Rioja

Rioja Vineyard Walk

13 - 19 September 2009

The Rioja Vineyard Walk is one of our longstanding and favourite walks; the views are dramatic and the walking varied. It is rarely that strenuous, but for an Arblaster & Clarke 'gentle' walking holiday we do cover quite a lot of ground. There are some superb gourmet meals and the hotel accommodation ranges from comfortable to luxury.

Rioja is a fascinating corner of Northern Spain and you get a very different take on Rioja's wines by exploring the region on foot. Rioja has some very large cellars and famous bodegas, and most wine tours will concentrate on these. This tour, being on foot, concentrates on the vineyards and villages and what we find out in the country-side.

The vineyards of Rioja are set in huge tracts of land that make for excellent walking country. The paths are often fairly well made tracks, many of which were once in the distant past, pilgrim trails or trade routes. There are some climbs and descents on the route, but the coach is usually on hand to pick up anyone who tires or want to bale out for any reason. (When this is not the case because the tracks are too small or go through isolated areas, you will know before we set out). We also make full use of are pit-stops along the way in the villages and cellars.

We meet in Bilbao and that afternoon our first walk gives us a dramatic entry into Rioja Alta as we follow the paths down to the pretty village of Sajazarra. The village's wine from the Castillo de Sajazarra or from small growers 'cosecheros', can be pretty good. An end of the day refreshment will be called for, so we will probably stop for a cool beer or a glass on tinto on one of the village bars. This sets the scene and establishes a pattern for what we will do for the rest of the week. Good walking, in sometimes stunning settings interspersed with tastings, relaxation and good food.

Over the next couple of days we cover the ground between the Monasterio de Yuso and Cordovin, a village of small cellars surrounded by classic red earth Rioja Alta vineyards. Here we visit one of the small cellars for an end of the day tasting.

We continue to walk through Rioja Alavesa and then below the Sierra de Cantabria. We’ll see the roof line of Ysios, the dramatic building in flashing titanium that matches the jagged line of the mountains behind it. Later we explore the medieval hill town of Laguardia. We explore the hills above Labastida here as we climb up through the forests we come across the ruins of a couple of medieval hermitages.

As we walk, we see the dramatic differences in ‘terroir’ of Rioja, between the Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta. Although these regions are defined politically, it is the geological difference that is most noticeable; Alavesa has white clay lime soils whereas those of Alta can be shocking dark red betraying the presence of iron. The wines of Alavesa tend to be elegant and those of the Alta more forceful, as you will see in the series of excellent tastings along the route at great smaller but often superb bodegas such as Remelluri, Ramirez de Ganusa, Vina Iljaba, Luis Canas and Bodegas Sonsierra. On the last walk there was a sense of excitement before every visit, so high were the quality of the wines we tasted.

One of the great advantages of an A&C escorted walking holiday is that your guide is a wine expert who can introduce the wines to you, put them in context over each meal, even the picnics and the unincluded meals, will show you a range of different, interesting wines that you are unlikely to have come across before.

Rioja is a great region to visit and being on foot, you will see this from a privileged viewpoint. Apart from the wines that you will be tasting along the way, you will see nature at close hand. We have seen bee-eaters and other rare birds, and are sometimes escorted by a posse of partridges running ahead of us on the trail. Many times we have had kites, buzzards and eagles soaring over-head.

Our base for exploring and walking the Rioja Alta is a comfortable hotel with a Michelin* restaurant. We then we stay in a luxury 4* in Haro, and finally in the village of Samaniego in a delightful family-run Palacio that we take over, this is an out-performing 2* with a gourmet restaurant and a great favourite of our clients.

At Arblaster & Clarke, we are huge enthusiasts for this stunning part of Spain and the many superb wines that emanate from it. We hope that after the walk, you too will feel that you are an ambassador for Rioja and its wines.