Now that you know what wine tourism is and you have all the keys to enjoy it, we are going to talk about the specific activities you can do in La Rioja if you opt for this type of tourism.
Would you like to do something different? Would you like to discover the richness of the wine tourism experience? Read on!
Get to know the vineyards from the inside
Some wineries offer the possibility of visiting the vineyards or even participating in the harvesting process. This is the case of Vivancowhich, during the grape harvest season, invites you to take part in this magical process from 1 October to 1 November.
Rediscover the cellars
Numerous wineries in La Rioja have opened their doors to the public so that they can learn first-hand about the processes involved in making the wines that are later consumed. At Vivanco, the wineries are underground, built under the vineyards to avoid damaging the land and minimise the environmental impact. On the other hand, the fact that they are underground means that the conditions for the wine are optimal: humidity, temperature and gravity are balanced throughout the year and in a natural way.
Inside the cellars you can visit the rooms such as the vat room, the malolactic fermentation room or the octagonal barrel room and see the different processes that take place in the winery to make wine: cooling of the grapes in the refrigeration chambers, selection, destemming and crushing of the grapes, maceration and fermentation in the French oak reds, post-fermentation maceration, pressing...
Enjoy wine and gastronomy
Are you a wine lover and don't know how to taste it correctly? If you want to learn how to taste wine , a winery is the ideal place for this task. Nobody will be able to tell you better than a professional oenologist and sommelier how to really taste a wine to enjoy the universe of flavours and aromas that it gives us.
En muchas bodegas se ofertan también numerosos y atractivos cursos como la cata “Del mosto al vino a través de los sentidos” en Vivanco, donde podrás descubrir a través de los sentidos la evolución que sufre el vino desde que es un mosto hasta que se convierte en vino.
Would you also like to enjoy a good meal? No problem, the restaurant at Vivanco delights lovers of good food and wine, because here, as well as offering the best of Riojan gastronomy, they offer proposals such as Winecooking, where wine becomes more than just an accompaniment to food: it is an essential ingredient.
Learn about Wine Culture
If you are a true wine lover, you must learn about its culture, its origins and its history. And for that, there is nothing better than the six rooms that make up the museum Vivanco.
En la primera sala “Nacer, crecer, madurar”, aprendemos sobre el origen del vino y su evolución a través de 8.000 años de historia gracias a una amplia colección etnográfica y tecnológica de la vid y el vino.
En la segunda sala “Guardar las esencias”, nos enseñan mediante proyecciones audiovisuales cómo se fabrican las barricas, los corchos y como se sopla el vidrio de las botellas.
En la tercera sala “La bodega, el sueño”, veremos cuáles son los trabajos que se llevan a cabo en las bodegas, desde el prensado de la uva hasta su comercialización.
En la cuarta sala “El vino: arte y símbolo”, disfrutaremos de la colección de arte y arqueología con obras que comparten el mismo denominador común: el vino.
La quinta sala “Abrir, servir y beber”, acoge una colección de casi 3.500 sacacorchos, además de copas, recipientes y útiles de servicio desde la antigüedad clásica hasta principios del siglo XX.
And the sixth room is open-air art: the garden of Bacchus. Here we will admire a collection of more than 200 varieties of grapes, both national and international.
Have fun with your family
Wine tourism does not only have to be an activity for adults. Many wineries programme special activities for all audiences. Vivanco includes in its programming the kids workshops. These children's activities are aimed at children, accompanied by their families, accompanied by professionals while their parents visit the foundation or for schools. In these workshops, the culture of wine is brought closer to the little ones with creative activities and games as learning engines.
Live La Rioja
All this is wine tourism, but it is not the only thing. Wine tourism also means getting to know the natural environment, living the experience of travelling and discovering the unknown.
La Rioja is a region with an infinite number of tourist attractions that you should get to know. You can start with the Dinosaur Route or if you prefer architecture and history, you cannot miss the Route of the Castles or the Route of the Monasteries.
If you want to get to know the small charming villages you should not miss the opportunity to visit Haro, Ezcaray, Briones, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Nájera, Arnedo, Alfaro...
One of the best ways to get to know a place is through its gastronomy, and La Rioja has some of the most interesting gastronomic routes. A stroll along the famous Calle Laurel in Logroño or tapas in Haro are two must-visits in La Rioja.
And if you like popular festivals, La Rioja is the perfect place because it is here where the most entertaining festivals in the country are held, such as the wine battle of Haro, the medieval days of Briones or the festivities of San Mateo in Logroño.
We have shown you that wine tourism is not just a visit to the winery. Wine tourism is seeing, eating, smelling, feeling, learning, living... enjoying an environment where wine is the protagonist.
How long has it been since you've awakened your senses?
