During our honeymoon in Spain, my husband and I spent a day in Rueda. We love verdejo wines and…read morewanted to see where they came from. During the time, we wanted to tour one of the wineries. Because our Spanish is not exceptional, we wanted to do the tour in English. We e-mail many wineries and several were able to accommodate us but Hermanos del Villar was the first to reply, so we arranged a visit with them. I think this tour was smaller and more personal than we would have gotten from a winery that promotes their tours more. These guys don't mention anything about wine tourism on their website, but were happy to help us when we e-mailed. I communicated with Pablo, the president of the winery. However, he had a meeting when we arrived so Guillermo (the winemaker) took us on the tour. He showed us the casks and explained the process of making the wine, and we got to see the bottling machines in action. We also got to taste three different wines (the Oro de Castilla verdejo and sauvignon blanc as well as a sweet, sparking verdejo that was quite innovative). The tour and the tasting were both free. Seriously. We asked how much it was and they said it was free, so of course we bought three bottles of wine. The tour and the tasting took about an hour. There are a lot of wineries in Rueda that seem to offer some excellent tours. I didn't get to see any of them so I can't compare, but I'd highly recommend Hermanos del Villar for a very cool and personal tour of a winery.

My wife and I were so fortunate to visit bodega Sarmentero today. We were greeted by the owners…read morewho were kind enough to have an interpreter throughout our stay. This is a family, boutique bodega. The wines are Tempranillo and very good. I would recommend visiting this bodega. I've been to many large wineries but the intimacy and personal interactiveness you get here is sure worth it. Sarmentero has a great tasting room and their pricing is very good

Wonderful family owned Bodega. What a treat versus the monster wineries. Highly recommend.read more

We did the 6 senses tour. It was well worth it. In-depth your of the facility with food and wine…read morepairing at various stops within the facility. Amazing! Though it is a large production winery, they have not forgotten the importance of quality and personal touch. Alejandro was a great guide! They accommodated my vegan diet for all pairings and everything was excellent.

We went out of season, so there was not a tourist in sight neither in the surrounding villages nor…read moreat the winery. It was well worth it, as we received a very detailed tour from Alicia in English (my wife's Spanish lacks understanding of technicalities like winemaking processes) and had the tasting room all to ourselves with brief visits from one of the owners, Don Javier and the friendly waitress. Be sure to "splurge" on the 25-euro "wine, tapas and tour" option. By far the best food offering of all the wineries we toured. The Malleolus is their reserve version - make sure you try it. We purchased their high-end Valderramiro line which we are excited to open at back home in the States. Their Emilio Moro line is a nice wine that, for the domestic price, is a good everyday drinking option. Book your tours on their website in advance, especially if you need English guides.

We had an excellent visit to Bodegas Emilio Moro. I found the tour very illustrative as they…read morewalked us in detail as to the route the grape follows from the fields until becoming wine. Very didactive, and enjoyable experience. Then we were hosted to an excellent menu where we tried four different types of wines. All of them excellent, and even better after the corresponding explanations. Overall a great experience that I would highly recommend to any wine enthusiast. Good luck!

What a classy place. I love the elegance here. The wines are fantastic. Simply put, if you are ever…read morein this part of the world, you must stop and enjoy it here.

Large winery, we stopped by on our way to the wine route at Arranda. The place was packed. Did the…read moretasting which comes with a small tapas, decor was beautiful and they also have an area for reserved dinning only. Wine was excellent

During our too short stay in the Ribera del Duero wine County, we stayed at the Hotel Convento Las…read moreClaras. We knew we were in good hands when at check in we were invited to pour ourselves some wine from the nearby table. Just what the Doctor ordered after a long drive from Madrid and Segovia! The wine was Vega Real. As it's hard to drink too much wine on an empty stomach, Gayle and I decided to have Lunch at the Hotel. Our meal was excellent and Gayle is still raving about the salad (and everything else we enjoyed). Our Vega Real Reserva went very well with our choices. The check came and as a bonus, we received a small bottle of Vega Real to take with us. I can't remember if we drank it up in the room or the next day in Santillana del Mar, but we certainly enjoyed it. OK, I'm smart enough to guess that there's some economic arrangement between the Hotel and the Winery. However, this is Ribera del Duero Wine Country and we weren't complaining! And Thank You very much for the Hospitality.