Golf and wine, the perfect pairing

Golf and wine have certain aspects in common that allow us to see them as complementary hobbies and delights. Apart from their natural environment, which invites us to leave our stresses behind and relax, both have a rich history and tradition. But they are also social activities which allow us to strengthen our personal relationships and, ultimately, provide an environment for business. Both in golf and in wine production, precision and attention to detail are crucial: from the game or production strategy to the selection of golf clubs or the grape. All this can end up determining the result, be it a good glass of wine, or a champion golf trophy. In short, whether it’s due to the surroundings, the traditions or the social aspects, golf and wine or wine and golf are a perfect combination, both of which can be experienced to the full on the Costa Brava and in the Pyrenees of Girona.

The Golf de Pals, Serres de Pals and the Mas Geli winery have teamed up to create a special Golf and Wine activity. The first, a par 73 of 18 holes, is recognised for being the oldest on the Costa Brava, built in the middle of an immense pine forest overlooking the sea. The second, a par 36 of 9 holes, is a sports complex where you can also play padel, football and volleyball, among other activities, and which allows you to enjoy sports and nature with family and friends. On the other hand, the Mas Geli winery is a family project born from the desire to produce its own wine that expresses the essence of the territory. That is why in its fifteen hectares of vineyards we can find a large proportion of the native grape varieties of the DO Empordà. Tasting their wines on the terrace of the winery during the sunset in Montgrí is a wonderful experience for all the senses.

If your aim this holiday is to achieve “The Best Swing”, we recommend that you practise and rest in equal measures at the Hotel Torremirona Golf & Spa located in Navata (Alt Empordà). Less than 15 minutes by car or, if you prefer, less than half an hour by bike, you will find the Mas Vida winery, a cultural landscape recovery project that works with regenerative agriculture to produce DO Empordà organic wines of the highest quality.

The Costa Brava Golf Club, in Santa Cristina d’Aro is also one of the first golf courses built in our area. A 27-hole course, which is fun, varied and at the same time demanding, with a welcoming clubhouse full of history, has been there since 1816. As the story goes, “its location was synonymous, in the past, with shelter and the guarantee of a meal for travellers passing through”. Close by, in an exclusive enclave of Platja d’Aro, overlooking Les Gavarres Natural Park, the Club Golf d’Aro-Mas Nou, par 72, offers a unique and completely disconnected experience for golfers, just fifteen minutes from the sea and surrounded by unique mountain cliffs. To end a fabulous day of golf by the sea, we suggest two wineries in Calonge and Sant Antoni: Clos d’Agon, where you can have a wonderful picnic among the vineyards, take a walk and discover the history of the winery; and Viníric, where you can taste their wines and enjoy a delicious cheese board.

A few minutes away, from Gualta to Torrent, you can enjoy a golf break near the best beaches and the most charming medieval villages on the Costa Brava, at the Empordà Golf Club. In an environment of peace, beauty and respect for tradition, it is considered one of the best golf resorts in the whole of Spain, with two world-class courses: Empordà Links and Empordà Forest. At the end, you can go to Mas Oller, a flagship winery of the DO Empordà, with wines that reflect the uniqueness of the terroir. It is a historic estate, with a long winemaking tradition dating back to the Greeks, around 600 BC, and which has been adapting to the times with the aim of producing quality wines, while respecting tradition but innovating in their techniques.

But if what you want is an “all in one”, the perfect pairing is at the Hotel Peralada Wine Spa & Golf, where, in addition to the Golf Course, par 71 with 18 holes for more experienced golfers, you can enjoy its Pitch & Putt, which is great fun for all levels of players. As well as this, you can enjoy the best food and wine selection, at the Restaurant Castell de Peralada, with one Michelin Star and two Repsol Suns, led by chefs Javi Martínez and the legendary Toni Gerez. They bring a contemporary vision of the Empordà cuisine, highlighting its exquisite selection of wines and the legendary cheese cart. A high-level selection to which we can add the Restaurant L’Olivera, which offers creative and contemporary cuisine by Paco Pérez, who has also accumulated several Michelin Stars at the Restaurant Miramar in Llançà and Enoteca in Barcelona. The Nou Celler Perelada now demonstrates another step towards excellence. Designed by RCR Arquitectes, winners of the 2017 Pritzker Prize, to make superb wines, it is the first winery in Europe with a LEED Gold sustainability certificate, with one of the widest and most complete wine tourism experiences in the country. And make sure you don’t leave the hotel without immersing yourself in the Wine & Spa, an oasis full of sensations and indescribable pleasures that recovers the ancestral legacy of wine therapy.