Discover Spain Terroirs and the RIOJA Soul!
A holiday which feels like paradise…
….not interested in a group experience, but in a private Tour?
Then give us a call under +41 76 33 777 22…
Day 1 Sunday 10 October 2021
- Arrival from Zurich or other Destinations – Transfer to Bilbao by private transfer – Check in at the 5* Hotel Meliá Bilbao – A glass of Welcome Wine – City Walk with local guide – Relax time – Walk to the restaurant – Dinner – walk back to the Hotel
- Accomodation: Hotel Meliá Bilbao*****
Day 2 Monday 11 October 2021
- Check out Hotel and driving to Txakoli Region – Foto Stop: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe – Gorondona Txakoli Winery with light Lunch – Gorka Izagirre Winery – Transfer to Rioja Region – Check in Villa de Laguardia Sercotel Hotell in Laguardia – Relax/Sport time – Dinner
- Accomodation: Villa de Laguardia Sercotel Hotel****
Day 3 Tuesday 12 October 2021
- Visit Ysios Winery -visit Remirez de Ganuza – Lunch – Cultural program, discovering Laguardia with a local guide – free time – walk to the restaurant for Dinner – walk back to the Hotel
- Accomodation: Villa de Laguardia Sercotel Hotel****
Day 4 Wednesday 13 October 2021
- Transfer to Marqués de Riscal for a visit – Transfer to Santo Domingo de la Calzada – Lunch – Guided City Walking tour through Santo Domingo de la Calzada – Return to de hotel – Relax/Sport Time – Walk to the Restaurant and Dinner
- ·Accomodation: Villa de Laguardia Sercotel Hotel****
Day 5 Thursday 14 October 2021
- Check out and Visit Solar de Samaniego Winery – Light Lunch – Transfer to Bilbao – Relax Time – Dinner in the 1*Michelin Nerua Restaurant
- Accomodation: Hotel Meliá Bilbao*****
Day 6 Friday 15 October 2021
- Check out Hotel – After the breakfast (depending on your flight, visit of Guggenheim Museum – Transfer to the Bilbao Airport – Departure
Included in this Wine Tour are:
- Transfer from and to the the airport Bilbao
- Comfortable and modern bus during our Tour
- 4*/5*Hotels for 5 nights in a double room incl. breakfast
- 5 dinners including a glass of wine in selected restaurants
- 5 light lunch
- Visit of 6 renowned wineries and wine tastings
Participation Fee
Price includes the listed services in a double room: € 2.997,-
NOW: Special offer: € 2.397 per person in the double room
To book a room for single use plus € 300,-
The maximum number of participants is 20 people.
Book your Gourmet Wine Travel Event now
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Program
Day 1: Sunday 10 October 2021
You will fly to Bilbao airport and transfer to the City Center
Check-in at the 5* Hotel Meliá Bilbao
The 5* Hotel Meliá Bilbao is the most modern hotel and an impressive landmark in Bilbao.The Meliá Bilbao is set 300 m from the Guggenheim Museum and features a design inspired by sculptor Eduardo Chillida. You can walk to the Guggenheim Museum in less than 10 minutes.Each luxurious room at this Hotel has a flat-screen TV and a pillow menu. Bathrooms have stylish marble floors with their own adjustable heating system. Depending on the actual Covid-situation the SPA area invites to relax.
We start with a glass of Welcome Wine
City Walk with local guide Bilbao is not only the Guggenheim museum, but this institution brought art and its lovers to the north coast city, and started an urban relaunch in which its industrial past was overlaid with fluttering palms, promenades and a proliferation of wonky, asymmetric, eye-popping glass and steel buildings by many of the world’s best architects – Norman Foster, Philippe Starck, Santiago Calatrava and Arata Isozaki among them. Thankfully, Bilbao’s old Basque soul remains intact. The additions enhance the old city, and tourism hasn’t disrupted the enviable lifestyle of its inhabitants
Relax time/Gym time
Dinner@Los Fueros, this restaurant has been recognized for the excellent quality of their dishes by the guide Michelin. Undoubtedly a classic restaurant, a real “botxero”, as it is called in Bilbao. The bar was opened in 1878 under the name Bar Colón. After the successful renovation, in which instead of major changes, care was taken to maintain the identity of the house, here we find one of the most interesting restaurants in the old town. Beautifully decorated in a bistro style. Typical, authentic Bilbao cuisine is offered on the menu, which, in contrast to the rooms, is interpreted in a modern way. It is the ideal place to spend this evening with our new friends enjoying the excellent delicious spanish cuisine.
Day 3: Tuesday 12 October 2021
Transfer to Bodegas Ysios – Ysios winemaker Roberto Vicente believes in doing things differently, by looking deeper, going further and taking care over the small details to craft wines that are honest expressions of the terroir. He looks to the future with bold confidence, preserving with utmost respect the region’s heritage in winemaking. Cellar tour and wine tasting
Transfer to the winery Remirez de Ganuza – Fernándo Remírez de Ganuza is one of the big characters in Rioja. A former Rioja wine broker, he set up his eponymous bodega in 1989, using his contacts and knowledge to invest in 70 hectares of the best possible vineyards in the Rioja Alavesa: Samaniego, Leza, Elciego and Laguardia. In Remirez de Ganuza, they have fifty hectares, with Tempranillo (90%) and Graciano (10%), situated in truly privileged enclaves of the Alaves vineyards. His philosophy inclines towards modernism with 80% French and 20% American oak, all new, used to age his wines, which are now justly celebrated throughout the world. Two range of wines are produced. The flagship wine is the Remírez de Ganuza Rioja Reserva with a yellow label (highly acclaimed in the US market). – Lunch in the Winery or in a traditional txoko in Laguardia.
Cultural program – discovering Laguardia with a local guide Laguardia is the most important town in the Rioja region, and one of the most beautiful too. And it is one of the most perfectly preserved medieval villages in Spain. It is also located right in the wine country and is the perfect base for our wine tour of Rioja, one of Spain’s most well-known wine regions. Laguardia is a medieval hill hamlet (called “villa” in Spanish), reminiscent of Tuscan hilltop villages. It is surrounded by an ancient wall and has a delightful jumble of cobble-stoned streets lined with “Tabernas”, wine shops, palaces, and cafes. Laguardia was founded in the year 1164 by King Sancho Abarca, and the spectacularly preserved wall dates back to the 15th century. The entire village became protected as Patrimony of Spain in 1964. The name “Laguardia” originates from “La Guardia de Navarra”, the “Guard” of Navarra, referring to its strategic importance in the kingdom of Navarre.
Diner in the restaurant Restaurant DE LOS PARAJES – ‘“Real food, no frills” – The best product cooked simply.
Day 5: Thursday 14 October 2021
Solar de Samaniego Winery – In 1972, a family business with long-established roots in the Rioja, decided to go back to its origins and founded Bodegas Alavesas at the foot of the medieval walls of Laguardia. Today, 38 years after its foundation, the Solar de Samaniego Group continues under the sole ownership of the family that founded the business. The trademark Solar de Samaniego derives its name from the La Escobosa estate, one of the most historic estates in this region. Documents indicate that vineyards were already cultivated on this land as far back as 1591. In the 18th-century, the stately home that stands within this estate belonged to the famous writer of fables Félix Maria Samaniego whose work was probably inspired by these surroundings. We will visit the cellar, taste the wines and will enjoy a light Lunch
Transfer to Bilbao – Relax Time or Sport Time
Dinner in the 1*Michelin Nerua Restaurant – The Restaurant Nerua takes its name from the Nervión River, the backbone of Bilbao. Housed within Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, Nerua’s chef Josean Alija draws from Basque ingredients to create culinary masterpieces worthy of the location. Needless to say, the nueva cocina vasca (Basque nouvelle cuisine) is breathtaking, with meals that you’ll be remembering long after you return home.
Day 2: Monday 11 October 2021
Check out and driving to Txakoli Region – Foto Stop: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. Although it looks as if it were taken straight from the pages of an adventure storybook, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is in fact in Spain. When it was announced that several scenes from the Games of Throne series would be filmed in Spain, the country, and above all, fans of the series were undoubtedly excited. In addition to Seville and Guadalajara, Biscay was also chosen as a film location for various scenes.
Doniene Gorrondona Txakolina Winery in Bakio, wine tasting with light Lunch
Doniene Gorrondona Txakolina is a winery, located in the D.O.Bizkaiko Txakolina. The name of the winery is a combination of “Doniene,” Basque for “Saint John,” and Gorrondona, the name of the farmhouse and winery which was built in 1852. Doniene Gorrondona farms ecologically and the wines are fermented using only the native, indigenous yeasts for spontaneous fermentation.The owners Itziar and Andoni believe in creating wines that reflect their distinct terroir with the goal of crafting the most authentic wines in the region.
Gorka Izagirre Winery – Cellar tour and wine tasing – Now we will discover Gorka Izagirre, another winery in Bizkaiko Txakolina and explore their most popular wines. Opened in 2005, Gorka Izagirre is a family winery located in Larrabetzu and has 40 hectares that are dotted along the Biscay with the grapes grown on steep hilly slopes facing southeast to favour the morning sun. The winery is fully committed to the local varieties Ondarrabi Zuri and Ondarrabi Zuri Zerratie.
Transfer to Rioja Region – Check in Sercotel Villa de Laguardia 4*Hotel – Nice Hotel, friendly staff, very pleasant atmosphere, very good breakfast, nice rooms, clean, located right on the edge of Laguardia. It is a fantastic hotel on the gastronomy and wine routes of the Rioja area. Relax in an environment that pays homage to health and wine. Near the Hotel we have amazing restaurants in the zone. Places where good wines are merged in perfect pairing with the tastiest and most varied dishes of the local cuisine..
Dinner either in the Hotel or in a Restaurant 5 min walk.
Day 4: Wednesday 13 October 2021
Transfer to Marqués de Riscal for a visit with cellar tour and wine tasting Bodega de los Herederos del Marqués de Riscal, as it is officially named, is located in the village of Elciego, within the Rioja Alavesa sub-area. It owns 540 hectares of vineyards and controls another 900 to produce more than six million bottles a year. Marqués de Riscal is one of the oldest Rioja wineries. Founded in Elciego (Álava) in 1858 by Guillermo Hurtado de Amézaga, from the outset it has been a point of reference in the winemaking business at both national and international level.
Transfer to Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Lunch at El Marquesito
Guided City Walking tour through Santo Domingo de la Calzada – The city Santo Domingo de la Calzada is a beautiful stop. Santo Domingo de la Calzada is situated on the banks of the Oja River. Its name refers to its founder, Dominic de la Calzada, who built a bridge, hospital, and hotel here for pilgrims on the French Way the most popular path of the Way of St. James. By the way, Santo Domingo is small-town- Spain at its very best. A large number of the inhabitants continue to live in the partially walled old quarter, a labyrinth of medieval streets where the past is alive and the sense of community is strong. It’s the kind of place where you can be certain that the baker knows all his customers by name and that everyone will turn up for María’s christening. Santiagobound pilgrims have long been a part of the fabric of this town, and that tradition continues to this day, with most visitors being foot-weary pilgrims. All this helps to make Santo Domingo one of the most enjoyable places in La Rioja.
Dinner in the restaurant Posada Mayor de Migueloa
Day 6: Friday 15 October 2021
Depending on your flight schedule: visit Guggenheim Museum – self guided tour – The Guggenheim opened its museum in Bilbao 20 years ago, turning a struggling industrial town into a cultural metropolis. The building designed by Frank Gehry is now the landmark of the city. The Guggenheim Museum on the Avenida Abandoibarra was opened by the King Juan Carlos on October 19, 1997. Bilbao started blooming and hired other star architects to rejuvenate the city: Norman Forster built an entire subway line. Alvaro Siza designed a university building and an airport terminal, while the pedestrian bridge “Zubizuri,” located near the museum, was created by Salvadore Calatrava. Fine hotels and boutiques quickly followed; restaurants started offering the finest of Basque cuisine.
Transfer to Bilbao airport and flight back home
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