Of the many reasons why thousands of people want to visit Spain every year, Spanish winery tours are definitely at the top of the list. And, with Rioja being the country’s most famous wine region, it’s no surprise why winery tours in this area are on people’s list of travel goals. After all, wine has been made in this region since the Roman times.
Spanish winery tours: A review of La Rioja
In this post, our guest writer Chuchu Santos-Solano, a wine enthusiast herself, shares snippets of her La Rioja experience and honestly reviews her Spanish winery tour in the beautiful region.
Spanish winery tours: Expectations
Our guest writer starts her Spanish winery tour review by sharing the expectations she had. “I enjoyed a magnificent two-day Spanish bodega tour with specific expectations in mind,” she said. “Being a budding wine enthusiast, I chose the La Rioja region, where I would experience visits to both the small boutique bodegas and the major commercial producers.”
Spanish winery tours: Experience
“Since this was my first La Rioja wine region experience, for Day 1, I visited the boutique bodega producing wines with traditional handmade processes,” she shared, continuing her Spanish winery tour review. “The guided tour was personal and very impressive.
“We did not feel rushed during the wine tasting, and we had the time to enjoy their quality wines. We tasted their young Crianzas and premium single-varietal wine from the centenary vineyards. This boutique bodega is also special to me since it is located on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela, where we met a lot of pilgrims on their way to complete this spiritual voyage.”
Spanish winery tours: Lunch in Logroño
As a side trip to her Spanish winery tour, the wine enthusiast also shared snippets of her experience with Spanish cuisine. “We had lunch in Logroño, La Rioja’s capital, which had a good choice of fish and meat-based dishes,” she said. We planned to visit a second family-owned boutique bodega in Badarán. But because of a date mix-up that I completely overlooked, we were not able to visit the bodega.
“Our booking in a 4-star parador was a plus factor in my unforgettable La Rioja spectacle. As we entered the building it was like being back in time when this place was a former palace of the many Spanish kings and the Church was a powerful and influential sector in Spanish history.” Spanish winery tours are only part of the long list of fun things to experience in the beautiful country. And this is something anyone who has explored Spain knows very well.
Spanish winery tours: Haro and Briones
On the second day of her Spanish winery tour, our guest writer explored Haro and Briones. “We had a wonderful time since the three big bodegas were no more than a 10-minute leisurely walk away from each other,” she said. “Pintxos hopping was next for us. And we met kind people who would give us suggestions for tapas bars in Haro. Though language was challenging, the good nature of these folks made us take up their suggestion to check out the bars.
“Last on our list for Day 2 was Briones, where we had a comprehensive self-guided museum tour and bodega tour. And then, we capped it off with wine tasting and some wines for purchase at the gift shop.”
Spanish winery tours: Observations
Being a wine enthusiast herself, our guest writer also shared some of the things she observed throughout her Spanish winery tour. “Spanish wines in the La Rioja region with tempranillo as the flagship grape has quality wines which I am sure can be found in their over 500 bodegas making the region produce so much wine due to the sheer size of the region,” she said.
“Their wines are medium to full-bodied, with structure and tannins but surprisingly fruity. Though a cabernet sauvignon is still my flagship, I am now learning to discover the many flavours, characters, and soft tannins of the red riojas. As well as the fresh, fruity styles of their blancos.” Whether you are a wine enthusiast or a newbie to wine, you will find that going on a Spanish winery tour is an unforgettable experience.
Spanish winery tours: Recommendation
Lastly, to wrap up her Spanish winery tour experience, our guest left readers with a recommendation. “I would encourage people interested in wine to take a La Rioja bodega tour,” she wrote. “Remember, La Rioja is just one of the more than 20 wine regions in Spain, and I will surely try to visit more in my coming visits. Salud!”
Spanish winery tours: Experience Spain through the immersive Road2Spain programme
Anyone looking to immerse themselves in the Spanish language and culture can check out EBC’s Road2Spain programme. This programme allows people to live in Spain under a Spanish language programme, and this comes with a one-year Spanish student visa. Then, during your time in Spain, you can go on your own Spanish winery tours, cultural excursions, and side trips. It also comes with an online 4-week TEFL certification course. This will allow programme takers to work as certified English teachers in Spain. As long as their working schedule does not interfere with their Spanish language classes, then they should be fine.
From an immersive language experience to cultural activities such as Spanish winery tours, the programme is a great, hassle-free way to learn Spanish culture. And it also offers a way to earn extra money on the side.
If you are interested, then you can get in touch with EBC today. Send us a message or book a free call with us, and we’ll answer any questions you have about the programme!
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