La Rioja October 2025

Logroño or Santo Domingo de la Calzada might work. Nearby, but not in La Rioja are Laguardia, Briones, and Olite. If you just plan on a couple tastings, there are a couple bodegas in Olite we enjoyed and you don’t need to drive to them.

Hi Barb,

a few thoughts about visiting. First, for me, late October, from the Pilar (Oct 12th) until we change time (usually the last Sat. in Oct) is the best time to visit. The evenings are still longish, the weather is agreeable, and vineyards are still full of color.

About where to stay, that depends a bit on if you are going to be in a hotel or get an apartment. If you are in a hotel, and will have to go out for dinner, stay in Logroño. Laguardia is nice, and a must visit, and Briones is also a fine place to stay, and worth the stay, but if you have to have 4 dinners there, there isn´t a lot.

As for wineries, I would skip Haro. There are several large wineries there, and you can get their wines in the US. Try for some smaller wineries. Lecea winery is a good place to start, and in Briones is the Vivanco winery and museum, probably the closest to a must see in La Rioja.

If you like romanesque art, you might want to try the Ruiz Alfaya winery, they have a very interesting tour.

Just to finish up, remember La Rioja is the autonomous communitiy, and Rioja is the DOC wine area that includes parts of Alava and Navarra.

Thanks so much for your thoughts

Have been to Laguardia twice and would love to return and stay an extended period. It is lovely. Favorite wineries, so far, are Bodegas Ostatu and, across the road, bodegas Baigorri. When we were there last year, late September, we were lucky to go to a local wine festival (Rioja Alevasa) which was so much fun. You might check to see if there will be a festival when you are there.

Thanks so much for the additional information!!!

Following dlindstrom excellent recommendations: there are many, many wineries, some quite touristy and others very much for small, private visits. Not all of them offer visits in English, and those offering visits in English may have just once or twice a day, so better check in advance.

La Rioja, as dlindstrom well says, is the autonomous communitiy (formerly known as Logroño, then it took the name of La Rioja, which sometimes leads to mistaking it by the Rioja DOC wine region, which is also divided in Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa (Basque Country), and Rioja Oriental), and does not have wineries everywhere, basically in Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental (that extends into Navarra, too).

The wine area is not too big, and nice places to stay are Labastida, Briones, Laguardia, Sajazarra, Elciego, Páganos, Cenicero, Ábalos, San Asensio...), all at a close distance to wineries and vineyards. I tend to ignore the big names for visits, as the visits are led in big groups and are quite impersonal (Muga, CVNE, Marqués de Riscal, Ysios, Bodegas Riojanas, El Coto, Murrieta...) but that does not mean it´s a bad visit or you´ll be having bad wines. I´m just more in favor of the small, family owned ones, like Alutiz, Tritium, Iradier, Tierra, Ostatu...but again, you have to check on availability and visits in English.