Taste classic Spanish wines paired with tapas on this walking tour through Madrid‘s Barrio de Las Letras (Literary Quarter) with Context Travel expert and experienced winemaker, Nicole Indovino. Starting in Plaza de las Cortes, you‘ll visit four of Madrid‘s traditional tabernas (taverns) as you wind your way through the Literary Quarter to La Venencia, one of Ernest Hemingway‘s former haunts, where our tour ends. Along the way, Nicole will share the history of winemaking in Spain, providing recommendations, context, and tasting notes for each glass you‘ll try. You‘ll have the chance to pair each wine with local specialties, from fried eggs to seafood to jamón ibérico (Iberian ham) to cheese and olives. Along the way, you‘ll: • Visit Casa Alberto to experience ‘la hora del Vermut‘ (Vermouth hour)” where you‘ll try their housemade vermouth paired with huevos rotos (fried eggs over crispy potato fries with jamón ibérico) • Pop into Casa González to taste a white wine from Galicia made from albariño grapes, which pairs beautifully with ‘berberechos al natural‘ (cockles in brine) • Pass by Lope de Vega‘s House Museum, the historical former home of the famed poet • Learn a bit about the over 5,000-year history of winemaking in Spain • Discover how regional differences in soil, temperature, and humidity impact wine • Taste the rich flavor of jamón ibérico, and learn the role of the master jamonero • Try a Ribera or Rioja wine (or both!) with a tortilla de patatas (a Spanish omelette) at Dis Tinto Taberna • Travel through time in La Venecia, an old sherry bar where you can try a jerez with salt-cured tuna or olives and manchego cheese • See the legacy of Spanish authors like Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega who lived and worked in this neighborhood, in its monuments and place names • Walk through lively Spanish squares and boulevards including Plaza de Santa Ana, Paseo del Prado, and Plaza del Angel By the end of this leisurely self-paced tour, you‘ll have a deeper appreciation for Spanish winemaking and culinary traditions.