“Vamos afuera a tomar aire fresco”

When I was asked by G&V Public Relations if they could send me a bottle of Croatian Wine from The Wine and More, I was obviously all for it. I decided to plan for a picnic on Poniente beach to tie in with Alex’s birthday.

I wasn’t sure which wine they would send me, but I knew it was going to be a rose. I was thrilled when our wine arrived, nicely packaged, all the way from the Dingač wine growing region in the Dalmatian area of Croatia.

After a little bit of googling, I found out that the area itself is not exactly accessible, instead, it is just small, rural roads that run the length of the region. It sounds like up in the mountains around here!

I also found out that wine from the Dingač region is pretty good. We had the Saints Heels Rose 2017, and it was gorgeous. It was a light, fruity wine that didn’t leave you with a dry mouth or leave you thirsty. The heels on the bottle are so “me”, aren’t they?! If I was a bottle of wine, I’d be a bottle of Saint Heels.

I wasn’t surprised to find out that Dingač is an idyllic location for making red wines. With a Mediterranean climate like ours, lots of sunlight and being on a hill, it makes for perfect growing conditions.

Saint Hills Heels Rose was the perfect summer wine to compliment our picnic. It had a boost of flavour, rich with essences of strawberries and raspberries. So good, that even Alex drank the wine and didn’t reach for the Coca-Cola!

If I could let you smell the bottle, I would. After it popped open, the aroma of light berries filled the air. Only for a split second before the sea breeze engulfed it, but it was a rich essence.

Poniente Beach is one of the best places to go on an early evening. With a few snacks, a picnic blanket and a bottle of wine, you can be set up for a fair few hours. It’s one of those places that you can sit back and watch the people watch, and let me tell you, people watching in Benidorm is one of the best places to people watch.

Even though it’s quiet, there are still things happening. Whilst we were sitting there, a yoga class came and went, which I wanted to join in with, the muscle club on the outdoor gym came and went, I swear I didn’t laugh when one attempted to be Mr Muscle and show off to the others and ended up falling, and people were heading in and out of cafe’s and bars, and a few people were walking along the shore. There’s always something to see.

The weather in Benidorm has been a little iffy recently. Will it storm? Won’t it? Well, let me tell you, it didn’t rain or storm, but the wind didn’t half blow. Those strawberries? They may have been covered in sand the second we opened the punnet. Alex ended up drinking some wine followed by a lump of sand that had made its way into his glass. Amateur.

We’d picked up a few snacks from Carrefour just before. We picked up a couple of empanadillas, which are gorgeous pastry shells, similar to Cornish pasties. I had a chicken and mushroom one and a meat one. Alex had a meat one and a chicken curry one. The empanadillas are made in Carrefour bakery and are a little more than a 1€. They’re a well worth it snack. We also got some cooked meat, a nut cocktail and some fruit.

We didn’t manage to get the beauty of the sunset, purely because the weather just didn’t want to cooperate. It’s not often I get to say that?! So, we didn’t get the pink sky, but the colours did have a beautiful hue of dark blues and deep purples, so it wasn’t all bad!

The best time is when it goes silent. The waves are the only sounds filling the air and the stars start to be visible over the horizon. It is getting quite cold at night now, so we didn’t stay too late. The goosebumps became too much! The shimmer of the lights from the surrounding buildings and the Tossal always gives such a beautiful effect and, of course, the Gran Hotel Bali was standing tall and proud as it always does in a way only the Gran Hotel Bali can do.

We’re very lucky that on a Monday evening after work, we’re able to head down to the beach and have a full evening date out, for less than 5€. Or 20€ if we’re including the wine!

A picnic on Poniente Beach is one of my favourite cheap dates in Benidorm.

Hasta luego,

Thank you to G&V PR for arranging a beautiful bottle of Wine and More wine to be delivered to us. This post was not sponsored, however, I was given a free bottle of wine to try. This does not alter my views.