Details

Bullas is o­ne of various wine producing towns, situated 53 km inland from Murcia.  It has a population of 11,435 and lies at 643 metres above sea level o­n the edge of the River Mula Basin.

The old 19^thCentury Wine Cellar, is now a Wine Museum, and forms part of a project to invigorate and personalize tourism in the locality.  The building is in a perfect state of conservation, with its brick vaults and earthenware jars which are half buried in the ground.  It belonged to the Melgares de Aguilar
family, who were very powerful in the middle of the 19^th Century because the annual production was of some 350.000 litres of wine.

The Romans colonized this river basin, and in the hills near to Bullas, o­nce under Roman domination, olive and almond trees grow next to the vineyards.  The economy of Bullas depends to a large extent o­n the wine-growing industry and the most representative wines come from grapes grown here and also Caravaca, Cehegín, Moratalla, Mula, Ricote and Calasparra.

The winters here are cold and although white and rosé wines are produced, perhaps the most famous are the wines produced from the sturdy dark grapes, which can endure the frost and snow as well as the blistering summer sun.  From these grapes a full-bodied red wine is created which goes so well with many of the hearty local dishes.

The local gastronony reflects the good use to which the Murcians put the wide range of products available.  The most characteristic dish of Bullas is “talvina”- a sort of pancake fried in an earthenware bowl with garlic, peppers, bacon, tripe and sausage.  Various thick soups featuring a mixture of meats and beans are popular, especially during the winter.

Now people from other countries are moving here, there are new developments of houses and the golf courses featuring pine woods and lakes draw northern Europeans to the area and boost the economy as indeed happened all those years ago, when the Romans settled here.

Bullas celebrates its Fiestas in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, who was elected by the people of the town to be their Patron Saint in 1723.  The day of the Virgin is the 7^thOctober, although tradition dictates that the main day of the fiesta is o­n the first Sunday of the month.