The best things to see and do in Rioja Alavesa

Discuss Rioja is synonymous with talking about wines and wine tourism.

But you may not know that Rioja, designation of origin of wines perhaps with more prestige in Spain and outside our borders, is not synonymous with The Rioja as an autonomous community.

On the contrary, said designation of origin covers the lands of the Rioja Alta, Low Rioja y Rioja Alavesa.

That is, it extends mainly through the aforementioned autonomous community, but also through areas of Navarra, Alava and even a small enclave in the province of Burgos.

Some time ago I had had the opportunity to visit these lands. Haro, historic city considered the capital of Rioja.

But recently I also had the opportunity to visit the region of Rioja Alavesa, which has a special idiosyncrasy as it is part of Euskadi, but also be closely linked to the Rioja.

It is a small territory located between the Sierra of Cantabria and Ebro river which extends over 320 square kilometers, with 15 municipalities and barely 12.000 inhabitants.

What is considered the historical capital of the region is medieval town of Laguardia,

Of course, it is not the town with the largest population, the place occupied by Oyón, where an industrial estate is located and is considered the economic capital of the Rioja Alavesa region.

What to see in Rioja Alavesa

Un wine tourism trip for this region of Rioja Alavesa It means seeing vineyard landscapes and visiting wineries with very different characteristics.

But also walk through small medieval towns settled on hills and with walls and emblazoned houses.

From my point of view, without a doubt the best time to enjoy these landscapes is autumn.

If, for example, we clearly have the image of the Jerte Valley en Estremadura to the white landscapes of the cherry blossoms during the spring, in Rioja Alavesa you will see incredible reddish autumn landscapes that fly over large flocks of starlings.

Given that the vineyards occupy about 13.000 hectares, this reddish color becomes completely predominant in these areas.

Red from the black grape vines of the reds, with some touches of yellow from the white grapes of the whites, very minority wines in Rioja production.

The special characteristics of the soil and the climatology conditioned by the Sierra of Cantabria encourages the Rioja Alavesa wine have your own personality.

Wineries in Rioja Alavesa

The wineries become the main protagonists of your wine tourism trip through Rioja Alavesa.

In the region there are about 400 wineries, of which currently 56 have wine tourism activities, within the framework of the promoting entity. Rioja Alavesa Wine Route.

The vast majority of wineries are family-owned, and practically every building you can see in the countryside is a winery.

But you are going to find two very different worlds.

On the one hand, there are large wineries of the best-known brands of Rioja Alavesa, in which the architecture of its buildings takes on great prominence.

In some cases these wineries incorporate a hotel establishment designed to accommodate both business visitors and those who go to enjoy wine tourism.

That is the case of the famous hotel designed in The blind by the prestigious Canadian architect Frank Gehry for Marqués de Riscal Wineries, the oldest in Rioja, with its titanium and steel roof of voluptuous shapes.

Or the spectacular building of the Ysios Wineries, made of cedar wood and aluminum cover.

Visiting these great wineries offers you a great diversity of attractions.

So, for example, you can see the beautiful panoramic views of vineyard landscapes from the hotel of the Eguren Ugarte Wineries, or the impressive tunnels drilled into the mountain of the Vina Real Wineries, of the group Cune.

But, on the other hand, you can also visit small family wineries in Rioja Alavesa.

That would be the case of Jilabá Wineries. with facilities with a charming decoration typical of a typical house chateau French, where you will be surprised to see a chapel among the wine barrels.

And you can also enter a different world by visiting the historic cave cellars,

These caves are called openwork, and in them not only does the wine age, but in some cases it is also produced.

This is the case of Primicia Wineries y El Fabulista Wineries, in Laguardia, or González Teso Wineries in Labastida.

Medieval towns in Rioja Alavesa

Now a trip to the region of Rioja Alavesa It must also have a cultural aspect.

I remind you that this is a border area of ​​those that were kingdoms of Navarre and Castile, and the best example of this is found in the town of Laguardia.

It is a small medieval town surrounded by a wall, where you will walk through pedestrian streets where cars have never circulated.

The reason is that under these streets there are more than 300 caves built in the Middle Ages with the aim of protecting the inhabitants from frequent attacks.

Later these caves began to house wineries given their good conditions for aging wine.

Addition manor houses with emblazoned facades that you can see on your walk through the town, the Porch of the Laguardia church, Saint Mary of the Kings, It is a true hidden gem, with its spectacular original stone polychrome from the 17th century.

Other medieval towns that you should also visit are The blindWith its Plaza Mayor typical of the Basque towns and the baroque altarpiece church of San Andrés.

Wave labastida, the town that they say has the most emblazoned facades in the area, and in whose Church of the Assumption You can also see another imposing baroque altarpiece.

WINE TOURISM TRIPS TO RIOJA with RIOJA in STYLE

To organize your wine tourism trip to Rioja, you can contact directly RIOJA in STYLE, and Maria Eugenia will propose a route tailored to your tastes and preferences. Here we tell you how it was our very good experience.
Don't forget to say that you are writing on behalf of Guías Viajer!

Other notable corners of the region are the megalithic dolmens that you can see in the vicinity of Elvillar and Leza, or the fort of the Iron age near Navaridas.

And, finally, if you want to make your visit in a special way, you can sign up for a excursion on the Enobús, which will allow you to take a guided tour of one of the medieval towns in the region and one of its wineries.