Wine country: Binissalem, Santa Maria and Consell

The Binissalem wine area

The Raiguer is the band of farmland where the central plain meets the foot of the Serra de Tramuntana. Along its old road north from Palma lie Santa Maria del Camí, then Consell, then Binissalem, each a few minutes from the next. Vineyards, almond groves and olive trees fill the land between them.

Wine has deep roots here. Records of large vineyards around Binissalem go back to 1339. Phylloxera, the vine pest, reached Consell in 1891 and destroyed many vineyards around the turn of the century, and many farmers switched to almonds. Quality winemaking came back in the 1980s, and the Binissalem designation of origin was recognised in 1990. It covers Binissalem, Consell, Santa Maria del Camí, Santa Eugènia and Sencelles, and its wines are built on local grapes: Manto Negro for reds and Moll, also called Prensal Blanc, for whites.

Binissalem: stone town and harvest festival

Binissalem, often called Mallorca’s wine capital, is built of local limestone quarried here for centuries. Its old centre was declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1983, with the Baroque church of Santa Maria de Robines above the main square and large family houses from the 18th and 19th centuries around it. The municipality has around ten wineries, several in the town itself.

The Festa des Vermar, the harvest festival first held in 1965, fills September with events and is busiest in the second half of the month. Expect parades, tastings and a grape battle, and crowds from across the island. The rest of the year Binissalem is an ordinary working town of about 9,300 people, with a Friday market, two state primary schools, a state secondary school and a health centre.

Santa Maria del Camí: the Sunday market town

Santa Maria del Camí was the first stop on the old road north from Palma, and inns are recorded in its Els Hostals quarter from the 17th century. Its 17th-century town hall on Plaça de la Vila still has the arcaded porch where grain was once sold. Every Sunday morning, a market fills Plaça Nova and the streets around it. It is one of the most important weekly markets in the Balearics for fresh food, so arrive early.

Around 7,700 people live in the municipality. The town has a health centre with a 24-hour urgent care point, a state primary and a state secondary school, and wineries of its own. North-west of the town, the Coanegra valley climbs into quiet pine woods and old country estates. The wine year ends here too, with the Festa del Vi Novell, the new wine festival, in late November.

Consell: small town, big flea market

Consell is the smallest of the three, with about 4,500 people, and only became a municipality of its own in 1925, after centuries as part of Alaró. Life centres on the Plaça Major, with the parish church on one side and the town hall on the other. A general market fills the square on Thursday mornings. On Sundays the Encants, a second-hand market started in 1994, takes over the industrial estate with around 250 stalls of antiques, crafts and food.

Vineyards survive in the south-west of the municipality, and each October Consell holds a wine fair alongside its autumn fair. The town has a state primary school, a nursery and a weekday health unit; secondary pupils go to Binissalem. Its patron saint’s festivities, with open-air suppers in the streets, have just finished on 24 August.

Getting to Palma

All three are on the train line from Palma to Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor, and on the Ma-13 motorway. That makes them easy places to live for anyone working in the city.

On weekdays trains run every 10 to 20 minutes for much of the day, and every half hour at weekends. The airport is 25 to 35 minutes away by car. The trade-off is the sea: the nearest beaches are on Palma’s seafront, 20 to 30 minutes’ drive, and summers inland are hot and dry.

Homes among the vines

Each town has an old centre of stone village houses, often protected. Binissalem’s centre is a listed ensemble and each town hall keeps a catalogue of protected buildings, so check what works are allowed before planning a renovation. Outside the towns, country houses and old estates sit among vineyards and almond groves on rustic land. There, a lawyer should confirm that everything built is legal and registered; our guide to buying a finca explains why.

Areas in this post

Binissalem town · Santa Maria del Camí · Consell