Day 12 Rioja Wine Tour

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We started out very early as we had to walk a few blocks to the Maria Christina Hotel to meet our guide at 8am for an all day Rioja wine tour. Our guide from San Sebastián foods was Lourdes and the driver was Pedro. Our group included a young couple from Australia and a gal from Cleveland.

Off we went in a large Mercedes Benz van on our discovery journey of Rioja wines. We drove about 1.5 hours through countryside that varied from reminding us of Colorado with the rolling hills by Genesee; to some pretty good sized mountains to vineyards as far as the eye can see. Very beautiful and as much as we dislike long coach rides while on holiday, this was really enjoyable.

We arrived at our first vineyard of the day, Muga Vineyards. This is a very beautiful and classic style winemaker. Bodegas Muga is located in the historical Barrio de La Estación in Haro. The facilities (270,000 square foot) are two centuries old, built mainly of stone and oak.

The winery guide that took us on the tour was Carmen Garcia-Baquero Bernaldez. She was so passionate and loved what she does that she is a wonderful representative of the bodegas Muga. We went on a walking tour of the facility and were impressed with the old world style of the wine making process this winery takes great pride in. They continue to only use oak barrels for the wine making process. They are also the only winery in Spain with a master cooper. He and his small team hand make the wine barrels that. They toast the oak inside the barrels specifically for the style of wine the barrel will be using the barrel for.. After the really informative tour, we went to a tasting room to sample their wines. The wines they create here at Muga are lovely. We purchased 2 bottles of a beautiful red with Fathers day gift $ from Jim B. (thanks Jim) and I bought a really lovely sparkling Rose. Time to continue on with our journey.

We stopped for a "torta" snack at a little bistro to soak up some of the wine we drank before heading on to our next stop. These vineyards are all quite a distance between each other, not like Napa where they are right next door. It is important to note that like France, the vineyards of Spain are not allowed to irrigate their vineyards.

Next stop was the exact opposite of old world Muga. The Bai Gorri Winery is ultra modern with an all glass receiving structure on the ground floor then all the wine production is processed in the 7 floors/layers beneath the glass building. We toured their facility as well and although they do use some oak barrels the majority of their wine making process is in very large stainless steel vats. this tour ended at the formal dining room and we were seated with our group for a 5 course with wines lunch. Oh my, another gastro delight! We enjoyed 3 entrees (starters) had crunchy salmon with aioli, dill oil and caviar, a warm puff pastry studded with mushrooms with a cheese sauce, roasted vegetables with a salsa, the main course was pork cheeks with a decadent brown sauce with garnish. Then for dessert, creamy flan with yoghurt, red fruits, a berry glaze and ice cream. Remember each course had a wine served. 1 white, 1 rose, 3 different reds and then a small chocolate cup filled with liqueur. We had a Spanish coffee and stopped at the bodega to purchase a bottle of one of the reds, Baizgorri Crianza 2010.

We drove to a very small village LaGuardi and visited a really really small artesian wine maker. Very charming and quaint but very rustic and his wines were to tannic for our pallets.

As we drove back to San Sebastián, we stopped by the town of Elciego and took pictures of the Starwood luxury hotel property - Hotel Marqués de Riscal. Very ultra modern and exquisite structure.

We arrived back in San Sebastián around 7:30pm so very long day. We went in to SSF along with Carrie from Cleveland and made arrangements to have our wines shipped back to the states. We walked a few blocks along the beautiful boardwalk back to our hotel. We stopped on a bench and sat and enjoyed the view and air. By now it was about 9:30 and we are very tired and need to shower, pack for our early morning train departure of 7:30am.

We will sit at our balcony and enjoy the beautiful views before we turn in for our final evening in San Sebastián. We have only stayed here 3 days but I already want to return. Perhaps to take a dip in the Atlantic!,

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