WIning and Dining in La Rioja

A few weekends ago, we headed off to learn more about wining and dining in the famous La Rioja region. The weather was nice, crisp and sunny, and we spent time exploring the capital, Logroño, plus visiting some of the bodegas in the area.

Each bar has its own specialty--but a famous one in the area are the "cojonudos"... ;)

Pintxos sampling in bar number 1

Even the lights in this bar are grapes! ;)

Warding off vampires from the market

Cathedral in the heart of Logroño--buildings like this are always more beautiful at night!

Calle Portales, one of the central areas in downtown Logroño--very pretty with the arches and all lit up at night! :)

We ventured to the famous Calle Laurel for tapas and drinks--each bar in this area has its own specialty, ranging from mushrooms (mmmm...) to squid, to a toast covered with red pepper and a quail's egg (AKA cojonudo)....

Hungry people fill the narrow streets

Saturday morning, we headed out to visit the first bodega of the day--Dinastia Vivanco. It's set in the valley and more modern than the second place we went to, but still very cool. We joined a tour and the guide explained to us how wine-making works (we're not connoisseurs by any means!) and then led us through a tasting of several reds.

Not only a winery, but also a museum

The hand offers you the fruits of labour

Even the chandeliers are grape-themed!

Fermentation vats

I wouldn't want to be responsible for sorting out all these oak barrels....

Brindis!

Cin-cin!

The fog over the mountains creates a mysterious atmosphere against the autumn colours of the vineyards!

The town of Briones overlooking the bodega

In between visiting bodegas, we went to a nearby town called Laguardia to take a look. It was recommended by other people because of it's medieval feel, and quaintness.

"Peace to those that arrive here, greetings to those that live here and happiness to those that leave here."

Isn't this age discrimination against older riders?

The cute little town centre of Laguardia

Later that same afternoon, we went to the famous bodega of Marques de Riscal, one of the most well-known wineries. They have a modern section and an older part, and we went on another tour with tasting.

Can you see the squashed grapes?

Frank Gehry, architect of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, also designed this funky hotel

Old-style cellar

Special barrels just for the king's wine!

The guide explains that some of the bottles in this wine cellar are over 100 years old!! Sometimes for very very special events they open them (still drinkable) but must be consumed inside, so as not to be exposed to light and temperature changes....no flash photos allowed here!

Old old bottles covered with dust....

At the end of it all, we learned lots about wine-making and the varieties that exist in the world. Unfortunately, I still don't appreciate it though it was interesting enough to learn about. The overload of this weekend didn't convince and convert me to be a wine-lover, but it was fun and a short getaway!