Living in Spain without visiting a classic Spanish winery would simply be foolish. It would be even more foolish when living in La Rioja, the capital of Spanish wine country!
Several months ago, I had the pleasure of spending my morning touring Gomez Cruzado, the oldest winery in Haro, a small town in the La Rioja region of Northern Spain. Haro, in fact, is the capitol of the wine region. Don’t get it confused with Logroño! It is true that Logroño is the governmental capitol of the autonomous community La Rioja. However El Rioja is the wine region that also includes some of neighboring País Vasco. Haro is the capitol of El Rioja, the wine-making region. Basically if you come to La Rioja to experience the wine, you have to come to Haro!
Where is Haro?
Bodegas Gómez Cruzado, situated in the class Barrio de Estación (train station neighborhood), has this very vintage and visually-appealing feel to it. To be honest, my first impression of the bodega wasn’t that Saturday morning but rather looking at their website. I could tell even before setting foot on their property that they care about every little detail.
When we arrived, we went on an English tour through their facility to learn all about their process. Our tour guide was a nice Spanish guy named David with impeccable English. We learned that much of this was due to a guy like us from the United States who came to live in Spain and became basically his best friend. It’s kind of neat to think about the impact you can have not just on someone’s life as a friend but also their career.
The train station plays a big part in the story of both Gomez Cruzado and wine in this region. In 1863 they built first train station with the sole purpose of transporting wine. Thus they call this neighborhood Barrio de La Estación. Fun fact: every year this neighborhood has a big wine tasting called La Cata de La Estación.
Related: The Cutest Hostel in Haro, Spain
After we went through the bodega and were shown the wine-making process, we had a little tasting! The best part, right?
I love how a good wine tasting in Spain consists of meat, bread and olive oil. Yummy.
Fun facts about Gómez Cruzado or wine in La Rioja
When going on a tour, it can be hard to remember everything they tell you. Of course I had my phone ready taking notes!
- Haro was one of the first towns in Spain to get electricity and it was all because of the wine!
- A Mexican family actually owns Gómez Cruzado. The family bought it in 2001.
- Spain exports over 70% of its wine!
- The tempranillo grape was born in Haro. It then became the most important grape in wine-making.
Have you ever toured a Spanish winery? Would you like to?
