Tips & tricks for your stay in La Rioja

Here are some tips and trick for some activities you will not find in the ordinary guidebooks:

Introduction to wine production

If you are not already into wine and wine production techniques, you might want to visit the Museo de Cultura del Vino http://www.dinastiavivanco.com in Briones. It is a private museum created and run by Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco. It is however a very new, modern and informative museum and highly recommended. It will give you a good basic understanding of wine production before you start visiting the wineries and take more intimate guided tours.

Mountaintops and trekking:

There are numerous mountains and hills in the area, ranging from the local hilltops outside the village right behind Bodegas Regalia de Ollauri to the 2.250 m landmark San Lorenzo close to Ezcaray. Here are some specific trips with directions.

Puerto de Herrera:

Visible from the house top floor windows. Look to the northern ridge for a top with several large TV antennas. This is a 30 min drive to the mountain pass Herrera on the road between Laguardia and Vitoria. From the parking lot it is a 20 min very easy walk to the top. Due to the presence of some large TV-antennas the access to the top is very easy, with road most of the way and later stairs all the way to the top. The view from the top is dramatic and well worth the effort!

To get there: Catch the A-2124 from Laguardia to Vitoria. Upon climbing the pass you will first find a viewpoint, “El balcón de La Rioja”, offering a view of the whole valley and a good map pinpointing the different landmarks of the valley. Continue op to the pass itself. Here you find a parking (click for map). To the left of the road there is a sign marking the trekking route PR-A-78. Take this route uphill towards San León some 400 m. Follow the markers (white over yellow) to the top. You find several houses related to the antennas and at the upper house the track continues by stairs to the top. Make sure to go all the way to the upper antenna. From there the track continues over the ridges in a quite spectacular landscape.

The area around Ezcaray

The valley of Ezcaray, some 40 km to the south, gives numerous possibilities for trekking. Both flat easy tracks along the river valley and climbs to the mountaintops at around 2.200 m.

On the website below you find information about the different marked treks. They are all well marked and you will find a large poster at the start of every track outlining the track and explaining its markers.

Besides these tracks, we also recommend an excursion to the end of the valley. Here you find two nice picnic spots with tables and BBQ (BBQ might be closed due to risk of forest fires). You find the two spots along the main road after the village Posadas (click for map). One right after the village and the other at the end of the valley just before the road starts to climb steeply.

After a picnic, follow the road to the end of the valley where it climbs all the way to the ridge at 2.000 m. From here you have a fantastic view of the mountains and the landmark San Lorenzo with the ski station Valdezcaray. From here you can also climb to the top of several mountains or follow an easy trek along the ridge in both directions.

Finally another interesting climb is to drive up to the ski station Valdezcaray (click for map) and climb to the top of San Lorenzo. This is a quite spectacular and relative easy as you can follow the ski installations.

Links:

Map with tracks in the Ezcaray valley downlaod

The ski station Valdezcaray website.

Must see local villages

Briones

Briones which is located a few kilometers further down highway 124 is a must. It is a beautiful old village dominated by ancient large stone mansions and a spectacular church whose spire is visible in most of upper Rioja. The village is still partially walled and holds many important wineries.

Read more (spanish): Briones in Wikipedia

San Vicente de la Sonsierra

Right across the Ebro river opposite Briones this village is dominated by its fortified church and castle complex. Is has a dramatic location and charming narrow streets. Do stop an enjoy the magnificent medieval stone bridge across the Ebro.

Read more (spanish): San Vicente in Wikipedia

Sajazarra

Located a few kilometers west of Haro, this beautiful and well preserved, small stone village gives a good impression of the medieval villages of the region. The original street layout and city walls are clearly visible and the village is dominated by an impressively well preserved small castle.

Read more (spanish): Sajazarra in Wikipedia

Visiting wineries

Many wineries will give guided tours and tastings. The major wineries like the ones in our section “must see wineries” have this very well organized and can give tours in English. You will however normally always have to book a tour in advance, so don't just show up. Call in advance.

Tours will often take an hour or so and finish with some type of tasting and the opportunity to purchase their wine. There will often be charged a small fee for these tours.

If you contact a smaller local winery or just drop by to buy wine, you might be able to get a quick tour. These will however mostly not be in English, and the most interesting and well prepared tours, if you are not a dedicated wine enthusiast, will mostly be the ones of the large commercial wineries that are geared for these events.

Buying wine from the wineries

Many wineries will sell wine at the door. A considerable amount of wine, especially from the cooperative bodegas, are sold to locals in this way. Look for a sign like “Se vende vino” and an open door.

The more special and boutique wineries might not sell their wine in this way and might be less accessible. With these wineries you are better off looking at their homepage and contacting them well in advance. Preferably several weeks in advance.

Finally – remember that you can no longer bring wine as hand luggage on airplanes, so unless you are returning by car, buy for local consumption only.