2018 Primetime Emmy
& James Beard Award Winner

  • Salamanca and Castilla y León

    Salamanca and the World of Jamón 2024

    Jan 28-Feb 4, 2024

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    A deep week of Castillian grace, from our start in the stately and vibrant city of Salamanca into the sacred rural heartlands of Spain’s greatest product: jamón. This is an insider tour of a world-famous delicacy, and all the rich countryside that created it.

Overview

Salamanca and the World of Jamón 2024

  • Jan 28-Feb 4, 2024
  • Jan 28-Feb 4, 2024
Salamanca and the World of Jamón 2024 More Info
Day
1

A Gilded Welcome

  • al
  • Carretera Salamanca, km. 76, 37624 La Alberca
  • +34923423107
  • Private transfer from Madrid airport to Madrid city center, where we meet to head into the heart of Castilla y León.
  • Lunch in Segovia at Restaurante José María for lunch of cochinillo, the iconic suckling pig of the region
  • After lunch, walk around the old Roman city of Segovia
  • Transfer to Abadía los Templarios near La Alberca, perhaps the most famous village in Iberian ham production, home of the annual festival of San Anton, where a young pig is “adopted” each year and allowed to live free in the village before meeting its destiny at the next year’s festival
  • Nightcap and tapas with your hosts Nathan Thornburgh and Alejo Sabugo
Day
2

Bread and Village

  • Abadía los Templarios
  • Carretera Salamanca, km. 76, 37624 La Alberca
  • +34923423107
  • Unhurried breakfast at our hotel in La Alberca
  • Visit the local chocolatería with Mari Luz to see how she makes the regional speciality rosquillas (something like a Spanish doughnut, but better)
  • Walking tour of La Alberca to hear its stories with our local connection Isi
  • Visit to a traditional bakery for regional bread specialities like barra rustica and hornazo
  • Lunch in a private lagar (old stone winepress room), cooked by Mari Luz
  • Siesta!
  • Light dinner at the Abadía
Day
3

Toro Bravo!

  • Gran Hotel Don Gregorio
  • C. San Pablo, 80, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
  • +34923217015
  • Breakfast at La Alberca
  • Visit ganadería el Pilar to explore toro bravo culture and the wooded pastures that make up the  dehesa habitat. This is the heart of the montanera—the season of fattening when the pigs eat acorns until the glorious finale.
  • Lunch at el Pilar of cured meats and toro bravo alike
  • Travel to Guijuelo, the capital of Jamón de bellota. Visit Patabrava, a small family-run company, one of the last producers which cures jamón in fresh air.
  • Transfer to Salamanca, one of the great cities of Europe, the ancient capital of jamón, and our historic hotel Don Gregorio in a former 15th Century Palace
  • Light dinner at Don Gregorio
Day
4

Heroic Salamanca

  • Gran Hotel Don Gregorio
  • C. San Pablo, 80, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
  • +34923217015
  • Slow breakfast at the hotel
  • Guided walk around the UNESCO Heritage city
  • A roving meal of light bites around Salamanca. Yes: it’s time for tapas
  • Free time for siesta or shopping in the old city
  • Dinner with Cesar Niño, chef and owner of El Alquimista, a student of culinary history who recently re-released a cookbook of 17th-century Castilian recipes called 1607.
Day
5

Casa de Comida

  • Hacienda Zorita
  • 37115 Valverdón, Salamanca, Spain
  • +34923129400
  • Leisurely breakfast the old city of Salamanca
  • Free time for shopping, strolling, and the like
  • Lunch at Fernandica, legendary casa de comida, last of a dying breed, in the village of Ledesma
  • Check-in at the gorgeous Hacienda Zorita, relax, wander the grounds, have a glass of wine or two
  • Dinner in the chapel with wine pairing at Hacienda Zorita
Day
6

Vino Vino Vino

  • Hacienda Zorita
  • 37115 Valverdón, Salamanca, Spain
  • +34923129400
  • Wake up, coffee and maybe a quick bite, transfer (1 hr) to our breakfast in Fornillos de Fermoselle in Zamora
  • In Fornillos, visit Teresa Cotorruelo at Mermeladería Oh Saúco for a workshop in Castillian marmalades and preserves
  • Visit Sara and Pachi at quesería La Setera
  • Meet winemaker Charlotte Allen in the village of Fermoselle, perched high over the Duero River, with over 2000 years of wine history
  • Wine tasting in one of the many underground wine cellars beneath the ancient village
  • Bodega crawl for wine and classic Castillian lunch of cabrito (goat). Because one does live on pork alone.
  • Siesta or optional spa back at Zorita, light dinner on your own for a bit of a break, a rare glimpse of moderation as we gear up for the final day.
Day
7

FEAST

  • Hacienda Zorita
  • 37115 Valverdón, Salamanca, Spain
  • +34923129400
  • This is the day
  • The culmination of our entire week of adventures
  • A village pig feast, the kind that only happens in this place, at this time of year
  • All-day Castillian rural bacchanal of jamón, of wine, of bread, of cheese, of bonhomie, with the mayor and the whole village of Guadramiro. It’s access to a culture that outsiders rarely see.
Day
8

  • Hacienda Zorita
  • 37115 Valverdón, Salamanca, Spain
  • +34923129400
  • Wake up at the hacienda, slowly, with a bit of breakfast and a bit of coffee
  • Private transfers back to Madrid, to the airport if you’ve got a flight that afternoon, or to the city center if you’re staying on
  • Adios, hasta la próxima, mis bravos
Salamanca and the World of Jamón 2024 More Info
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