Rioja: A Wine Route

If you’re a wine lover and you’re travelling to northern Spain, you can’t miss the Rioja region.

The Rioja is sunny and warm; and in late summer or early autumn the smell of the grapes  is spectacular. Yet there are many other things to do and see in “La Rioja” apart from tasting and buying wine. Here’s a touristic route we’d recommend:

Start in Haro, and taste the wine from some of the most important wine cellars in Rioja: the Bilbainas and Muga. In February, participate in the Carnival of Wine and in June go see the famous “Battle of wine”.

Your second stop could be the small town of Briones, situated along the right bank of the Ebru river. Here, try and visit the Museum of Wine Culture Vivanco Dynasty, where you will also be offered to test and savour a varied selection of grapes.

A third stop could be Cenicero, another historic town in which you’ll find one of the greatest wine cellars in the whole Rioja, Marqués de Caceres.

Last but not least, cross the Ebru river and enter Alava, where you will find Elciego, a small village built on a sunny hill. This is where you’ll find the cellar of Marqués de Riscal and if it gets late , don’t drink and drive, stay at the curious cellar hotel and decide for yourself what the curvy metal sihouettes on top of the building mean.

Have you ever tried a Rioja wine? What are you waiting for?