Ideas for Wine Tours in Spain?

No experience with a wine tour, but if you rent a car the driver shouldn’t do a wine tasting. The BAC limit for a DUI is lower in Spain (.05%) than in the U.S. (.08%). When we did tastings it was at bodegas in a town we stayed in and the car was parked for the day.

Hi PJD,

when are you planning to come? and for how many days? For example September in La Rioja is harvest time and visiting some wineries my be difficult.

If your focus is on wine tours and you won't have a lot of days, I would cut out San Sebastian.

Thanks for the info dlindstrom - I just sent you a private message.

Take into account that Rioja and Donostia-San Sebastian are almost two hours drive...I´d do these tours from Bilbao, one hour to the main txakoli wine regions (there are 3 different D.O.s) and Rioja. Ribera del Duero should be done from Burgos or Valladolid, not from the Basque Country.

Thanks for that information, Mike. Very helpful.

I think there are some wineries in the RdD area that also have lodging. I need to check my notes from a few weeks ago. I was thinking that we would need a car to travel to the Ribera del Duero area - with an overnight in one of the villages in the area - on our way from the Basque Country to Madrid.

Do you have a tour company? If so, please send me your link.

As to San Sebastián vs Bilbao for our base in the Basque area - the former looks prettier and more laid back. Although we will go to Bilbao for the Guggenheim, I thought that would be an easy drive?

Wine tasting/touring is not our primary focus, but I would like to get some education as to the wines of Spain.

Oh! Mikel - I found your website! I’ll send an email to you from the site and we can go from there.

Thanks!

Hi Pamela,

If you're going to be in Barcelona, I recommend considering a wine tour around here. This region, Catalonia, is predominantly wine-producing, with more than 10 D.O.s (= denominació d'origen, or designated wine regions), including the famous "cava," and globally recognized wineries. Based on your post, coming from a wine-producing area like California, I gather you're not just casual "wine tourists" but perhaps more "connoisseurs", am I right? I ask because recommending a visit to Codorníu or Freixenet cellars - which have become quite touristy in recent decades - may not be what you're looking for... or is it? Both visits have their glamour, being producers with over 400 years of history and grand facilities - you know what I mean.

Are you planning to rent a car? If not, your options are indeed limited, of course, but something like the "Legacy Wine Experience" by torres.es - reachable by train and then a taxi (it's a few kilometres from the station) or the Jean Leon winery - from the same Torres group - founded by the great winemaker and entrepreneur, who, with James Dean as a partner, opened the famous La Scala restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1956 could be a choice... or if you prefer smaller, more intimate creators, there are excellent options, although they may require an overnight stay as they are not as close to Barcelona.

Check this guide https://fr.zone-secure.net/349017/.act_wine.and.food.experiences/#page=1

Thanks Enric:

Very helpful information for our Barcelona plans!

Pam