If you’re a fan of farm-to-table-eating events, I can recommend spending a Friday evening at S’Hort de sa Vall, just outside Manacor. This fertile valley is home to this well-kept farm, which recently opened its farm shop on Saturday mornings under the Venda Directa scheme. On Friday evenings – at least for the next two weeks – they offer a guided tour of the farm, followed by a tasting menu dinner with wine. They plan to introduce lunches rather than dinners soon as the evenings become cooler.

On September 3rd, we went along with some friends for the Friday-evening experience … and had a really enjoyable time in an authentically rural Mallorcan ambience.

We arrived at 7pm for the welcome and were then split into two groups for the tour; an English speaking guide is available. Our tour of the extensive farm lasted around an hour-and-a-quarter, accompanied by explanations about their processes and farming methods.

Tastings

Along the way we stopped at a table outside some greenhouses to sample their tomatoes and a couple of their preserves. We passed rows of strawberry plants out in the open air and were told to help ourselves to any of the remaining strawberries (it was quite late in the season). Our search among the leaves yielded a few sweet, succulent strawberries that tasted nothing like the watery ones you find in plastic punnets year-round on supermarket shelves.

The tour concluded in an enormous barn, where we watched a video about the farm on a wall-mounted screen. I’d never seen such a thing in an agricultural barn before!

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Time to Eat & Drink

We returned to the recently renovated building housing the shop and the large open kitchen for a glass of wine and samples of S’Hort de sa Vall’s own sobrasada (for me, the best I’ve tasted), and the cheese they sell. Then we went to our allocated table outdoors for our tasting menu, which was accompanied by wines from Macia Batle and followed by coffee and a rather delicious hierbas liqueur.

Our tasting dinner was a different style of cuisine to that served at Terragust events, where the chef has Michelin-starred restaurant experience on his CV. The cuisine at S’Hort de Sa Vall is more like good Mallorcan home cooking – very tasty and made from fresh seasonal produce.

Live music enhanced the evening: the trio Femení Plural comprises two good singers (sisters) and a guitarist. They are performing again on Friday 17th and Friday 24th September.

The cost per head for these evenings is 45 euros, including the tour, tasting menu, wines, coffee, liqueur, and the music. Oh, and did I mention we all went home with a complimentary bag of fresh produce from S’Hort de sa Vall?

Verdict

An informative and thoroughly enjoyable evening. If you’re interested in finding out more about agriculture in the fertile Sa Vall area, this should appeal to you. Sitting under the stars beneath strings of lights added to the cosy ambience.

Good to Know

Wear comfortable shoes for the tour around the fields and surrounding tracks. And even though the daytime may still be warm, the valley cools quickly so be sure to take a jacket or sweater.

To book – or for more details – phone 627 753 038.

Copyright Jan Edwards 2021