Traditional Wineskin, Holds 5 Bottles - Peregrino Brand
Item: BB-04
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What an amazing way to serve wine at your next party or family gathering! This big 4 liter/1 gallon botarron will be quite the conversation piece. Made from one piece of flawless goat leather, a botarrón wineskin is an ancient way to store and serve wine. Wine is added to the top and dispensed into glasses from the spout below.
Our botarrón wineskins are painstakingly made in the castle town of Sigüenza by the famous bota-maker Jesus Blasco and branded with our Peregrino logo. Your botarrón will arrive with a rustic wooden holder for easy storage and presentation.
Making a botarrón takes a lot of skill and patience. There are dozens of steps in the process before the wineskin is ready to be used.
Our brand, Peregrino, translates as 'pilgrim' in Spanish. Many pilgrims walking the road to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia carry a bota to refresh themselves and friends during their long journey. A large botarrón would certainly have been found at one of the inns and taverns where pilgrims stopped for the night during medieval times.
Jesús Blasco is an artisan bota workshop in the ancient castle town if Sigüenza, in the countryside a couple hours northeast of Madrid. Since the 1800s they have followed the ancient method of bota-making. To this day the family company is run by descendants of the founder, Julián Blasco.
It is necessary to prepare your traditional bota before its first use to remove the flavor of the pine pitch waterproof lining. Simply follow this procedure for the pitch-lined botas, not those lined with latex. First, heat your bota in the sun or warm surface so that the pitch within will soften. Next, blow into the opening of the bota to inflate it, separating the sides; the warmer the pitch is, the easier it will be to inflate the bota. Add cold water and set the bota aside. After a few days, replace the water with inexpensive wine and let it sit for at least a day. Discard this wine and your bota is ready for use.
When you are not using your bota be sure to deflate it and press the sides together to avoid the pitch settling in one region of the wineskin. Or fill with fresh water to keep the pitch in place. Store in a cool dry location.
