Just a year ago I had the opportunity to make a wine tourism getaway a The Rioja, and I was surprised by the spectacular autumn landscapes with the vineyards covered in reddish and yellowish colors.
Without a doubt it is a beautiful time for enjoy wine tourism, but on this occasion I am going to propose a visit beyond visiting wineries and enjoying delicious wines.
Did you know that in the Rioja Alta is the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture, considered by the World Tourism Organization UNWTO as the best wine museum in the world?
The opportunity to discover this museum will give a special appeal to your getaway. wine tourism to La Rioja, which also explains that Vivanco receives more than 100.000 visitors a year.
Vivanco Wine Culture Museum
The museum was founded in 2004 by the Vivanco Foundation constituted by the family that owns the Vivanco Winery of the village of Briones.
In modern facilities of more than 4.000 square meters, objects and artistic heritage linked to more than 8.000 years of wine history are preserved.
El Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture It is the result of a family dream, and it includes the collections that the Vivanco family has been collecting for the last 40 years.
During the visit you will visit six rooms dedicated to different themes, reviewing the beginnings of the wine culture, the manufacturing of the barrels, the cork or glass of the bottles, or the winemaking processes, such as pressing, racking, clarifying or filtering.
A prominent corner of the museum is, without a doubt, the art collection and archeology that show the connection with the world of wine, with works by such prestigious artists as Picasso, Dürer, Miró, Sorolla, John Gray, Barceló, Mantegna o Dalí.
Just to see this section of the museum it is worth considering the visit to the Vivanco Winery.
The museum is completed with a undoubtedly curious collection of more than 3 corkscrews, which has been used since the 18th century to open wine bottles, and the Garden of Bacchus, an outdoor space where you can discover more than 200 different grapes from Spain and the rest of the world.
That passion for the world of wine is also reflected in the Documentation Center dedicated to this world, another of the initiatives of the Vivanco Foundation.
During your visit you will also be able to tour the winery, with modern underground facilities that minimize the environmental impact and, at the same time, achieve the best temperature and humidity conditions for resting the wine.
Of course you can participate in tastings that will allow you to discover the range of elaborations from Bodega Vivanco, from its young white and rosé wines, through the Crianza and Reserva reds, in which the grape Tempranillo acquires the greatest prominence, until the so-called Vicanco collection of limited productions, breeding that combines various varieties of grapes, Tempranillo, graciano, grenache, mazuelo y ink maturana.
And also in Vivanco you can enjoy dining experiences in its creative and sophisticated restaurant and gastrobar. With the so-called winecooking, wine continues to maintain its role in the preparation of dishes through sauces and reductions.
In sum, in Vivanco Winery and in its museum you find an option to see the world of wine in a different way.
You can do your online reservation on the Vivanco website, or if you prefer, call the toll-free number 900 834 113
You have a very interesting app that has all the wineries in La Rioja that have tourist visits, it is called Visit Bodegas La Rioja and it can be found in the play store