Touring Wineries

Some general comments based on our experience. They are not big on having visitors during harvest season. That is probably their busiest time and the smaller wineries just don't have time for visitors. The harvest window can be very small and weather dependent. Second, the better wineries will require advance reservation and a fee. If you just drive in they will ignore you. Prior to arrival we had developed a list of wineries that we want to visit from various magazines, and other resources in the US. You will need to be very flexible. We were able to make reservations the day or two before with no problem.

Some of the larger wineries offered a wine paired lunch -- 3 to 5 courses. Expensive but a great experience. We did a couple. That will cut you wine visits to maybe two for that day. And do be careful with consumption. The wine pours with lunch tend to be very generous.

We visited in the fall. We set up appointments for the wineries we wanted to visit and have tastings. One thing we learned is we really only needed a couple actual tours/tastings. At some of the wineries we just purchased a couple glasses and enjoyed the views.

We stayed at Bodegas Valdlana. The stay included an interesting tasting and tour. We liked the inn/BnB. It was near Laguardia. Laguardia is an attractive hill town. However, we did not find many options for dinner in Laguardia. Logrono is a bit farther away with a fun food scene. (a bigger, also attractive city)

Wineries we visited:
Bodegas Ysios
Tritium
Bodegas Lecea
Casa Primica

And we went to Vivanco for tour and tasting and museum

I save wine tasting for the end of the day when we’re back at our lodging. Since DUI limits are much lower in Spain than in the U.S., I won’t even have one drink and drive. Your trip, your choice if you’ll have a rental car. If using public transportation Logroño would be a good base because of the transportation options.

There are some bodegas in Logroño if you’re staying there. We stayed in Olite and had tastings at a couple bodegas. There are plenty of bodegas in Eltziego. We enjoy Marqués de Cáceres wines and its bodega is in Cenicero.

We also spent a couple nights in Santo Domingo de la Calzada while in that area. It’s a nice small town, but I don’t recall any wineries.

James makes an excellent point, and I should have mentioned that is one reason why we don't typically do multiple tours/tastings in a day. And usually when we buy a glass of wine we have it with either a snack or a picnic lunch.

This year the wine harvest festival in Logroño will be from the 20th to the 26th of September. The actual harvest will pretty much over lap those days but could be a little earlier of a little later.

The later you come the better. First because the wineries will have time to get back to normal, and also the later the more color in the vineyards. While it is not the same as the Fall Foliage in New England, it can be quite spectacular to see the red, yellow and orange vineyards. Another reason to come a bit later is that you don't want to be in the city during the fiestas.

The city of Logroño has a webpage about the wineries in the town. Bodegas Franco Españolas is just across the bridge from the old town, and they have English language tours.

There is also regular and good bus service with Laguardia, meaning that you can go there in the morning have some wine and lunch and take the bus back in the evening.

In September 2019, we had a memorable tour and lunch with wine pairings at Bodegas Baigorri (near Laguardia). We look forward to returning this September.