SUMMARY: The tour will give you a good experience in Riojan wines, while showing some of the landmarks of Riojan history and art. The famous Guggenheim museum in the nearby city of Bilbao is a nice complement to the tour.
LODGING: Charming country hotels in small winemakers towns.
Day
1: Welcome. Pick up in Madrid and drive to Rioja. Visit a traditional winery. Wine
tasting and dinner in the winery, where we will start getting acquaintance
with the Riojan wines.
Day 2: Modernity: New wineries and the Guggenheim. Guided
visit to the new thematic center in Laguardia dedicated to wine
making. The complete process is explained with audiovisual aid and a
great exhibit. A wine tasting session will follow the visit.
Guided
tour in the medieval walled village of Laguardia (13th century)
, capital of La Rioja Alavesa. Under the stone paved streets and homes
of Laguardia it is full of old subterranean bodegas, and over them there
are many historic monuments and sites, like the Gothic facade of Santa
Maria de los Reyes church from the 14th century.
Visit to two beautiful bodegas with wine tasting included. Typical Riojan lunch in the bodega.
Depart
for Bilbao. Guided visit to the famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
designed by architect Frank Gehry.
Dinner in a fabulous restaurant. We'll try modern cuisine this time.
Day 3: Hostory and tradition in Rioja. Visit to two traditional wineries with wine tasting in Haro or the nearby villages. We'll visit a winery that was built in a farm belonging to a medieval monastery and makes its wine in the most traditional way. We can have a typical lunch there where sarmientos (dry grape vine branches) are used to roast the meat, giving it a unique and delicious flavor.
Or
we may just start the driving to have lunch in the Hostería of
the Monastery of San Millán, where we will visit the Human Heritage
monastery complex of Suso and Yuso in San Millán de la Cogolla
(10th century village) were the Spanish language (castellano)
was born.
Tour of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a small medieval town very
important for the pilgrims in their way to Santiago. Just a stroll through
the arcade streets to admire the stone mansions with their coats of
arms. The cathedral is famous because of its beauty and its legend of
the "Cock and Hen".
Dinner on your own
Day 4: Logroño. Winery visit
and wine tasting in Logroño. If possible we may go to visit a
winery in Navarra.
After lunch we'll spend some time in Logroño, the capital of
Rioja, a modern and historic town with a great architectural and artistic
heritage.
In this town one can also find multiple shopping opportunities.
Back to Madrid.