View from 7A

Photo by Patrick Jones. AS5 to LAX, 30 May 2017.

This set of photos was taken while flying to Los Angeles on 30 May 2017. According to the location data on the photo, we were above the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mountains in Colorado. 30 May 2017.

Expensive Barrels

Photo by Patrick Jones. Barrels of Finca Villacreces Nebro.

The barrels above are at Finca Villacreces in Ribera del Duero. These contain their low-yield Nebro made from old vines at their beautiful estate along the Duero River. The markings indicate the barrels were filled on 20 October 2015. One barrel holds about 60 gallons (25 cases or 300 bottles), therefore the three barrels pictured above will produce about 900 bottles of wine. Nebro retails for $150 per bottle or more, so those three barrels represent at least $135,000 in wine.

We were able to tour Finca Villacreces while staying in Ribera del Duero last month. While we were not able to taste the Nebro, we did try their wonderful Pruno, Finca Villacreces and family owned Flor de Vetus Verdejo from the neighboring Rueda region.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Barrels of Pruno. 16 May 2017.

Photo by Patrick Jones. In the wine archive.

Wine under the castle

Photo by Patrick Jones. Peñafiel Castle. 16 May 2017.

Last month while in Spain we had the opportunity to drive north of Madrid to the Ribera del Duero region. On our second day in the area we visited the town of Peñafiel, its impressive 10th century castle and the regional wine museum inside.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Inside Peñafiel Castle.

Photo by Patrick Jones. White grape varieties in Spain.

You can see for miles from the top of the castle. One can see why this spot was chosen to defend the surrounding village.

Photo by Patrick Jones. View from the top of the castle. 16 May 2017.

Photo by Patrick Jones. View from Peñafiel Castle.

Built underneath the castle more recently are a series of caves storing the barrels of Bodegas Protos. We took a tour and tasting of the winery. You start in the caves and end up in the new bottling facility across the street designed by architect Richard Rogers. He also designed Terminal 4 at Madrid's Barajas international airport. There is a similar feel to the terminal in the swooping lines of the ceiling at Protos, but is designed to resemble the inside of a wine barrel.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Wine cave at Bodegas Protos.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Historic wines in the cave at Protos.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Wine cave underneath Peñafiel Castle.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Wine barrels at Protos. 16 May 2017.

Photo by Patrick Jones. So many wine barrels!

Photo by Patrick Jones. Cases packed for shipping. Bodegas Protos.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Bodegas Protos tasting area.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Bodegas Protos. 16 May 2017.

We brought back three wines from Protos, a reserve crianza, a rosé and verdejo. Overall this was a really enjoyable visit to Peñafiel, the castle and winery. We spent a good 3 hours or more between the castle tour and museum and the winery tour and tasting. If you are in the region, definitely visit the castle and check out the winding roads of Peñafiel.

More old photos

Alfred Freyling Sr & Junior. 1930s.

Here is another old photo showing Allison's great-grandfather Alfred Freyling Sr. & her Papaw, Alfred Freyling Jr. I suspect the photo is from the 1930s. This is a continuation of the series I posted while in Indiana (see here and here). Next is a wonderful portrait showing Alfred Freyling Sr. and wife Norma Louise Kuester. The photo is probably dated from 1916, although I am not certain. They were married in Evansville on 6 February 1916.

Alfred Freyling & Norma Louise Kuester.

The last photo below is an earlier photo of Norma, dated from 1914. She would have been 18 or almost 19 in this photo.

Norma L. Kuester, 1914.

Warrick County Land

Warrick County Mortgage Book 1, Pg. 262.

Last week while in Southern Indiana I was able to visit the Warrick County Recorder's Office and pull copies of land records for Allison's Freyling family ancestors. Her 3rd-great-grandparents Stephen Freyling and Katharina Wagner Freyling were married in neighboring Vanderburgh County, Indiana on 31 October 1852. Six months later they entered a mortgage (copy above) in Warrick County for the Northeast quarter of the Northeast quarter of Section 17 in Township 5 South of Range 9 West in Campbell Township. The mortgage was fully paid on 5 April 1859.

Marriage Record of Stephen and Katharina.

Stephen and Katharina next purchased land from John and Mary Woods for $20 on 27 March 1861.

Warrick County Deed Book 17, Pg. 169

Stephen and Katharina bought a connecting plot of land on 20 May 1863 from William and Sarah Corwin, and then a larger plot of land on 9 May 1884 along the New Harmony and Millersburg Road. Stephen and Katharina sold twenty acres for $850 on 19 September 1889. After Stephen died on 28 June 1893, his children sold the remaining land for $2700 on 5 August 1898.