More on the winery here: https://canaxartell.com/en/

What makes this winery unique is the use of gravity exclusively during the winemaking process. In addition to wine, the finca (farm estate) also has an ancient olive oil press where they produce their oil from trees as old as 1,000 years.

After the tour, we proceeded to the tasting room where we sampled a range of varietals but, again, I had to restrict myself to sips since I was driving. Since I’d skipped breakfast, I dove into the hors d’ouevres.

One of the group was celebrating her birthday. She and her husband bought a finca several years ago. Originally from Australia, they are raising their two children on the island. Her husband is a renowned vet and works in London several days per month. The other couple own hotels and an antiquarian bookstore in Palma. Christopher was born in Madrid but went to boarding school in England. His wife, Cecilia, is from the Dominican Republic. Christopher became slightly tipsy and was telling me how awful the politics and bureaucracy in Spain are. For example, it took them four years to get all the permits for a major remodeling job. The other friend was alone and is married to a Frenchman, who was at work.

After the tour, we drove to the airport to drop off the car. I forgot to refill the diesel fuel, but convinced the agent to waive the penalty and simply charge me for the fuel. Unlike the US, they simply charge the same rate as the fuel station. It’s refreshing to avoid the nickel and dimming in the US.

Palma is quite large, but was thankfully largely free of the tourist hordes in late November. I took a long walk along the waterfront and walked past the Gothic cathedral. Later that night we enjoyed a chef’s table experience.