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Food and wine Rioja Alavesa Plans
We cannot talk about Basque gastronomy without mentioning our winemaking culture. Because the wine bearing the Rioja designation of origin, is the choice of the finest restaurants to match with their most gourmet dishes.
Rioja Alavesa is without a shadow of doubt our most important wine tourism destination, an area packed with vineyards, small family wineries and others housed in imposing cutting-edge buildings. Rioja Alavesa is also home to some of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in northern Spain, a must for anyone planning to visit us.
With autumn comes the grape harvest, in late September, which is when the grapes reach their ideal point of ripeness. Below we recommend a range of things you can do to discover all the nuances of our best wines and the whole culture linked to them.
Discover the wine tourism essentials!
This has its origins in 1994 and was held for the first time in Laguardia, but today it is a travelling event. This year it was held in Navaridas, attracting large numbers of visitors. Its aim is to introduce visitors to the towns and villages in the area and the whole way of life associated with winemaking as the area's leading agricultural activity.
Every year, after treading the grapes and tasting the first must, there is a tasting of Rioja Alavesa wines. Aizkolari wood cutters, public meals, dancing, music, craft products... Can you bear to miss it?
If you're thinking of visiting our top winemaking destinations, you mustn't miss the capital of Rioja Alavesa, Laguardia. It's a walled town perched on a hill and surrounded by vineyards. It's the perfect place to relax for a few days, enjoying a spectacular landscape and discovering the secrets and traditions of its renowned wines.
Other places well worth a visit include Labastida, Elciego, Elvillar and Oyón, where as well as tasting the finest wines you can get away from it all in their, beautiful, relaxing natural settings.
This route is a collective project including establishments like museums, wineries, holiday accommodation and restaurants with the aim of offering visitors to the area a comprehensive range of options related to wine and wine tourism.
Endless vineyards, mediaeval towns, traditional festivities and countless other things to do await you in Rioja Alavesa.
Another of the essentials to get to know the world of wine in depth is Villa Lucía, a specialised visitor centre designed for you to enjoy, savour and learn about the culture of wine.
Also known as the Wine Museum, its highlight is a four-dimensional sensory experience entitled "In the Land of Dreams".
In this post we give you a brief taster of what Rioja Alavesa is - now it's up to you to come and discover all of it.
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