Black Grape also offers fully guided tours with the house as base camp.

A specialist food and wine guide looks after you every step of the way including: transportation around the region, cooking classes, structured wine tastings and blending classes, winery visits (with owners/wine makers where possible), and cultural sights. Fully guided visits include meals, except where otherwise stated.

Sample guided tour

Day 1: Arrival
Arrival and collection at airport by guide. Depending on which airport your group is arriving at, and the size of the group, this cost is likely to be different.  We offer a collection service from both Madrid and Bilbao.
 
Evening 1: Introduction to La Rioja Wines with Tara
Tasting in the cellar on arrival comprising 8 different wines: 2 whites, 2 roses, 4 reds for example. Relaxed and informal it gives you a basic grounding in Rioja wines, while showing the extraordinary diversity of the wines on offer. Includes tips on how to taste wines, what aromas to look for, the four wine personalities (opulent, luxurious, aggressive, reserved) and food pairing advice. Local tapas included

Day 2:  Modern Architecture and New Wave Wines
Self service breakfast in the kitchen: fresh juice, local pastries, cold cuts, followed by a tour of the design highlights of the area, for example Marques de Riscal, Ysios, Cuñe, Baigorri. Each visit will of end with a tasting.

Lunch at the private dining room at Baigorri (an exclusive venue in the heart of the winery – literally. They dug downwards into the earth to create this unique space with views over the vineyards. Free time in the afternoon, and an optional tapeo (tapas hop) in Haro, or dine independently in the evening.

Day 3: Fresh Air & Exercise (cultural excursion, sports, spa or shopping)
Winter option: a day’s skiing in Ezcaray followed by a formal wine tasting and dinner at Echaurren. Includes a light lunch.  

Summer option: historic monasteries, including those that claim to be the birthplace of the modern Spanish language followed by a formal wine tasting and dinner at Echaurren. Includes a light lunch.

Winter or Summer option: visit to local markets and cooking class at the Black Grape. Seasonally changing menus include dishes like gazpacho, paella, pochos (traditional beans with pork hock)/garbanzos con almejas (chickpeas with clams), crema catalana. Followed by sit-down lunch/dinner to enjoy the fruits of your labours.

Winter or Summer option: Spa packages in Laguardia (there are two wine spas here, grand luxe Marques de Riscal, wine and olive oil at Villa Laguardia). These can also be combined with lunches/wine tasting.  

Other activities: traditional wineries such an López Heredia, Haro with its spidery, Harry Potter like cellars; the excellent Dinastia Vivanco Wine Centre in Briones; Vila Lucía wine cultural centre in Logroño, grape tasting at a boutique winery near Laguardia (seasonal only), olive oil tastings and festival visits such as the Batalla del Vino (wine battle), Haro in July

Day 4: The Magic of Rioja
A classic Sunday morning tapeo in Laguardia combined with a tour of the mysterious underground city beneath it. Wine tasting beneath the city streets.  Farewell dinner at a local bistro (somewhere traditional with lots of atmosphere, to be decided). Farewell gift (a complimentary bottle of wine, spa product, olive oil).
 
Day 5: Departure
Car service/driver to airport.

Package price (6 people): aprox 5.000 Euro including transportation from the airport, guide, wine and gastronomy.