The Best Vineyards in La Rioja

One of La Rioja’s oldest wineries, Bodegas Marques de Riscal, fuses together the old and the new, featuring a futuristic hotel designed by Frank Gehry, designer of the famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Founded in 1858, the winery produces more than three million bottles of red wine per year. There are wine tours of its large facilities, as well as an on-site Michelin-starred restaurant.

Like Bodegas Marques de Riscal, Bodega Ysios combines wine with architecture. Designed by the famous architect Santiago Calatrava, it was created as an emblem of La Rioja wine country and is supposed to mirror the undulation of the Cantabrian mountain range, which acts as a picturesque backdrop. Inside you’ll find a modern building with an upstairs tasting room.

Situated just up the hill from Muga, also in the town of Haro, López de Heredia is another old winery – a vast wine complex that is just as impressive above ground as it is below. The oldest parts of the winery are over 140 years old, while successive generations have each added new structures and buildings. Head down into the impressive wine cellars to explore a maze of underground caverns filled with barrels upon barrels. It is well known for its Viña Tondonia, Bosconia Reserva and Gran Reserva wines. Visits are by appointment only.

Vineyards, wine producers, a restaurant and one of the world’s best wine museums, Dinastia Vivanco is a whole wine experience, rather than simply a cellar tour and tastings. Start with a wine tour of the bodega, followed by a browse around the museum to learn all about one of Spain’s favourite tipples and how it’s made. Follow this with a walk around the gardens and a visit to ‘The Wine Corner’, where you can taste a total of 14 different wines from the Vivanco collection. There’s also an excellent restaurant, where to can enjoy a delicious meal to round off your visit.