Rioja wine itinerary

La Rioja is Spain's most famous wine region, and one of the most beautiful in Europe to visit. Along the Ebro valley, between the Sierra de Cantabria and the Demanda mountains, vineyards stretch as far as the eye can see, dotted with stone villages perched on hills, medieval monasteries and wineries that range from cellars dug into the rock centuries ago to buildings designed by great contemporary architects. The leading grape is tempranillo, which gives elegant reds capable of ageing for decades in oak barrels.

This six-day itinerary crosses the three parts of Rioja: Rioja Alta, with Haro and its station quarter, the wine museum in Briones and the monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla, where written Spanish was born; Rioja Alavesa, in the Basque Country, with the walled village of Laguardia and the designer wineries of Elciego; and Logroño, the capital, with the most famous tapas street in Spain. You start and finish in Bilbao, with the Guggenheim museum as an aperitif.

The wine of Rioja

Wine has been made in Rioja since Roman times, and in the Middle Ages the monasteries along the Camino de Santiago tended the vineyards. The great turning point came in the second half of the 19th century: when phylloxera destroyed the vineyards of Bordeaux, many French merchants came to Rioja to buy wine and brought with them the technique of ageing in oak barrels. In 1925 Rioja became Spain's first designation of origin, and in 1991 the first to receive the highest category, DOCa. Today wines are classified by ageing: joven, crianza, reserva and gran reserva, the last with at least five years between barrel and bottle. See Spanish wine and La Rioja.

Day 1: Bilbao

Arrive at Bilbao Airport, twenty minutes from the city. In the afternoon visit Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum, with its titanium curves on the river, Jeff Koons's giant flower dog at the entrance and Louise Bourgeois's giant spider. In the evening dine on pintxos in the Casco Viejo, between Plaza Nueva and the Siete Calles, with a glass of txakoli, the lightly sparkling Basque white. See Bilbao and the Guggenheim.

Where to stay: in Bilbao.

Day 2: Haro and Briones

Pick up the car and drive to Haro (about an hour), the capital of Rioja Alta. The heart of the wine trade is the Barrio de la Estación, the station quarter, where at the end of the 19th century some of Rioja's oldest and most prestigious wineries set up side by side, to send their wine by train to France and the northern ports. Visit one or two historic wineries, with their galleries of barrels, cellars of mould-covered bottles and a tasting. Haro's centre has a fine arcaded square and plenty of wine bars.

In the afternoon drive to Briones (a quarter of an hour), a medieval village on a hill, home to the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture, one of the most comprehensive in the world, with the history of the vine, tools, a huge collection of corkscrews and wine-themed art, from ancient amphorae to Picasso. Behind the museum is a garden with dozens of grape varieties. See Haro.

Where to stay: in Haro or Briones, for two nights.

Day 3: San Millán de la Cogolla and Santo Domingo

Head south towards the Sierra de la Demanda to San Millán de la Cogolla (about three quarters of an hour), home to two UNESCO-listed monasteries. Suso, the older one, partly carved into the rock, and Yuso, lower down, a great 16th-century monastery, once held the Glosas Emilianenses, notes written by a monk around the year 1000 in the margins of a Latin text, considered among the earliest written evidence of the Spanish language and of Basque. This is why San Millán is called the "cradle of Castilian". See the Spanish language.

In the afternoon drive to Santo Domingo de la Calzada (half an hour), a stop on the Camino de Santiago: in the cathedral a white rooster and hen live in a Gothic coop, in memory of a medieval miracle in which a roast cockerel rose and crowed to save an innocent pilgrim. On the way back stop at Nájera, with the monastery of Santa María la Real, pantheon of the kings of Navarre. See Nájera and the Camino de Santiago.

Day 4: Laguardia and Rioja Alavesa

Cross the Ebro into the Basque Country, into Rioja Alavesa, at the foot of the rocky wall of the Sierra de Cantabria. On the way stop at San Vicente de la Sonsierra, with its castle and church above the river. Then reach Laguardia (about three quarters of an hour), a walled village on a hill, closed to traffic, that seems straight out of the Middle Ages. Beneath its houses lies a maze of more than three hundred cellars dug into the rock, some of which can be visited. See the polychrome portico of the church of Santa María de los Reyes, with its 17th-century colours still intact, and walk the walls for the view over the vineyards. Outside the village, Santiago Calatrava's Ysios winery has an undulating roof that echoes the shape of the mountain. See Laguardia.

In the afternoon drive to Elciego (a quarter of an hour), where the historic Marqués de Riscal winery has built its "City of Wine", with a hotel designed by Frank Gehry, the architect of the Guggenheim: a cascade of titanium ribbons in pink, gold and silver, the colours of the wine, the bottle and the capsule.

Where to stay: in Laguardia or a hotel among the vineyards.

Day 5: Logroño

Reach Logroño (half an hour), the capital of La Rioja, crossed by the Camino de Santiago. In the morning visit the co-cathedral of Santa María de la Redonda, with its twin towers and a small painting of Calvary attributed to Michelangelo, the stone bridge over the Ebro and the San Blas market. You can visit a winery in or near the city.

In the evening head for calle Laurel and nearby calle San Juan: dozens of bars side by side, each specialising in a different pintxo, from grilled mushrooms topped with prawns to pig's ears and stuffed peppers. The custom is to order one pintxo and a glass of wine in each bar, then move on to the next. In late September the San Mateo festival celebrates the harvest with grape treading in the square. See Logroño and tapas.

Where to stay: in Logroño.

Day 6: back to Bilbao

Return to Bilbao (about an hour and a half), perhaps stopping at Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Basque capital, with its medieval centre and the cathedral of Santa María, open for visits during restoration. Fly home from Bilbao airport. See Vitoria-Gasteiz.

How much it costs

To save money: the small family wineries of Laguardia and the villages offer cheap tastings that are often more authentic than the big names; on calle Laurel a pintxo with a glass of wine costs €3-5.

Practical information

• Bookings: almost all wineries can be visited only by appointment at fixed times; write or book online a few days ahead, especially at weekends.
• Driving and alcohol: the limit in Spain is 0.5 g/l; whoever drives should spit, or book a tour with a driver from Logroño or Haro.
• Mondays: many wineries and museums close on Mondays.
• Shipping: many wineries ship abroad; in checked luggage wrap bottles in clothes.
• Documents: EU citizens only need a valid identity card. See getting around Spain.

Variations

• Ribera del Duero: the great reds of Peñafiel and the Duero, two and a half hours from Logroño; see the castles of Castile itinerary.
• Rioja Oriental: Calahorra and Arnedo, with garnacha wines and caves; see Calahorra and Arnedo.
• San Sebastián: the gastronomic capital of the Basque Country, an hour and a half from Bilbao; see San Sebastián.
• The wine Camino: the stages of the Camino de Santiago between Logroño and Santo Domingo; see wine along the Camino.

What to read before you go

A good guide to Spanish wines and a wine atlas to understand the regions; for atmosphere, Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, whose characters drink Rioja on almost every page. See also Spanish cuisine and the Basque Country.

Final tips

• Pace: no more than two wineries a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with a long lunch in between.
• Combinations: from Bilbao or Pamplona you can link up with the Hemingway itinerary.
• A tip: in Laguardia at sunset, go up to the El Collado viewpoint: the vineyards turn gold and red beneath the wall of the Sierra de Cantabria, and you understand why wine has been made here for two thousand years.

See also our other itineraries in Spain.

Rioja on the map

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