Aula· Spain, city by cityExtremadura
Almendralejo
«Almendralejo produce mucho vino y cava en la región.»Almendralejo produces a lot of wine and cava in the region.
Almendralejo is located in the Tierra de Barros, the region with clay soils in the centre of the province of Badajoz. It is the wine centre of Extremadura, with cooperative wineries that process grapes from the whole area, and it preserves the palace where the poet José de Espronceda was born in 1808.
Did you know
Cava outside of Catalonia.
It is one of the very few cities outside of Catalonia authorised by law to officially produce Cava sparkling wine.
How they talk in Almendralejo
«Tierra de Barros» is the name of the comarca and refers to the red clay soils of the vineyards. «Vendimia» and «bodega» are words very present in local economic life.
acho
Hey; friend; boy, as a call or interjection. In informal speech it calls the interlocutor or introduces surprise, protest, complicity, and other reactions according to the intonation.
Everyday life in Almendralejo
The «Tierra de Barros» all around
The town is in the middle of one of the largest expanses of vineyards in the world: red, clayey earth as far as the eye can see. Almost every family has or has had a piece of vineyard.
The cava made in Extremadura
Cava has been produced here using the classic method for decades, outside of Catalonia: the wineries have underground galleries with the bottles lying down, and they can be visited.
«Aquí también se hace cava.» — Cava is also made here.
The «vendimia» in September
For a month, the town works on the grapes: cooperatives open day and night, tractors in line, and streets sticky with must. Then the Fiesta de la Vendimia takes place.
«En septiembre no se para.» — In September, it doesn't stop.
What to eat in Almendralejo
Vino Tierra de Barros
Red and white wine from the area, with the Ribera del Guadiana designation of origin.
Migas extremeñas
Bread soaked and sautéed with garlic, bacon, and peppers.
Caldereta de cordero
Lamb stewed with dried peppers, garlic, and wine, in a cauldron.
Jamón ibérico de bellota
Ham from pigs raised in the dehesa, hand-carved.
Festivals in Almendralejo
Fiestas de la Piedad y Feria de la Vendimia
in August
The first must is offered to the Virgen de la Piedad, and the fair opens the harvest season.
What to see in Almendralejo
Palacio de Monsalud
Neoclassical palace with the coat of arms on the portal, where tradition says José de Espronceda was born.
Iglesia de la Purificación
Gothic-Mudéjar brick church, with the tower dominating the town.
Museo de las Ciencias del Vino
The wine museum of Tierra de Barros, with historical presses, vats, and bottles.
Where Almendralejo comes from
The land of clays
13th century
The village
Small settlement of the Order of Santiago, in the middle of the vineyards.
18th–19th century
The wine
The clay and the climate make the area a great producer of wine and oil.
1852
The city
Isabella II gives it the title of city.
20th century → today
Tierra de Barros
The cooperative wineries make it the wine center of Extremadura.
Want to learn Spanish by travelling across Spain?
In Aula every lesson is a city lighting up on the map — Almendralejo is one of them. Two hundred lessons from A1 to C2, free, starting from your level.
Start from Almendralejo →