Rioja Day Tour: Explore Three Wineries with Tastings
Why travelers loved this
4.9 · 1 reviewMy wife and I booked a 3-day/2-night private tour with Michael through the Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. We had an incredible, unforgettable experience and would highly recommend Vine Travel. The website promises a “wine trip that feels less like a tour and more like being let in on a secret” . . . and Michael more than delivers! Over three days, we met the coolest local wine producers and families. Michael has built genuine relationships across these regions. This allowed special access to cellars and vineyards, to private tastings, and to so many personal and authentic interactions with local winemakers. We rode a Hummer to the top of one of the highest vineyards in Rioja. We explored the centuries-old cellars and caves of historic properties. We tasted an aging reserve wine from the barrel at one winery; and a much younger wine not long after harvest from another. We walked through wine making processes and had countless fun discussions (over wine) with owners, experts, and passionate locals. We tasted as much wine as we could have asked. During our trip, Michael make sure we enjoyed and appreciated the most incredible local villages, vineyards, and viewpoints. You will be blown away by the beauty, history, and character of the region. Michael also arranged some terrific meals. (Don’t miss the pintxos crawl on Calle Laurel in Logroño.) Michael is knowledgeable, well-regarded, and fun. We were blessed to spend a private 3-day tour with him. I’d recommend that you trust him in winery recommendations and planning. We did – and we were blown away with the trip, with unique experiences each day. Michael also helped us to arrange a shipment of wine back to the U.S., so we could remember (and enjoy again) each of our special winery visits.
About This Experience
Rioja ages its wines in underground caves that have held barrels for centuries, and on this full-day tour from Madrid you walk through them, then taste what modern Rioja is doing right above. Three contrasting wineries in one day: historic, family-run bodegas with cellars cut into the rock, and cutting-edge estates making bold, modern wines. This is Spain's most celebrated wine region, and the itinerary is designed to show you why it stays that way. At each winery you sit down to a guided tasting, moving from elegant Rioja Reservas to fresh, terroir-driven single-vineyard wines built on Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Viura. Snacks accompany the tastings, and winery entry fees are all included. Between pours, your wine-expert guide gives Rioja its context: how the ageing classifications of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva actually work, what separates the sub-zones of Rioja Alta, Alavesa and Oriental, and how a region with medieval cellars became one of the most forward-looking in Europe. By the third winery you are not just tasting differences, you are predicting them. The day is structured to breathe. There is time set aside for a leisurely local lunch in wine country, where your guide will point you to the tables the winemakers themselves use; lunch is at your own expense, which keeps the choice, and the menu, entirely yours. Tours run in English and Spanish, and the round trip from Madrid is handled for you, which matters in a region whose best cellars are scattered across country roads no visitor should be navigating after three tastings. You ride, you taste, you learn; the logistics belong to someone else. If you are weighing Rioja against other Spanish wine day trips, this is the one with the deepest bench: more centuries of history, more styles in the glass, and cellar architecture, from medieval caves to avant-garde landmark wineries, that is a sightseeing itinerary in itself. It is also a long, full day, so wear comfortable shoes and bring an appetite for both lunch and learning. Book with confidence: your date is confirmed instantly online, and plans can change free of charge up to 48 hours before departure. Wine Trails books this tour direct, with no middleman markup on the price. One day, three wineries, six-plus wines and several centuries of winemaking: this is the Rioja day trip for travellers who want more than a photo at a barrel wall. It is the difference between having been to Rioja and actually understanding what is in your glass, and it starts with a morning departure from Madrid.
Highlights
- ✓Entries to wineries
- ✓Wine Tastings
- ✓Snacks (with tastings)
What's Included
- ✓Entries to wineries.
- ✓Wine Tastings.
- ✓Snacks (with tastings).
What's Not Included
- ✗Lunch
Languages
Cancellation Policy
100% charge within 48 hours of start time.
Traveler Reviews
Verified reviews via Tripadvisor
Based on 1 reviews
Don’t Hesitate – Book This Special Wine & Travel Experience
My wife and I booked a 3-day/2-night private tour with Michael through the Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. We had an incredible, unforgettable experience and would highly recommend Vine Travel. The website promises a “wine trip that feels less like a tour and more like being let in on a secret” . . . and Michael more than delivers! Over three days, we met the coolest local wine producers a...
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