Is this done in Spain? I know the Rioja region is famous and that the cava is great, but I didn't know if we could spend a day or two like one would in Napa or Sonoma. We are planning to fly into Barcelona, spend a few days, then drive somewhere North or East for a few more days. Any suggestions on this? Also, are there any cool places to stay, i.e. monasteries, castle, vineyards, etc?

My fiance and I are traveling thru Rioja this July. Someone on this board recommended a great book which gives touring ideas, wineries, region info, etc. It's called Rioja and Its Wines
by Ron Scarborough and I found it on Amazon.com. Really an informational book which will come in handy as we go tasting!

Wendy

There is a website called www.lastminute.com that often features packages of Hotel and winery tours in the Rioja area and other wine regions. I have booked hotel stays with them before and they work great. Their rates are usually very good, too.

Katelee, I just realized that the main page of lastminute.com -british- only shows hotels in the Rioja area. The packages are featured only on their spanish page. If you understand spanish, click on the spanish flag on the top right of the homepage. Then type 'Rioja' on the searchbox.

Go to tienda.com then to the Ask Penelope (Casas) board. There you'll find Gerry Dawes to answer ANY and ALL questions about the wine regions of Spain. He's the expert.

Somewhat of a divergence but worth the mention..do try some priorats while in Spain..they are quite delicious and led to the ruination of several members of our wine tasting group one evening.

katelee,
I highly recommend the Scarborough book since it's the only one now that's even remotely up to date about the ever- changing Rioja wine scene and gives detailed info regarding every village (but winery opening hrs. aren't correct).
Like Bedar, I too try to read every sentence Gerry Dawes writes on Spanish wines at tienda and multimadrid.com plus the wine magazines. He's the guru, having explored the Spanish wine scene for over 30 yrs..

We toured the Rioja again in Nov. and found many changes. It's on the verge (but not quite there yet) of becoming a major touring destination like Napa upon the completion late next yr. (maybe) of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim-esque new tasting center/hotel/restaurant at Marques de Riscal in Elciego.

I suggest that from Barcelona you head east to the Rioja Alavesa (where arguably the very best Riojas are produced). If you have several days for this, you might like to take the "high road" through Huesca & Jaca, spending the night at the recently renovated 15th c French looking castle-Parador in Olite. You could stop in route at the birthplace of King Ferdinand, Sos del Rey Catolico, the monasteries of San Juan de la Peya and Leyre plus the castle at Javier and Lumbier gorge. It's a very scenic drive through the Pyrenees footfhills.

The Rioja Alavesa's capital, Laguardia, is a highly photographed, atmospheric bastide town at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria, completely surrounded by medieval walls (and with a warren of subterranean wine cellars under its homes) with beautiful views of the vineyards below, a fantastic restaurant, Marixa, serving heary Riojan-Basque cuisine with the area's best wine list, and 3 highly atmospheric inns, the rustically charming B&B, "Posada Mayor de Migueloa", the newer, pretty 12 room "Antigua Bodega de don Cosme Palacios" housed in the former 19th c winery, adjacent to the modern Bodegas Palacios outside of town (each rm is named for a grape varietal) and our favorite, the exquisitely decorated jewel, a little mansion, the "Castillo del Collado", run by the owner of Marixa. It's a sybarite's heaven-stay in the "Amor y locura" turret room, but reserve far in advance (and don't plan on finding a room during the fiestas, complete with twice daily bull running, from June 23-29).

In Laguardia you can tour without prior apt. the Bodegas Palacio (Tues.-Fri, at noon, 1 and 2, but Sat./Sun, visits at noon and 1)
and ultra modern, Santiago Calatrava designed Bodegas Ysios on the Camino de la Hoya road (scheduled tours in English, M-F at 11, 1 and 4. Just show up. 3 euros. Sat./Sun. extremely popular, visits only at 11 and 1, and you must call a few days ahead! Phone: 945 600 640).
You can also visit the Villa de Lucia Wine Institute (Tues-Sun, 10-2, 5-8) outside of town on the Logrono road, and they can set you up with a tour of the tiny Bodegas Fabulista next to the tourist office where you'll get to experience a bit of ancient, underground Laguardia.
http://www.alavaincoming.com/english...rcul-vino.html
The helpful tourist office has a list of all the area wineries and contact numbers.

Plus in Laguardia you can shop for wines/gourmet goodies ('94, '95 Gran Reservas are a prized possesion) at La Vinoteca on the plaza, have Basque tapas at El Portico on Mayor de Migueloa 2 and a few steps away, there's Spain's only perfectly preserved14th c. polychromed wood Gothic portal of the Iglesia de Santa Maria de los Reyes, dolmens lying about the countryside, the Iron Age settlement of Poblado de la Hoya and more. The drive up to the Balcon de Europa, on the back road to Vitoria, affords spectacular views of all the picturesque wine towns.
If you can find the Oct. '02 issue of Food and Wine, it has a great article on Rioja touring.

Thanks to all - and Maribel, you are an absolute wealth of information. I did a bit of searching last night and found the Posasa Mayor de Migueloa and the Senorio de Brinas and Senorie de Casalarreina (although I couldn't get into their website). These are good places?

Another question, we may have to fly out of Madrid. We might plan on 2-3 days in Barcelona which would leave us only 3 days in Rioja and then maybe a day/night in Madrid. Is this possible (and drivable)?

Hi katelee,
In Nov. we looked at both the Casalarreina and the Senorio de Brinas-managers gave us a tour of both, as we had been intrigued by the internet site ourselves and thought they might be a nice alternative. I'm looking at the materials we picked up from there right now. Although they're pretty (the Casalarreina being the far more attractive of the 2), the location isn't as nice in the Rioja Alta, below Haro, and I feel they're a bit overpriced for what you get (the Casalarreina less so). The village of Brinas isn't as atmospheric-not a bastide town or a wine town, really-and closer to Haro. Casalarreina is on a very attractive, historic square next to the monastery but the topography is flat and dull around it. Plus from Laguardia you have simply more to see and do, and Logrono, 15 min. away, has the Calle Laurel for evening tapas and a very pretty center, the Espolon. I'd stick with Laguardia, most definitely!

Yes, it's possible and driveable from Laguardia to Madrid. Plan on about 4 1/2 hrs., going through Burgos. You might want to stop in Lerma, after Burgos, to stretch your legs (monumental town) and have a look at the new Parador just opened-a former ducal palace on the vast square.

katelee,
Speaking of Gerry Dawes, the Spanish wine guru, you might enjoy reading one of these articles he wrote on the Rioja, if you can find a copy somewhere, perhaps on the magazines' web site:

"Spain's top red wine bodegas"-The Wine News, Feb./March '00
"Rioja on the Prowl"-The Wine News, Oct/Nov, '02
www.thewinenews.com

"Spain Looking Back To The Future"
Wine Enthusiast, Setp. '02
www.wineenthusiast.com

On the Catalunya side, the Priorat region, about 2+ hrs. from Barcelona (and land of those heady and exp. reds!) of Tarragona isn't ready for mass scale wine tourism as the Rioja is getting to be. It's geographically isolated, quite mountainous and rugged terrain, with tiny villages like Falset, although there is a new rural B&B there, the "Mas Ardevol".
http://www.terra.es/personal2/ruralt...p/indexesp.htm

If you decide you need to limit your wine touring to near Barcelona, the cava bodegas of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia in the Penedes are easily accessible from Bcn by train. The vast Freixenet cellars are located right across from the train station. Codorniu is further (taxi) but prettier, housed in a Modernista building, and both tours take you around in a little train.

Have fun!

katelee

We did a similar trip. We spent 1 night in Barcelona (we were big citied out - we had just completed a tour of Paris/Lyon etc - as tourguides for 21 Americans - my customers & wives).

Then we went to Tarragona for 1 night (south of Barcelona) & then thru the wine area around Villafranca up to the Girona area for 3 nights. We didn't stop for winery tours. Torres is there.

We stayed in a stone village called Peretallada. We took drives to the ocean (15 miles away), Figueres (Dali Museum), Greek & Roman ruins in Empuries, Iberian ruins, pottery shopping in La Brisbal. We had a blast.

A good private site for info:

http://tourism.catalonia.net/

Only 1 1/2 hrs north of Barcelona.

Thanks again for all the information. I was looking at two inns - Posada Mayor de Migueloa and Hotel Antigua Bodega de Don Cosme Palacio. I think we definitely want to stay in Laguardia.

Any other tips on winery tours? Should we book with someone? I am only asking because we have done very little research on Spain and only speak a little bit of Spanish. Thakns!

katelee,
If you want to experience staying within the walls of medieval Laguardia, then choose the Mayor de Migueloa (but NOT if your dates are June 23-29 during the yearly festival and you want to sleep-outdoor concerts starting at 11 p.m. right below your window lasting until the wee hrs. of the morning!).
The Antigua Bodega de don Cosme Palacios is below the walled city next to the winery, off the highway. Both are special, charming properties.

If you would like an agency to arrange your Rioja visit for you-lodging, winery tours, driving itineraries, maps, car rental, I can personally recommend Totally Spain, a travel agency based in Alava, capital of the Basque Country. The owners are associates of ours and do a nice job. We know this because they arranged our Nov. tour of the Rioja wine region. (But they may have a 3 day minimum) They handle both the Mayor de Migueloa and the Antigua Bodega.
www.totallyspain.com

Why do people on this thread treat Rioja wineries as if they were God? It's true that some of the Rioja's which I tasted were good, but I feel that there is more hype to it than it deserves. As my wife & I will be travelling in the Castilla y Leon area in September, and winery visits are always a high point of our trips, I thought I should give Ribera del Duero a chance. Can you recommend specific winweries based on personal experience?

Hi eli,
The Ribera del Duero wines are justly famous as well-just take the much heralded and also revered (and astronomically exp.) Vega Sicilia as an example. The wineries there are less easy to tour, as many require a prior appointment. But you can now stay at 2 of their wineries:
at the Hotel Torremilanos next to the bodegas Penalba Lopez in Aranda del Duero, or at the Hotel Arzuaga at the Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro in the town of Quintanilla.
www.arzuaganavarro.com

For a list of wineries with contact numbers:
http://nuvisystem.com/vinos/riberadelduero.htm

Eli,
Another thought-you might want to include Penafiel on your tour of the region. It's only 10 km. from Vega Sicilia at Valbuena de Duero.
We really enjoyed our brief visit there in Nov. We drove up to visit the imposing 10th castle (what views!), and the regional gov't has opened a state-of-the-art Wine Museum within the castle. We didn't tour the museum or stay for a "cata" (degustation), but it might be of interest to you. Certainly the town itself is quite interesting, particularly the small square below, the Plaza del Coso, not paved, still covered with sand, once used for jousting tournaments and bullfights and now for a "running of the bulls" and "capeas" during the annual fiesta de San Roque Aug. 14-18. Also Penafiel is firmly on the roast lamb trail, with great eating and fine Ribera del Duero wines at Asador Mauro in town. Some aficionados say the very best roast lamb in all of Castilla-Leon can be found at Mannix, in tiny Campaspero on the VA 223 highway, 15 km. south.
http://turismopenafiel.com/

Hello Maribel,
Wow? thanks!!! I believe I can now start safely, without missing anything important.

May I ask for your opinion about another matter too, please: This will be our first trip to Spain. We can afford to stay about 10 days, in the September-October time frame. My airline tickets enable me to fly into either Madrid or Barcelona, and return from either same airport or the other city (FF miles?). Whenever we planning a future trip to Spain, we knew that the itinerary should include Toledo (Jewish history & heritage) and Bilbao (Guggenheim). So I studied very carefully this forum and came up with several possible stopping points:

Flight into Madrid, picking the car and driving straight on to Toledo.
Toledo: 2 nights (yes, I know, Hostal del Cardennal).
Then north Pedroza-Segovia-Ribera del Duero incl. Penafiel ? Laguardia-Bilbao

From this point my plan gets blurred. I do not know how long it will take to cover the part of the above route. We like to take it easy, and stay min. 2-3 night at each hotel.
For the Pedroza-Laguardia part: should we stay at one hotel during the whole time, or do these distances require hotel hopping as we proceed north?
I wouldn?t mind trying to include the Parador in Siguenza if I can get a room. Is the location practical from the perspective of my planned itinerary?
Then - how do we cover the final part of our trip: can we still squeeze in 3 night at BCN?
Thank you very much, Eli

Maribel: one more about Toledo/Segovia. You mentioned restorations and closures in Toledo. Do you suppose the reconstruction will be over by Sep-Oct? Should we skip Toledo and leave it for another trip?
Are there guided tours available in places such as Toledo, Segovia, in fact any other quaint town on our route? I mean the kind of guided walking tours, not canned bus tours...

Here is an article about visiting the cava wineries outside Barcelona:
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/countri...957595,00.html

Hi Eli,
I was really disappointed not to be able to see the Sinagoga del Transito and Sephardic Museum in Toledo last month, but I just don't know how long it will be closed for restoration. I'll bet it will be open by late Sept. though. The tourist office in the park across from the Puerta de Bisagra offers walking tours of Toledo. I just don't know if they're all year long or only during the high season.

We usually spend a night or two in Pedraza on our way to Laguardia. You could actually do the Ribera del Duero wineries from your base in Pedraza as well as the city of Segovia. If you don't want to unpack and change hotels and you have a car, you could just base yourself here for 2-3 days. We did Penafiel and the Ribera del Duero from there last Nov. plus the city of Segovia before moving on to Laguardia. We like the Posada de don Mariano in Pedraza-well priced and comfy. Then from the Segovia province we travel up to Laguardia in about 3-4 hrs. (4 hrs. with stops in Lerma or Burgos and Santo Domingo de la Calzada). But if you drive from Pedraza to Laguardia, the Parador in Siguenza just doesn't fit. We stop there when we do Madrid-Pamplona. It's too far east.
Last Nov. we spent 4 nights in the Rioja. For Laguardia you have several nice hotel options: either the Antigua Bodega de don Cosme Palacios, the Posada Mayor de Migueloa or the Castillo del Collado or even the large Villa de Laguardia (but rather institutional). The first 3 are charming.
From Laguardia you can reach Bilbao in about 1 1/2 hrs. But from Bilbao to Barcelona it's about a 6 hr. drive.
I don't know that I'd try to do Madrid-Toledo-Segovia province-la Rioja-Bilbao-Barcelona in 10 days. I'd leave one of those out, I think.
Hope this helps you to decide.