There’s no doubt that La Rioja wineries are quite abundant where I live. For those of you who don’t know me well or are perhaps visiting my site for the first time, I live in La Rioja, Spain, a region well-known for wine. Haven’t heard of La Rioja before? That’s okay because you are definitely not alone. While the region isn’t as well-known as say Barcelona or Granada, it is still worth a visit especially if you enjoy a fermented drink or two.
Since La Rioja has so many wineries and vineyards, one of my favorite things to do is visit them! Basically a guide walks you through the process of a grape turning into wine and then you get to try a few! They generally cost anywhere from 12-25€ or more depending on the winery and what is included in the visit.
Since moving to La Rioja almost three years ago, I’ve visited my fair share of La Rioja wineries. So in this post I’m going to talk about each one I’ve visited and the best thing about it.
Some quick Spanish
Since La Rioja is in Spain, obviously Spanish is the spoken language. However tours can be found in English, French or other languages. If the website doesn’t say they offer an English tour, it never hurts to email them and ask if they could do it. Especially nowadays post-pandemic, the region has seen less tourism and therefore may not have the demand for tours in other languages. However they likely have someone on staff who can speak English and would be happy to give a tour in English upon request.
Anyway, here are a few basic Spanish words related to wine:
- vino = wine (tinto = red, blanco = white)
- bodega = winery
- vendemía = wine harvest
- uva = grape
- cata = tasting
Those first two will be especially handy if you go to a bar here and order a glass of wine. Without further ado, here are the bodegas.
1. Franco-Españolas
This winery is a great option if you have a limited amount of time to spend in Logroño or limited transportation. It’s just a short walk from the Casco Antiguo (old town part of Logroño). Just a quick walk across the bridge and you’re there.
I took a tour of this bodega with my language exchange group. I remember it being informative and the wine being good. I’d say the best part of Franco-Españolas is the location.
2. Campo Viejo
This is one of the more well-known brands from the region. This is another bodega with a perfect location, not because of accessibility but instead because of the views.
The Campo Viejo winery sits just outside of Logroño atop a hill with amazing views of their vineyards and surrounding mountains. You absolutely need a car or you need to catch a taxi to get up there (a friend of mine tried popping in when she was on a bike ride and wasn’t allowed). Luckily I went when a friend with a rental car came to visit!
In addition to the breathtaking views, I really enjoyed the tour. Our tour guide gave us a very objective explanation of all the wine in the region being sure to emphasize that each way of winemaking is to be respected (rather than claim Campo Viejo is better than all others).
3. Bodegas Riojanas
This winery is in Cenicero, a small town just outside of Logroño. While it’s not in the city, it’s also quite accessible by bus. When I went, we had a few drivers and didn’t need to take the bus. However, I’m sure it would be an easy day trip to make if you don’t have your own transportation.
The was one of the English tours I did since I went with a group of English speakers. I remember our tour being quite extensive and interactive. They had an exhibit where we could touch the wine branches. If you want to visit a classic La Rioja winery, I would definitely recommend this one.
4. Muga
This is one of the more top-shelf La Rioja brands. When a Riojano hears Muga, they likely think both quality and expensive. I actually toured Muga on a blog collaboration. I remember my boyfriend’s reaction when he found out. He was impressed that I had made contact with them and I was like “oh … they’re bougie? I had no idea …”
We had a super extensive tour in English where we saw things that I typically haven’t seen on other tours like how they create the wood barrels. Afterwards, we tried some of the wines. I would say that in my experience, Muga paid attention to the details. Everything was well-done.
5. Viña Ijalba
The best thing about this winery was that we could walk to it from Logroño. It’s not as close as Francos Españolas, but it’s also not ridiculously far. I went in August with a few friends who were visiting.
Viña Ijalba has more of a family winery feel. It’s definitely not the biggest of them all, but you will get the typical winery tour experience. Furthermore, it was only 12€/person, which in my experience is on the lower end of the price range for winery tours. We got to try 3-4 wines with some meats, cheeses and crackers.
6. Gomez Cruzado
Like Muga, this bodega is also located in Haro. Honestly if you have the time to visit Haro, you should! There are so many different La Rioja wineries out there. Gomez Cruzado is a bit smaller than Muga, but that’s kind of why I loved it. It had a very cozy and friendly feel to it.
When we visited Gomez Cruzado, we learned a bit about the history of wine in that specific area. Did you know they built a train station in Haro specifically for the wine production? They were making that much!
7. Marques de Riscal
This winery isn’t technically in the La Rioja region. So upon moving here and exploring the world of wine, I learned that the autonomous region of La Rioja (like a state or province) and the wine region of El Rioja were two different things. So the wine region El Rioja includes some of the neighboring Basque Country. Marques de Riscal is one of them.
This bodega is perhaps most famous for its architecture. It was designed by Frank O. Gehry, the same architect who designed the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. The tour is quite nice and informative. The town of Elciego is also absolutely beautiful and you can get there by bus from Logroño (Alava Bus).
I did feel like the tour was a bit more of a tourist attraction than others. Of course all of these tours are a tourist attraction, but some are a bit more personal than others. Some bodegas have more of a family-feel and others feel like more of a production.
8. Ramón Bilbao
Ramón Bilbao is another well-known La Rioja wine. Just like Muga and Gómez Cruzado, it’s located in Haro.
I thought that their tour was quite informative. At one point we compared how the wine tastes when using two different types of barrel wood. I honestly would have never thought about how the wood effects wine before moving to La Rioja. Typically wineries here either use an American Oak from the US or a French Oak.
Ramón Bilbao was definitely set-up for tours with things like this bike that you could pose on. We did our tour in Spanish however I’m sure they have tours in English or could do one upon request.
Those are just a few …
La Rioja has over 500 wineries. I often feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface when it comes to exploring all the wine here.
Have you toured a winery before? If so, where was it and how was the experience?
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