The picapoll has become a symbol of the region's identity, because it is the only place in Spain where this much appreciated variety is cultivated. Several wineries are reviving the local grape varieties of red picapoll, sumoll and garró (known here as mandó), helping to strengthen the area's unique profile. Other varieties including macabeo, parellada and chardonnay for white wines are also grown here, as well as garnatxa, tempranillo, merlot and cabernet franc for reds.

The region is blessed with a Mediterranean mountain climate, and the landscape is dotted with small barraques (dry stone huts), as well as large tines (dry stone wine vats) nestled in the mountains. These were used to make wine right next to the vineyard, as transporting the grapes was very difficult and expensive. While modern wine production can be explored in the wineries scattered across the region, the dry stone vats route in the Flequer Valley is highly recommended.

From the village of Pont de Vilomara, you should continue along the road towards Rocafort. Halfway there, there is a signposted turn-off to the car park at Ca n'Oristrell, where the route starts. The entire path runs along the banks of the Flequer stream. Along the way, you will come across the Tines del Bleda, a site nestled in the forest consisting of two vats and two dry stone huts. They are all made of dry stone, mortar and ceramics, with a corbel-vaulted earthen roof. There are 109 vats listed in the Bages region, and eighteen of them are on this route, including the Tines del Tosques, which consists of four vats and the associated huts. The most impressive ones are those from the Escudelleta group, where twelve vats and huts are preserved, along with a fixed press and the remains of the stone from the base. You will need to cross over to the other side of the river to return to the start of the trail and go back to the car park.

Don't miss it! Unique rural heritage

The dry stone vats in the Flequer Valley are a piece of historical rural heritage that is unique in Europe. They are also noteworthy due to the way they blend into the landscape and their resource-saving design. The area around Mura, Talamanca and Rocafort alone contains a hundred dry stone structures which bear witness to the golden age of vines and wine in the Bages region, particularly between 1860 and 1890, when the phylloxera vine blight was wreaking havoc in Europe and it had not yet reached Bages.