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.

The Plaza del Coso is an urban plaza in Peñafiel. Gayle and I wandered in almost by chance as we…read morewere exploring this quaint wine village one evening. A local Tourist Office branch is also located here, which was useful in putting this interesting (but relatively obscure, at least to us) place into perspective. Neither of us have seen anything like it, from the stark sand plaza grounds, to the various and stunning wooden architectural styles surrounding it. The Square is commonly known as "Corro" or "Corro of the Bulls", and has been documented as existing since the Middle Ages. The square is surrounded by 48 buildings, is accessed by two streets, and is very spacious. The balconies of the plaza are lintelled, and were built between the 18th and 19th centuries. The balconies are made from wood, are decorated with arabesque, and have been used since their creation to watch the shows. The "Right To View" or "Derecho de Vistas" are sold separately from the ownership of the buildings themselves. During the year the Plaza serves as a bullring during the Festival of San Roque in August, and provides a place for the Descent of the Angel Festival (Bajada del Ángel), on Resurrection Sunday.

Came back to Bodegas Roda after a few years. Luckily we are able to get their wine at our home, but…read moreit was still fun to revisit the winery. Both the "Sela" and the "Roda Reserva" are really good wines at great value. But - if budget allows - you should try and get the "Roda I", very smooth, yet powerful wine. Fair priced. We always have a bottle or two on stock at home. The "Cirsion" - which is available by the glass here as well - is their biggest player. And it really is the best one. But breaks our budget by a bit. But the Roda I makes us happy as well. Staff here was as great as last time, friendly and helpful. Luckily we were able to bring the wine outside to the table, since we've had our Bulldog with. And there's another reason to come here. Their Olive Oil (they got two kinds) is divine. Especially the "Aubocassa". Hands down the best olive oil we've ever had. And we've had many.... So smooth and so so fruity. You could just drink it. But put on some bread or crackers with some sea salt....there's heaven. Bought 12 bottles this time. Well priced too. All in all a Bodega we really love. Great wine - the olive oil as well. Fair prices, great looking wine cellar, friendly staff. The whole package. We will be back.

We visited Haro for some wine tasting and stopped by this winery…read more We didn't have a tasting reservation but they were more than willing to accomodate us. The woman (I forgot her name) was extremely knowledgable about the wines. We tasted Roda and Roda I and she also let us taste the olive oil they sell. If you are looking for time to kill before your next tour stop in here. They have a contemporary design and are very hospitable.

This was stop number one on a Rioja wine tour day. We enjoyed getting to walk around the barrel…read moreroom and liked that we tasted in there too, it felt like a very exclusive experience. Along with the wine tasting we were served some crackers with olive oil - our favorite part of the tasting to be honest. The olive oil was fantastic and we still regret not asking what it was and if we sold it. We got to taste 5 wines here and were able to revisit one at the end. Ultimately we didn't end up leaving with any bottles as we still had a lot of wineries ahead of us and weren't in love with any that we tried. Our host spoke wonderful english and did a nice job explaining the wines to us. Overall it was a nice experience.

On my last visit to Northern Spain, driving around all the fabulous wineries was one of the best…read moreones I visited. The tasting takes place in Gómez Cruzado, over a century-old house, and is referred to by locals as the 'boutique winery' of the Haro neighborhood of La Rioja. The winery is one of the smallest wineries in the region, and because of that, they are referred to as the GUCCI of winery because of their attention to detail and to the process. The fine wine style of the Barrio de la Estación de Haro comprises a range from White to Red style of wines, and if I can count correctly they have almost a dozen type of blends. Whichever is your style, you are definitely going to find your choice in the stable. Whenever you are in North of Spain, you should visit the region and specifically this winery, you wont be disappointed.