Bilboa Wine Tour/Etc.

Can't help with the wineries, but in Bilbao you have three art museums (Guggenheim, Fine Arts, and Museum of Artistic Reproductions--which another poster here really enjoyed). Don't miss the Casco Viejo (historic district). It's rather large and much less touristy than the equivalent in San Sebastian. I found Bilbao a very pleasant city for wandering around.

I'm the one who loved the Museum of Reproductions. The name refers to sculpture, and if you like sculpture, you'll love it too; if not, use your time for something else.

I also agree that the Old Town in Bilbao was a highlight; I preferred it to the more-hyped Old Town of San Sebastian.

Here's my trip report, which may give you more ideas for Bilbao (skip down past the other cities, unless of course they're also on your cruise): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/basque-country-trip-report-bayonne-san-sebastian-vitoria-gasteiz-and-bilbao-may-2017

And I hate being pedantic, but it's spelled "Bilbao," not "Bilboa." Not every website will autocorrect place names, and you may not find what you're looking for if you misspell the city's name. And, of course, correct spelling means you'll pronounce it correctly (Bilbao rhymes with "mill cow").

I don't have a tour company recommendation for you but I do have two vineyards you might want to visit:

1. Txomin Etxaniz - http://www.txominetxaniz.com/en/vineyards/vineyards-white-wine-txakoli-getaria.html
2. Marques de Riscal - https://www.marquesderiscal.com/indexeng.php

Neither of these is really a small, mom-and-pop operation. But Txomin makes very good txakoli. And Riscal has a hotel on their grounds that was designed by Frank Gehry. You might also want to ask the tour operator if they can take you to a cider house.

Food Recommendations:

• Bacalao pil-pil and Bacalao Vizcaina. Either as pintxos or as entrees.
• Victor Montes for pintxos. From Guggenheim take the tram to Arriaga and walk to Plaza Nueva.
• Cafe Iruna. Delicious pintxos but keep walking to the back. There's a guy who sells the best lamb skewers and he only takes cash. I think the closest tram stop is Pio Baroja.
• If you have time, find a bakery that sells carolinas (a Basque desert that's basically a Portuguese custard tart topped with a cone of meringue, drizzled with chocolate and custard) and pastel vasco.
• If you don't have time to pintxo hop, you can go to La Ribera Market. From the Guggenheim take the tram to Ribera. Take the escalator up to the first level and to the right is a small food court that serves up a variety of pintxos.

If you haven't downloaded the Airbnb app, i would suggest you do. They have a new category on there for Experiences. Bilboa has a few options that may be what you are looking for.

BILBAO
BILBAO
BILBAO

"And I hate being pedantic, but it's spelled "Bilbao,""
Nope.
Bilbo in the native language of Euskara.
Bilbao is the name courtesy of the Spanish conquerors.

"Bilbao is the name courtesy of the Spanish conquerors."

Which Spanish conquerors would these be? Bilbao got its founding charter when, at least nominally, already part of Castile and the king endorsed it in 1301. By the later fourteenth century the local lord was the king. I don't think when Castile "merged" into Spain later, there was any a conquest of Bilbao, so I'm interested who these Spanish conquerors were.

Thanks for all the positive posts. Definitely will look into the places suggested by those in this forum.