Overview
La Rioja is a province and autonomous community in northern Spain with a renowned local wine industry. Below the Cantabrian Mountains, vineyards occupy the Ebro valley and surround the old town of Haro.
Description
There, the summer festival features the messy Batalla de Vino (wine battle). Local wineries (bodegas) range from small, traditional cellars to major commercial producers. Get out the copas (glasses) for La Rioja and some of the best red wines produced in the country. Wine goes well with the region’s ochre earth and vast blue skies, which seem far more Mediterranean than the Basque greens further north. In fact, it’s hard not to feel as if you’re in a different country altogether. The bulk of the vineyards line Río Ebro around the town of Haro, but some also extend into neighbouring Navarra and the Basque province of Álava. This diverse region offers more than just the pleasures of the grape, though, and a few days here can see you mixing it up in lively towns and quiet pilgrim churches, and even hunting for the remains of giant reptiles.