Renting a car in Europe is not much different than renting one in North America. You will still face the hard sell on insurance at the counter, the quandary of whether to pre-pay for the fuel or spend your own time hunting down a fuel station to bring it back full, and of course the fact that the vehicle you get is almost never the one you selected. Rather, it seems it is always one of the “Or Similar” members of the same class.
There are, however, a fewcomplicating factors that make renting a car in Europe more of a Pangean adventure. For one, you are almost invariably exhausted from a long flight, often through the night. You are then faced with unfamiliar accents, signage, and foreign languages. For another, most European rental agencies that this Pangean has dealt with also have a fixation with insurance and deposits. I suppose it is understandable since they are handing out keys to vehicles worth thousands of Euros to complete strangers. The other complication is that the options and rental policies can vary from country to country, even when you are using the same agency or outlet.
Continue reading “European Car Rental Issues – Part 1 – Insurance”
Pangeans believe you get a far better sense of the wine when you are able to speak directly to the winemaker and hear the passion in their voice. You can also see the actual vineyards where the wine was born and see their viticultural policies put into practice.
This particular Pangean has always been partial to authentic sparkling wines produced according to the méthode traditionelle (a.k.a. méthode champenoise) and cava from the Penedès valley of Catalunya is some of the world’s best: fresh, crisp flavours with good acidity balance – all reasonably priced.
A partnership of Eric, the winemaker, Ignasi, the businessman, and Ramon, the foodie, Artcava refer to themselves as the best kept secret in the Penedes region. In their own words: “We are a small, charming winery located in one of the most important wine regions in Europe, The Penedès …. We make a modest 15,000 bottles of quality artisan cava a year with our own hands, adding nothing, no chemicals, no funny business, only love.” The winery offers a selection of tours, tastings, and cava workshops, as well as gastronomic lunches and catalonian cooking instructions.
It included a brief history discussion, a tour through the 1000 year old farmhouse, a tour of the wine cave, an explanation of the champagne method of secondary fermentation in the bottle, a tour of the riddling, disgorging, and labelling facility, followed by an opportunity to taste the wines (which range in price from 9.15 € to 16.95 € per bottle). 
The tour is offered year round, generally at 10:30 (though I think other special times can be arranged since our tour was in the afternoon) and costs 12 € / person for 1 to 20 people. Pours were extremely generous and Eric is extremely personable as well as knowledgable. 
Artcava also offers a “Create Your Own Cava” workshop that includes the tour, tasting, and a blending and bottling workshop where you create your own bottle of cava (3 hours). Cost is 42 € which includes the bottle of your own cava to take with you. You can also opt for a Half Day tour that includes a hearty country breakfast either in the vineyard or in the 1000 year old farmhouse (depending on the weather) for 56 € / person, and a Full Day Tour that includes both breakfast and lunch for 84 € / person. You can also book separate gastronomic lunches and workshops including a “Create Your Own Paella” workshop for 50 € / person that includes the workshop, lunch and cava. For more information: 