino on display at the vineyard’s Wine Museum, and visit nearby Irache Monastery, which was founded in the 12th century as the first hospital in St. James Way. Bodegas Irache’s wine flows from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
