Explore La Rioja short version is a true trip for wine-lovers! But there is not only wine tasting on the schedule during this week-long program. There will be opportunities to see how wine was made yesterday in comparison with modern techniques of authors or garage styled modern wines. Experience the colourful landscapes of the autumn with all its aromas and flavours. We stay at a modern family hotel in the beautiful village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, right on the golden mile of Rioja Alta. With a special micro-climate and a terroir just perfect for the Riojan grape varieties, San Vicente is well known for wineries like El Contador of Benjamín Romeo, the Eguren Brothers or Bodegas Abel Mendoza.

Day 1

Pick up at your hotel in Bilbao and transfer to the start of the walking. Walk through a magical beech forest and get a spectacular view over the Rioja valley from the majestic Sierra del Toloño. We visit a small modern bodega, taste their garage wines with lunch and try some real bodega work. After that a short walk to our hotel in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, where we check in, rest and have a tapas cooking evening.

Day 2

A light leisure walk to the village of Briones, where we will visit the world wide known wine museum Museo del Vino Bodegas Dinastía Vivanco. After the walk and the museum, it is time for a modern style Rioja lunch. Siesta, and then visit to another charming Rioja Alavesa bodega. Tasting & dinner.

Day 3

The day begins with  an interesting art walk around Labastida and a visit and tasting at highly ranked Bodegas Mitarte. After this we will have some ancient wine labour making such as wine pressing by foot in prehistoric wine pools caved in the rock (depending on the time of the year this activitity might change). If the weather permits so, lunch will be an open air picnic with a tasting of local young wines. When the night falls we will be participating in some active creative modern Spanish cooking. We will prepare a gourmet dinner with season products! On the way to the restaurant we propose a photo safari to get a glimpse of the modern architecture of the Baigorri, Ysios and Marqués de Riscal wineries.

Day 4

We ascend the mountains of Sierra de Toloño,  on the search for the ancient natural freezers used by monks in the mountain chapels. After a short visit to modern Bodegas Miguel Merino we continue to Ezcaray for lunch at our comfortable family hotel. In the afternoon you can enjoy optional walking routes around Ezcaray. At night we prepare a tasting menu with our hotel chef. A brilliant farewell dinner!

Day 5

We visit and leisure walk towards Santo Domingo, visit the Cathedral and move on to some tapas hopping on our own in Haro. Transfer to Bilbao and farewell to our guides!

San Vicente de la Sonsierra Day 1-4. A traidtional family hotel turned into a modern Design Hotel some 5 years ago now. A better base camp is hard to find and the host couple Pedro & Irene will make you feel just like home…

On this tour you will enjoy solid buffet breakfasts with bread, cereals, juice, coffe & tea, ham, eggs, cheese as well as local sweets to get ready for a day of walking. On the roads and always in hand-picked sceneries you will taste & enjoy local products on charming country picnic lunches, where we often buy fresh products on the visits we make. Late October is mushroom season and this is very present in the restaurants, among the people and even in local festivities.The dinners will be the delicious results of our cooking sessions as well as winery dinners! Tradition and fine-dining in a nice blend.

“La Rioja is a fun place to eat. Any place where wine is so fundamental to a location’s identity will result in a culture of food that accompany their wine. And although, I believe that a food culture is prevalent worldwide, ranging from spicy to bland and rich to light; but if I had to sum up Spain‘s food culture, or specifically that of La Rioja, in one word, that would be: ingredients.” (catavinos.net)  Read more…

See the areas we explore on this tour!

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