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Helvetica Light is an easy-to-read font, with tall and narrow letters, that works well on almost every site.
Rioja VIP Wine Tour
24th April - 29th April 2024
6 Day trip £1,990
In partnership with The Wine School of Cheshire and Bond Travel, we offer you an exclusive tour of the wonderful northern Spanish wine region of Rioja, the fine wine capital of Spain.
We will be staying in the beautiful medieval town of Laguardia,
one of the most exclusive parts of the Rioja wine region. Highlights of the trip include a visit to the Marqués de Riscal City of Wine with a Michelin starred dinner and to the Museum of Wine Culture, a museum like no other.
Designed to replicate the intimacy of one of the Wine School of Cheshire’s events, this remarkable wine journey is for a maximum of 15 guests.
Richard will lead the group as our wine expert, with Karen and Andy as your tour Managers.
The Rioja wine region is located 120 miles south of Bilbao where our journey begins. Flying into Bilbao from Manchester we will meet you in Arrivals with our private air conditioned coach to begin our tour of this most famous wine region. We will be discovering the Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alava wine regions. There are over 500 wineries spread across 65000 hectares, 91% of which is planted with red grape varieties. The region is protected by the Cantabrian mountains. We will learn all about the classification of the Riojan wines. Vine growing and wine making has been a local tradition in Rioja since medieval times.
We will be staying in the four star Hotel Silken Villa de Laguardia in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa, a short walk from the centre of Laguardia where you will find many lovely shops, restaurants and wineries. The hotel boasts a spectacular wine oil spa where the treatments are based on wine and olive oil in a special setting surrounded by nature and vineyards. All rooms have Wi-Fi, mini bar, tv, bathrooms with shower, heated towel rail, hair dryer and toiletries. There will be free time in the itinerary for you to enjoy the facilities at the spa.
Founded in the 10th Century as a defence town for the kingdom of Navarra, the beautiful walled town of Laguardia is set atop a hill overlooking the vineyards. There is a lift that can be reached by a short walk from the hotel that takes you up to Laguardia. We will be visiting some of the wineries in Laguardia and there will be the opportunity during free time to enjoy a walk through the medieval narrow streets and enjoy some local wine and tapas in the cafes, bars and restaurants.
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24th April 2024
We will be meeting the EasyJet flight EZY205 Manchester to Bilbao departing Manchester 08:00 arriving Bilbao 11:05.
On arrival in Bilbao we will have a journey of approximately two hours to the Rioja region where we are very privileged to be hosted by Roberto at Bodegas Santalba, a family run winery in the middle of Rioja Alta our introduction to Riojan wines and hospitality. Roberto has become a great friend and he will welcome us all as one of the family. Bodegas Santalba are dedicated to challenging and disrupting the acceptable norms of the winemaking region with experimental wine projects. They have 20 hectares of vineyards all certified organic, producing limited quantities of high quality wine. Here we will have a very enjoyable day with a private tour of the small winery, a tasting and they have a very traditional Riojan home cooked lunch planned for us hosted by the winemaker, Roberto. No doubt we will arrive hungry but a small word of warning, on arrival we have a tour of the winery and a tasting so we will be having a Spanish timed lunch, around 14:30pm. Please feel free to bring some nibbles with you for the coach journey as we will be tasting wines before our lunch.
We will then travel to our hotel where, after checking in and a little time to settle into your rooms,
You will have free time this evening to settle in at the hotel and explore the surrounding area.
25th April 2024
You have a free morning today to enjoy the wine spa in the hotel or to explore Laguardia.
We will leave the hotel late in the afternoon to visit the oldest civil building in the medieval town of Laguardia where the history of wine in Rioja Alavesa began. We will see the ancient wine making areas, tour the caves that were dug 900 years ago and have a tasting with a wonderful view of the Rioja region.
In complete contrast we will then travel to the medieval town of Elciego in Rioja Alava where we will visit the Marqués de Riscal City of Wine, one of Rioja’s oldest wineries founded in 1858. We will visit the original Bodega built in 1860 where the ancient wines are stored. We will see the dovecote from where the premium wines are produced. In the background will be the avant-garde Hotel Marqués de Riscal designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry. Today, Riscal Reserva is one of the most famous wines in Spain. After a private tour and tasting we will enjoy the wines paired with a Michelin starred dinner created under the watchful eye of the top Riojan chef Francis Paniego.
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26th April 2024
We will travel to Briones in the heart of the Rioja Alta to visit one of the smallest and most prestigious wineries in Spain. One of the family will show us the small winery and we will hear the fascinating story of the family’s journey from Miguel Merino’s dream of owning his own winery to producing some of the most prestigious wines in the country.
We will then travel to the historic Barrio de La Estación (Station Quarter) of Haro where we will visit Bodegas Muga, a family business founded in 1932. The Muga family are considered to be one of Spain’s most important winemaking families. After a tour of their winery we will have a traditional Riojan lunch paired with Muga wines. We also hope to see their in-house cooperage where they make their own barrels to store and age the wines.
On return to the hotel the evening is your free time.
27th April 2024
In contrast to the wineries we have already visited, today we will visit a state of the art winery in Rioja Alava, Bodegas Baigorri, where tradition and innovation converge. Using traditional methods and state of the art technology this winery works hard to produce the highest quality and utmost excellence in their wines, which are consistently listed among the best-crafted, most impressive wines produced in Rioja. After a private guided tour of the winery and a tasting of their premium wines we will enjoy a tasting menu cooked with local products served with their wines in the restaurant with views of the vineyards and the Barrel Cellar.
28th April 2024
26th April 2023
After an early breakfast and checking out of the hotel we will drive back to the airport in Bilbao for your return flight;
EasyJet EZY200 Bilbao to Manchester
Departing Bilbao 11:50 arriving Manchester 12:55.
What’s included
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Transport for the whole trip including transfers to and from the airport in Bilbao.
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Accommodation in a four star hotel and spa.
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Breakfast each day and one other meal per day including drinks, as per itinerary.
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Winery visits and tastings.
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Hotel taxes.
What’s not included
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Flights (these can be arranged by Cresta World Travel on booking confirmation.
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Meals not included in the itinerary
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Compulsory travel insurance with medical expenses and repatriation
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Personal expenses at the hotel
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Single room supplement of £350 for five nights
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29th April 2024
After an early breakfast and checking out of the hotel we will drive back to the airport in Bilbao for your return flight;
EasyJet EZY2006 Bilbao to Manchester
Departing Bilbao 15:00 arriving Manchester 16:00pm.
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What’s included
-
Transport for the whole trip including transfers to and from the airport in Bilbao.
-
Accommodation in a four star hotel and spa.
-
Breakfast each day and one other meal per day including drinks, as per itinerary.
-
Winery visits and tastings.
-
Hotel taxes.
What’s not included
-
Flights (these can be arranged by Bond Travel on booking confirmation.
-
Meals not included in the itinerary
-
Compulsory travel insurance with medical expenses and repatriation
-
Personal expenses at the hotel
-
Single room supplement of £350 for five nights
​
Today we will travel approximately half an hour to Dinastia Vivanco in Briones, Rioja Alta.
Dinastia Vivanco is comprised of a winery producing great wines exclusively from estate owned vineyards located in different terroirs in Rioja, the museum of culture of wine, an internationally recognised museum, and the foundation, whose mission is to carry out research into and disseminate the culture of wine.
The private museum takes you on a revealing voyage through the history and culture of wine and exhibits the art and archaeology collection acquired by the family over many years. You will see the most amazing collection of corkscrews and bottle closures! After visiting the winery and a private guided tour of the museum we will then dine in the restaurant with wonderful views of the surrounding vineyards.
This evening is free to allow time for packing ready for an early start and to enjoy a last glass of fabulous Rioja wine.
Total cost for 6 day Rioja wine tour (excluding flights)
£1990 per person, based on 2 guests sharing a double or twin room.
Essential information
The trip is subject to a minimum number of 10 people booking, maximum 15 people. It is possible that slight changes may need to be made to the itinerary and these will be communicated to you, a full confirmed itinerary will be sent to you a couple of weeks before departure.
A 30% non refundable deposit is payable on booking with the remaining balance due to be paid by 10th February 2023.
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For any further information please contact Karen at karen@vipwinetours.co.uk or 0208 144 0756​
For your information, if our patner travel agent book your flights, your wine tour package will be ATOL protected.
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