Beautiful breads in Basque style. Stiff donuts for coffee. Tasty cookies. There are two on this…read morestreet near each other. The other has great croissants!!! Go to both! Neither have coffee...just breads

Bodegas Tritium is a delightful boutique winery in the old town of Cenicero, La Rioja, Spain…read more Blending modernism and creativity with 100 year old vines and traditional fifteenth century craftsmanship, this winery nestles beautifully and comfortably amongst its larger counterparts. For those who want to discover the richness of the history and culture of wine paired with both individual passion and communal respect for the environment, a trip to Bodegas Tritium is a must! The winery also features two uniquely special and very tasty limited-edition wines, both crafted in clay pots by a local master potter. One of which is stored underwater for 1 year which significantly influences the characteristics of the wine and accelerates its aging creating a masterful finished product. Regardless of which pour(s) you try at Tritium, you're bound to leave here with a satisfied palate and a armful of something. IMO, if you leave here empty-handed you've surely missed out.

This is a must stop if you are in La Rioja. This is a boutique winery recommended by the staff at…read morethe hotel Marques de Riscal. We had the tour and tasting by the owner. Javier is so passionate that he made the experience remarkable. We shipped all the wines we purchased directly to our house in USA and they arrived perfectly.

Gorgeous! Stopped in mid hike for a glass and decided to grab a few more and some bites. Excellent…read moreselections and fabulous snacks. Love!

I really lovely experience in the Rioja Wine valley of Spain. A visit to the Baigorri facility with…read moreappropriate reservations offers the opportunity to tour their entire production facility, aging cave, and then participate in a delightful and unbelievably great priced wine pairing with wonderful food. The facility is state of the art and designed with the environment in mind. Views from the upper deck and the restaurant allow you to see the Rioja wine valley at its best. Our tour guide was informative, pleasant, and walked everyone through the step-by-step process. When making reservations you can book with English speaking tours, which makes things a lot easier! Table service was efficient and additional pours could be requested. There are two wine pairing options that include standard or premium selections. The price for the tour and two hour plus lunch with premium wine was less than $100 per person. Wine shop is available and can accommodate shipments back to the USA. Highly recommended stop if you ever get to this neck of the Spanish woods.

Our group of 24 (plus our tour manager and coach bus driver) sat on the upper floor for dinner…read more We were served family style of fresh baked bread, crispy pork belly, croquettes, pimentos de padron, a tomato salad (thinly sliced) drizzled with balsamic vinegar, grated cheese and olive oil, and lamb shank with potatoes. We were served with copious amounts of red and white wine. Dessert too, but I didn't take a photo and don't recall what it was. Overall, a great dinner with friends. I cannot comment on the price because it was part of our tour package.

The wines we had were all less than exciting but the service, food and ambiance more than made up…read morefor it. There wasn't an English menu so we pointed and hoped for the best. The first dish that came out was a butternut squash soup with a poached egg and truffle oil. Solid and tasty. The waitress didn't speak any English but she went the extra mile. I pulled up Google translate and she explained the wines we tasted via the app. Huge kudos. The next up was a large entree style Cuttle fish and risotto. The risotto was very nice, but the Cuttle fish was a bit to fishy and overpowered the dish; as usual Marie ate based on what I preferred and I was able to polish off the risotto (and she ate the cuttlefish) without offending the staff. An unexpected bonus was how well it paired with my wine. If I lived here I wouldn't come back for the food, but the drinks could certainly draw me in. Last but not least they handled an impromptu tasting seamlessly (nod to Google Translate without whom none of this would be possible), so don't be afraid to ask.

In the early morning hours, we had Gumer as the presenter of the wines. We took a 1 hour tour and…read morewere able to taste all their wines for FREE. As visitors to Rioja quickly discover, free tours and free wine tasting are not that common any more in Rioja. Some places seem to want to make more money on visitors without selling any wine. The chant of "vinotourism" is omnipresent in la Rioja. Sad to see. It reduces the Old World charm to have visitors pay for the wineries to promote their product. What happened to the concept of the customer showing their appreciation through the purchase of the product? The bottle price-point at Bodegas Ramirez de la Piscina is really good and the wines were excellent. The Crianza and Reserva were our favorites. The Gran Reserva for the cost was superb. We did not drink a lot of whites while in Rioja, but this one was blended with Viura and two other white varietals which made it distinctive and very pleasant.

We came here on a Rioja wine tour in October. Of the three wineries we visited this was our overall…read morefavorite. While it isn't a vineyard setting, the tasting room was still beautiful. It was modern and upscale, but still felt comfortable and casual enough. We thoroughly enjoyed the wine, charcuterie, and education from our tasting room associate. We learned a lot about the Rioja wine region including the varietals and the labels on the bottle. Our associate spoke pretty good English and was happy to answer questions and explain things further. Of the 3 wines we tasted we ended up going home with bottles of two of them.

I call myself a wine enthusiast and don't shy from visiting wineries of all levels from older to…read moremodern, for me its the actual wine that matters. The reds here are very well balanced full bodied and just amazing. Worth the visit. We were lucky to have a flight tasting between a winery tour by an employee who was sooo kind to sneak us in. We tried the 3 reds that were recommended by her, which her name is Carmen (as well). ha-ha. Anyhow, so book a tour to see the entire winery and to get to try the reds. By luck we got to do the tasting w/o a tour booked. Maybe since we share the same name and we speak Spanish. :-) You will not regret visiting this bodega, as they call it in Spain.

I've been on many wine tours in my time - Napa, Tuscany, Bordeaux, etc. - and I must say, this tour…read morewas truly something special. Inma, our guide for the day, was the best tour guide I've ever had; yes, THE BEST. She's truly an expert when it comes to Rioja - we found she often knew more than the wineries' own tour guides! And, importantly, she caters the experience to each client (and I should mention she speaks absolutely perfect English). Sure, she'll take you to the bigger, more commercial wineries like Marques de Riscal & Bodegas Ysios, which are both visually stunning and worth going to - but, because she takes the time to learn your tastes she'll introduce you to wineries right up your alley that you'd never otherwise know about, many of which aren't open to the public. And thanks to her local roots & connections, the vintners quite literally give her the keys to their private operations (Gontes comes to mind). Inma caps the day with a delicious late lunch in a private wine cave at Castillo de San Vicente - again, not something you can just go and do; only the locals have access. The cherry on top: her tortilla de patatas is absolutely delicious. All in all, one of the best single days I've had on vacation my entire life. A fantastic experience that I'd recommend to absolutely anyone.

Incredible Rioja Wine Experience with Inma-…read more My boyfriend and I did the Unusual Suspects private tour with Inma. This experience was the highlight of our trip to Spain and a huge part of that was Inma. She taught us about Rioja wine and the region without overloading us with information, made us feel so comfortable, and the experiences at the incredible wineries were due to her relationships with each of the owners, which is a testament to her as a person. We visited three different wineries and had the best lunch that Inma prepared herself with fresh ingredients from our own garden. My boyfriend still talks about her Tortilla de Patatas. We had an additional day in Logrono before heading to San Sebastian and Inma sent us a detailed list of recommendations and even helped us book a bus to San Sebastian, which was a much better option than the train we had booked. I cannot praise Inma and this experience enough.