Say Andalusia and I’ll start thinking about olive trees. There are an estimated 70 million olive trees in Andalusia on just less than two million hectares. On a recent trip between Malaga and Cordoba, it felt like I saw them all. It was magnificent. The landscape is desolate, and it is far between the villages. It’s hot and dry. Olive trees thrive and also, of course, vines, as these two often are inseparable. But above all, olive trees. Kilometre after kilometre, olive trees as far as the eye can see.
Most are old plantations. But from time-to-time new plantings appear, and yes, some are equipped with drip irrigation. But 70% of Andalusia’s olive trees survive without irrigation. It is a powerful interaction between crop and natural conditions. For what else would thrive here? In scorching sun and a summer without a drop of rain.
The European vine has moved more easily than the olive tree in all directions. Since its inception in the Mediterranean around 8000 years ago, it has spread worldwide. It is uncomplaining and adaptable. To a certain limit, that is. In many cases, it is man who has ensured that it survives.
The first people to start spreading the vine – Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans… – must have been impressed that it adapted so well to conditions it was not used to, like in Bordeaux on the humid Atlantic coast. No problem.
Until mildiou and oidium, two severe fungal diseases, happened to find their way from America to Europe in the 19th century. By then, the wine industry was already established in Bordeaux. But if mildiou has been there from the beginning, who knows what the wine landscape would look like? Then maybe we would never have had any Bordeaux wines. Perhaps no wines at all from humid climates? A large part of all spraying in the vineyards is against these fungal diseases.
Enthusiasts today plant vines further and further away from their original environment. Fungus-resistant grapes have done their part to facilitate plantings in cooler climates. Because no matter how you turn it around, the vine, despite all its adaptability, likes the sun and heat best. Just like the olive tree.
Wine Travel
We are inching back to the new normal. Already this spring we have had several wine tours: Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Sicily, Piedmont,…
The autumn season looks promising (even if it is not quite back to what it was in 2019). Some of it is already fully-booked. We have one fantastic tour where there are still a few places left:
Champagne, September 28 – October 2
Book your place now!
And more long-term and more exotic are, of course, the winter tours to the southern hemisphere:
- Chile & Argentina
- South Africa
- New Zealand
If you want to discover the best in the wine regions and get some unforgettable memories, travel with one of the most experienced and most knowledgeable wine tour operators. And we have written eleven internationally award-winning wine books.
More info on our wine tours here.
Enjoy the Brief!
Britt & Per
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What’s on at BKWine Tours
BKWine is also one of the world’s leading wine tour operators. Here’s what we currently have on our scheduled wine tour program:
- Bordeaux and Champagne, Sept 28 – Oct 6, 2022
- Champagne, Sept 28 – Oct 2, 2022
- Bordeaux, October 2-6, 2022
- Chile-Argentina, January 16-29, 2023
- South Africa, February 8-18, 2023
- New Zealand, March 15-30, 2023
We also make custom designed wine tours.
We’re different than most other wine tour operators. We are people who know wine inside out, who travel constantly in wine regions, who write award winning books about wine. Who do this out of passion. Our tours are different from others. More in wine tours: BKWineTours.com.
