Haro, with about 12,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the Rioja Alta and one of the world's wine capitals. It lies in north-west La Rioja, near the Ebro, surrounded by vineyards of the Rioja qualified designation of origin, Spain's most prestigious. See also Spanish wine.
History
A medieval frontier town, Haro grew in the 19th century thanks to wine. When phylloxera devastated French vineyards in the 1870s, many Bordeaux merchants moved here, bringing new techniques such as ageing in oak barrels. With the arrival of the railway in 1880, the great wineries grew up around the station. Haro was among the first Spanish towns to have electric lighting, in 1890.
The Barrio de la Estación
The Barrio de la Estación is Haro's wine heart: within a few hundred metres stand some of La Rioja's most famous and oldest wineries, founded between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as López de Heredia, CVNE, La Rioja Alta, Muga, Gómez Cruzado, Roda and Bodegas Bilbaínas. Nearly all offer guided tours and tastings, to be booked. Through the year the wineries often hold events and open days: the tourist office has the current calendar.
What to see
- The old town, with Plaza de la Paz, the 18th-century town hall and the bandstand.
- The church of Santo Tomás, with its plateresque portal.
- The basilica of the Virgen de la Vega, the town's patron.
- The Wine Interpretation Centre and noble palaces.
- The tapas area around Plaza de la Paz, called la Herradura, "the horseshoe".
The Wine Battle
On 29 June, the feast of San Pedro, the Batalla del Vino is fought on the Riscos de Bilibio hills: thousands dressed in white drench each other with red wine from buckets, bottles, sprayers and wineskins, ending up completely purple. It is a festival of international tourist interest.
Food
Patatas a la riojana, chuletillas al sarmiento (lamb chops grilled over vine shoots), pimientos asados, vegetable menestra and, of course, wine.
Around and getting there
The villages of Briones, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Laguardia, the monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla, a UNESCO site and cradle of the Spanish language, and Nájera. Haro has a station on the Bilbao-Logroño line and is about 45 km from Logroño.