Berarte Viñedos y Bodegas is a family owned winery located in Villabuena de Álava, Rioja Alavesa,…read morein the heart of the D.O.C. They are the third generation operating the family vineyards and winery. They own 14 hectares of vineyards and make HIGH quality wines. José Antonio Berrueco, handed over the management responsibility of the vineyards and winery to his three children in 2012. Inmaculada (inma) Berrueco, the oldest daughter is the one responsible for the day-to-day activities while being supported by her family. Inma was our host for a tasting and a delightful tour. Outside on the veranda, we enjoyed a beautiful day overlooking their vineyards. Our tasting began with White Wine Semi-Sweet. It is 100% Viura which is the La Rioja white wine grape. The bottle was from the 2013 harvest and at 12% alcohol it was a delightful wine. On the nose, lightly floral, with definite ripen fruit aromas On the palate, smooth and silky, with VERY DISTINCTIVE flavors of peach, mango and pineapple. Because of the semi sweet approach taken, this example of Viura grape did not suffer from the bitter and dry mouth found with virtually all other Viuras we tasted at 24 other wineries. Outstanding wine at an outstanding price. Moving to the reds, we tasted the Joven (young) and the Crianza. Later during the tour, we sampled the Reserva from the storage tank. Each of the reds were fruit forward and totally in a "ready-to-drink" condition with the Crianza and Reserva having more ageing potential. We loved these wines and they were definitely in the top 3 of wines we drank during our travels. Inma showed us all the production capacity improvements that are a result of their expansion plans. The wines are available in Europe and can be shipped directly from the winery to the US. We wish the Berrueco family success in the future as they are the example to follow in the world of La Rioja where unfortunately the MEGABUSINESS and ENOTOURISM of the big guys seeking only sales has started to adversely affect the local industry and degrade the quality of the wines. The winery building is a typical and traditional construction of the region, built in the 80s. The winery is located in the centre of the village, between two streets at different elevation and has 5 floor levels which allow use of gravity for the entire vinification process. 5th level is for the reception of the harvested grapes (main street) 4th level is where the open concrete fermentation vats are located. Here the alcoholic fermentation takes place. 3rd level is separated in two areas: one below are the fermentation vats where the must settles and is removed. Second area is used for bottling, packaging and shipping. 2nd level (underground) is where the closed concrete vats are located and where the malolactic fermentation takes place. 1st level (underground) is where the oak barrels and the area for bottle ageing are located. There are American and French oak barrels in the winery.

The winery began in the second half of the 19th century. At the present time, it is still a family…read morewinery in Rioja Alavesa, owned by Juan Pablo De Simón and Milans del Bosch, great-grandson of the founder of the winery. Now, the 5th generation: Pablo, Jaime and María de Simón are assuming the different responsibilities in the company. Our visit was coordinated by email and hosted by the family member, María de Simón Baranda. Maria explained the family history and the decision to bottle their wine under the name of Valserrano. They also have one wine that is labelled El Ribazo which is from a single 35 year old vineyard. We tasted two whites: 2017 Blanco, 2013 Blanco Gran Reserva. Not being white wine fans, we did find the Gran Reserva most pleasant and would recommend it to white wine people. In the reds, beside the El Ribazo, we tasted 2014 Valserrano Finca Monteviejo which is another single vineyard wine from 60 year old vines. Next to those two reds, we tasted their 2011 Gran Reserva, 2015 Graziano and 2016 Mazuela. We found the Mazuela super-dry. The overall winner on this tasting was the 2011 Gran Reserva. Produced from 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano from their best and oldest vineyards. After fermenting at a low temperature to preserve the fruit aromas, it has spent 2 and a half years in American (40%) and French (60%) oak casks and over 3 further years maturing in the bottle cellar. It is a spectacular wine and a great representation of Tempranillo from La Rioja. Once at home, we found it for $35 at Total Wine along with its younger brothers Reserva and Crianza which we did not taste during our visit. We believe from the experience we had, the Crianza and Reserva at much lower prices would be value purchases.

This was so amazing!!! This was my first stop in the Rioja region and a great way to start my…read moreoverall experience. The authenticity of this winery and their love for wine makes the experience. As someone who lives close to Napa and have gone to many wine regions, I love the intimacy, passion and dedication to keeping truth to wine making here at this winery. Had a wonderful one on one tour and tasting. I personally am coming home with 6 bottles all of which are not sold at the states. They partner with Total Wine (who I currently work for) and now I understand why! Pablo de Simón, a son of the owner, made this experience outstanding for me. The whole team welcomed me and were so proud to share their story, HIGHLY recommend!!!

The Village of Elciego (6 km SE of Laguardia) is the home of the historic Marqués de Riscal Winery…read moreComplex (AKA La Ciudad Del Vino) and founded way back in 1858. Gayle and I took the Tour and for 10 Euros each, it was worth every Peseta. This is a first class operation all the way, starting with the Frank Gehry (of Bilbao Guggenheim Museum fame) designed visitor complex, proceeding onto various Winery operations, finishing up with a few tasting room pours, and not "letting" us leave until I found a cool item at the Gift Shop. This Winery Tour was one of the overall highlights of our Spain trip, and we only wish that we had more time to explore the Rioja Area and certain other places (like Ysios). The Frank Gehry design is an amazing sight and somehow all those modern titanium ribbons blend in well with the rest of the stone-aspects of Marqués de Riscal Winery Complex and the surrounding Village of Elciego. The silver, gold, and "dusty rose" sheets are Gehry's response to the unbroken landscape of vineyards and the associated rich tones. There is also a Luxury Hotel and Spa within the Complex. One part of the tour featured the Reserve wines that have been laid down for years. Our guide (we took the Spanish language tour) pointed out that the Winery honoured Frank Gehry by pouring a bottle of wine that was bottled the year he was born (1929) and showed us the old direct flame way the wine bottles used to be opened. This illustrates the fact that the Winery may be modern, but at the same time remains faithful to the Bodega's "old fashioned" rigorous tradition of quality. and of course those who wish to aspire to a sophisticated nose and refined palette.

Marques de Riscal is a large production winery that makes delicious wines in the Rioja region. What…read moremakes Marques de Riscal a winery worth checking out is that it is one of the oldest Rioja wineries, also you get a close up view of the cool hotel designed by Frank Gehry. Marques de Riscal does offer English tours, but definitely do your research beforehand and book the tour online, because there may only be one per day. During the tour, we got to taste tempranillo grapes as we watch the grapes get sorted, and crushed by the grape crushing machine. Our guide was very informative and there was moderate walking to be done since the Marques de Riscal site is huge. At the end of the tour, we tasted two wines, a verdejo and the crianza. These are everyday, easy drinking wines to enjoy and are well made. They also put out delicious, sliced sausage, chorizo and breadsticks you can help yourself to, which was great as we missed breakfast and were really hungry. Marques de Riscal takes security very seriously, they give you a badge when you arrive and you have to follow the guide at all times during the tour. When you do finally leave, someone needs to buzz you out of the facility. Marques de Riscal feels commercialized but their wines are undeniably good. There are also more impressive, limited production wines that they make as well so this is really a good place for wine lovers of all levels to check out.

I seriously can't recommend Ostatu enough. family run, organic practices followed, amazing list of…read morewines, and kind employee team- what more can you ask for. I can't wait to go back and I'll treasure the gran reserva and other special wines I brought back to the US. The tasting room is gorgeous and so peaceful.

We found this charming little winery with Basque Tours and had a great time. In addition to a half…read morecase of the Tinto, we nabbed ourselves a glorious magnum of Rioja all at a fraction of the price we'd pay in Napa, CA. The also have an excellent Reserva (100% Tempranillo)...heck we didn't have a single thing we didn't enjoy! I just saw on their FB page that they now have a Rose! Jealous I didn't get to try that. I'm sure it's excellent. It was a bit on the cold and rainy so we didn't get to enjoy the charming outdoor patio (pictures uploaded) but the tasting room was cozy and our server spent a good long time with us telling us the story of the vineyard and the grape sources. I wish I could remember her name after all the wine, because she was quite a good hostess! Pro tip: Leave room in your suitcase for this delicious wine.

An amazing journey back 100 years into the original way in which local wine was made. Oddly…read moreenough, their wine is still made the same way and using much of the same equipment and processing facilities from those years. They are the last winery in Spain still pressing grapes from their own plots with their feet, at their XV century cave. Jose, the winemaker and son of the owner, Valentín Pascual, was our host for the tour and tasting. We coordinated the visit through email and he was willing to open on Sunday for our visit. Our visit began with Jose opening a stone door in the floor to dip a glass into one of the century old vats of between 7,000 and 10,000 liters of capacity vats which reside under the foundation of the street-level floor. Remarkably, it was the most recent vintage and it was a hugely fruit forward, carbonic maceration wine. This winery produces under the streets around the main plaza in town. A living museum of totally artisan wine production. Jose's grandfather, Don José María Pascual, the third generation of the family, installed a bottling machine that is still being used. They produce one red wine, Valentín Pascual. Tempranillo and Grenache grape selected from their own vineyards with an average of 50 years. Cherry red color with purple hues. Nose highlights aromas of black fruit and flowers, with light notes of citrus. In the mouth it is tasty and smooth and well balanced, with a good body and a long finish. Aged 5 months in the vats before bottling. Much of their production is made into Vermouth at a local processing facility where the alcohol content gets much higher. This was the most interesting tour of a wine facility during our 3 week, 25 winery journey around La Rioja. Just 20 minutes outside of Logroño, La Rioja,, it is a MUST SEE for any visitor.

Gorgeous! Stopped in mid hike for a glass and decided to grab a few more and some bites. Excellent…read moreselections and fabulous snacks. Love!

I really lovely experience in the Rioja Wine valley of Spain. A visit to the Baigorri facility with…read moreappropriate reservations offers the opportunity to tour their entire production facility, aging cave, and then participate in a delightful and unbelievably great priced wine pairing with wonderful food. The facility is state of the art and designed with the environment in mind. Views from the upper deck and the restaurant allow you to see the Rioja wine valley at its best. Our tour guide was informative, pleasant, and walked everyone through the step-by-step process. When making reservations you can book with English speaking tours, which makes things a lot easier! Table service was efficient and additional pours could be requested. There are two wine pairing options that include standard or premium selections. The price for the tour and two hour plus lunch with premium wine was less than $100 per person. Wine shop is available and can accommodate shipments back to the USA. Highly recommended stop if you ever get to this neck of the Spanish woods.

We stayed at the hotel and did a tasting dinner here. The views were enough to pay for the hotel…read morestay if you ask me, but the breakfast and dinner were also incredible. Service was very accommodating and would definitely stay here again.

This winery has a fantastic location and also very impressive grounds with lots of fun details to…read morediscover. There are plenty of parking lots and a bunch of tables outside. The tasting takes place inside. But we didn't go there, since we had our Bulldog with us. But there was the option to buy some wine by the glass and enjoy them outside with the nice views...which we did. The wine here is quite very good one. Smooth, yet strong. Fruity, but not too light. Don't go for the cheapest options if possible. If you like wine a bit on the heavier side, then you have to dig a bit deeper in your wallet. But well worth it. We had the Anastasio, 15 Euros a glass (95 a bottle), very very good. But still a bit steep for almost 100 bucks. The setting is fantastic. The winery sits on top of a hill, overlooking the valley on both sides. Great details like the entrance to the bathrooms outside (check the pics). Good wine, good views. Only one downside: The staff here - at least the lady at the entrance when we arrived - was far from being friendly or helpful. Very reserved, we felt like we were disturbing her. Half an hour later another one took her place...a lot friendlier and more helpful. Not all bad then...but still.