Exclusive Wine Vacations

Highlights:
• Wine estates: Marques de Riscal, Roda, Contino, Miguel Merino, Pesquera, Emilio Moro & more
• The Guggenhem museum in Bilbao
• The Cathedral of Burgos

2011 dates: May 30-June 4
Early Bird Discount: Book by February 1 and save $150

Cost: $2,995 [6 days/5 nights]. Single supplement $350

Meet: Valladolid (1-hour train ride from Madrid)
Depart: Madrid

Day 1 – Ribera del Duero
This region is hot, hot, hot! Not like southern Spain, with its 90+ temperatures, but more like a wine region that gets 90+ ratings in the wine magazines. We’ll see why critics are clamoring. After a morning pick-up in Valladolid, we’ll head to our first winery, Abadia Retuerta, mavericks who grow varietals like syrah and petit verdot and emphasize single-vineyard cru. We’ll visit a wine museum at the Emina winery, part of the Matorremera Group. After lunch, we’ll visit Finca Villacreces and get acquainted with the tempranillo grape, the most important red grape of Rioja. Then we go to Penafiel for the night, staying in an old monastery and visiting the castle of Penafiel. Dinner in town introduces such Spanish dishes as pimientos rellenos (stuffed red peppers), white asparagus tips, artichokes with jamon (a special Iberian ham), and grilled lamb. D

Day 3 – Modern Rioja
Today features the new generation of Rioja winemakers who make modern-style Rioja with traditional grapes. There’s no better place to start than Roda. This top-notch winery cultivates 28 small vineyard plots. We’ll hop in their jeep to visit some, including their experimental vineyards planted with several dozen tempranillo clones. Then we’ll taste their prized portfolio-beautiful wines that combines finesse and intensity. After lunch, we’ll head to the tiny town of Samaniego (pop. 400) to visit another member of the Spanish New Wave: Remirez de Ganuza, which is also experimenting with ways to make a modern Rioja while maintaining its Riojan character. Dinner is at La Vieja Bodega, a countryside restaurant that’s a favorite among local winemakers. B, D

Day 4 - Rioja’s Architectural Flourish
Our morning tasting takes us to Marchese de Riscal. Founded in 1862, the winery was the first to bottle Rioja for commercial sale and is key in the history of Rioja wine. Today it’s just as famous for its modern architecture designed by Frank Gehry–a hotel, winery, and spa complex. After a tour and tasting, it’s on to Laguardia for lunch in this a beautiful hilltop town that was once the capital of the Rioja region. After lunch, we head to Contino, the winery that established the “chateaux” concept in Rioja in the 1970s — i.e., a winery that grows all its own grapes. Situated in a unique microclimate on a bend in the Ebro River, this is one of the few wineries that also produces a pure Graciano (normally a blending grape). After a stroll through the vineyards to see a Roman bridge over the river, we’ll taste their mouth-watering wines. Dinner is on your own in Haro. B

Day 5 - Historic Rioja & Bilbao
The morning takes us to Lopez di Heredia, where we’ll finally encounter the “historic” style of Rioja-one meant for decades of aging, with a sherry-like oxidation, which still has many local fans. Then, it’s on to the port city of Bilbao, about an hour north of Rioja. Long a sleepy port town, it underwent a wholesale revitalization after the construction of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenhem Museum. In Bilbao, there will be time on your own for lunch and sightseeing. Afterwards, we head to the Burgos, a city with a beautiful historic center and one of Spain’s largest medieval cathedrals, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We’ll have our farewell dinner in Burgos.

Day 6 - Hasta luego!
We depart immediately after breakfast to drive back to Madrid and say adios! (Drop-off is at the Madrid airport, which is connected to the city by subway.)

For more tour photos, click here
For GoogleMap, click here