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The residents of Fornalutx, argue that their village is the prettiest in Mallorca. Situated deep in the heart of the Tramuntana, its winding streets and narrow stoned steps display a delightful array of colourful flowers and greenery. |
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From the window of the plane we can see them by the dozen. We have no doubt
about where we are. They welcome us, as we cross Es Pla, the flat central plain. They are by our sides at touchdown. But will we always be greeted by the
Windmills of Mallorca? |
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Whether it be Folk on a balmy evening at a quaint village square, Classical in a fully fledged concert hall complete with air-conditioning, or Rock at Palmas Bullring, the range of live music on offer in Mallorca during the summer months is certainly spectacular in terms of its diversity and location. |
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More often than not, the best restaurants tend to be those a little off that beaten tourist trail. Hidden in a backstreet, without a particularly glamorous exterior, one could almost think that the locals wanted to keep these unpretentious eateries to themselves – and who can blame them. |
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They are a reflection in miniature of a life gone by; inviting us to a land that only our imaginations could create. Once cherished by a little boy or girl, now by a grown up, ... |
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The “Hanging Gardens of Banyalbufar” have long since attracted visitors to this picturesque municipality situated in the Southwest of the Tramuntana Mountain range ... |
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Although George Sand may have had to haul Chopin’s piano across the wilds during her ‘Winter in Mallorca’, finding musical respite here during the milder months is now somewhat less energetic. |
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Several hundred guests attended the First Mallorca Autumn/Winter brochure launch and the official opening of a new First Mallorca venture “ApartmentBörse”, in Puerto Andratx on the 28th of September ... |
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At the tender age of four, knowing the difference between red and white is something we all learn at school. When speaking of the fermented kind, ... |
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When talking of what best to accompany a morning coffee, nothing surpasses the ensaïmada. This traditional spiral shaped breakfast pastry ... |
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Fine Wines and Family Vines
 At the tender age of four, knowing the difference between red and white is something we all learn at school. When speaking of the fermented kind, it usually takes us a few more years, but little Jaume from Petra already knows what he is talking about. Even though his glass is only filled with water, he can swirl it around, take a sniff and say “mmmm”, because he is the son of Pilar Oliver, a pioneer in the world of viniculturalists and owner of the family-run wineries ‘Miquel Oliver Bodegas’.
From the heart of Petra village, famed for being the birth place of Fray Junípero Serra, the Oliver family has been dedicated to producing fine wines for almost 100 years. Now managed by Pilar and her husband, the company named after her father, was originally founded by her great grandfather in 1912.
The hundreds of barrels of wine they produce are still stored in their cellar just as they were many years ago, where pressing also used to take place. Their 14 hectares of vineyards located on outskirts of the town produce a wide variety of grapes which are now pressed, together with others sourced from the Felanitx and Santanyi areas, in Manacor. For a bottle of wine to bear the “Pla i Llevant Denomination of Origin in Mallorca” label, grapes are only allowed to be sourced from a selection of 19 villages in the Pla i Llevant area. “We now press and process all of our grapes in Manacor, as the streets are quite narrow near the cellar here in Petra and the lorry loads of grapes would find it difficult to reach us”, says Pilar. “It didn’t matter so much when there were brought here by cart!”.
Miquel Oliver was one of the first wineries in Mallorca to accept new technological advances such as cooling equipment, allowing better control over wine fermentation. Although Pilar agrees that tradition is important, she has no hesitation in trying new methods and became the first in Spain to produce a dry Muscatel wine, voted the number one Spanish white wine by the ‘Association of Spanish Sommeliers’.
Apart from researching, marketing and finding new ways of understanding wines, Pilar and her family oversee the grape picking which is a tiresome 2-month process, as once picked, the grapes have to find their way to Manacor for pressing the same day.
They currently have 10 bottles in their wine repertoire, all of which are unique. From their award-winning dry muscatel called “Muscat”, to a full bodied, full flavoured Merlot named “Aix”, not forgetting the classic Mediterranean style “Mont Ferrutx”, which they have been producing for 40 years.
The Miquel Oliver Cellar is open to the public all year round from Monday to Friday, where you can meet Pilar and taste and purchase their latest creation. Bringing your own chauffeur is highly recommended!
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