Logrono or the World Famous Rioja Wine

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Forecast for Seville is 44 degrees tomorrow. Good thing we are heading north into southern France soon. Only 34 and 37 for the next two days here in Logrono. The drive from Madrid was a little more enjoyable than the typical trek down motorways. We crossed over some mountains heading toward Logrono hitting 1100 metres at about 4 separate locations. The last 30 or 40 kms was through an amazing, very ancient, glacial valley. Huge steep rock faces provided some spectacular scenery with a few small mediaeval villages nestling in among the rock. We were also very impressed by the tiny village we found for a lunch stop with some very old (medieval again?) house and inns. This is a great part of the world to explore far from the tourist crush of recent major city stops.

The claim to fame for Logrono is as capital of the Rioja wine growing region - the Barossa Valley of Spain. Test number of wine labels here is mind boggling and the standard is very high of course reflecting the popularity. There is a very strictly controlled regulation and qualification system for wine making in the region and higher levels are jealously protected from a business perspective. Surprisingly the price of a very good glass of wine is very reasonable by Australian standards again probably due to the high volumes produced. Only another famous wine region - the Bordeaux - could tear m

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