Continued from Part I: Follow this link to read it!
November 6
We have an earlier start today than yesterday as we hurry towards my part of town to catch our train to Logroño. It’s a town several hours south in the next Comunidad Autonomous, called La Rioja. We’ve paid for a wine tour of this area of Spain best known for their incredible red wines and stunning wineries.
The train is infinitely more comfortable than yesterday’s bus, and we relax as the train speeds through the countryside. We have several hours between when our train arrives in Logroño and when the taxi is going to pick us up to take us to the first winery, so we leave the station to walk around the commercial part of the capital city.
It’s beautiful, undoubtedly, but not nearly as stunning as the waterfront cities of Bilbao or San Sebastián. We do some shopping, both of us dipping into our wallets. We need to buy warmer clothes as the cold here is worse than in the temperate north.
The taxi driver picks us up on time, holding a little white sign bearing our names just like in the movies! Our first stop is Laguardia, which is located over the border of La Rioja back in the Basque Country.
A stone wall surrounds the entire villa, of which there are only five entrances. Once inside, the streets leave no room for cars, and it’s relatively easy to walk from one end to the other. There are several churches and bars, but the weather is too cold to spend the given hour walking around. It’s a shame because there was a lot more to see than what we did.
We sit in a nearby bar, waiting out the time until our actual wine tour starts. On any other day, this schedule provided would allow for the perfect amount of time to tour the medieval village. However, we do get to see the incredible view from outside the wall. Since Laguardia is on a hilltop, it gives us a panoramic view of the surrounding farmlands.
Once the winery opens, we’re greeted by our guide, a member of the family that owns and operates it. Bodegas Carlos San Pedro Pérez de Viñaspre is the name, and it’s small; our ten-person tour barely fits in their main room. First a bit of history of the bodega; they use a wine-making process that has been perfected in La Rioja for more than 500 years. It involves using French and American oak barrels, where the wine is left to age for between 22 and 32 months.
The barrels reside in their system of underground caves, which we’re able to visit! We go down the well-worn stairs to the dim labyrinth. The guide explains that the caves have the perfect conditions for producing wine, with a constant temperature and humidity. She shows us the different ‘rooms’ where the barrels are kept and explains that the tunnels criss-cross underneath the entire villa of Laguardia but most of them are closed due to age or disuse. Where they have an area set up for wine tasting, there’s a large door that blocks their bodega from the rest of the system of caves. The adventuress in me wants nothing more than to go exploring beyond that door.
Next is the part we’ve all been waiting for; the wine tasting! First, she shows us the large tank where their most recent batch of grapes is fermenting. She even allows us to climb a ladder and peek in the tank to see the raw liquid. This is actually the first thing we taste, with strong tannins and it’s a little difficult to swallow since it’s so young. However, the crianza wine we taste afterward is very smooth in comparison since it is several years old and completely fermented.
Spanish red wine is classified according to how long it has been aged in bottle, with crianza wines being the youngest at 6 months in barrel and 2 years in bottle, minimum. Next is their reserva with 1 year in barrel and 3 years in bottle. Lastly, their gran reserva with nearly 2 years in barrel and 3 or more in bottle.
My mom and I are able to taste both a crianza and a reserva wine from their bodega, and I can taste the difference in quality. The wine along with the allure of the underground caves cheers me up considerably!
After the tour, we meet our taxi driver outside and he takes us to a restaurant where we have a reservation courtesy of the tour company. The restaurant is in Elciego, another town in the Basque province of Álava.
They serve us three courses with more wine, of course! For the first course, I choose a creamy soup with chorizo and peppers. My mom gets a mushroom risotto that she loves. Next comes fish for me and steak for her, both served with potatoes. The fish isn’t the Basque variety I’ve grown accustomed to, but it’s delicious all the same!
Lastly is the best part of the meal; dessert! There’s a chocolate cake with a topping of lemon ice cream and whipped cream on the menu. My mom goes with the rich Spanish version of cheesecake, which is more cheese than cake.
After the lunch, we walk over to the Marqués de Riscal winery that is the main attraction in this area. It’s a massive winery that began in the late 1800’s and has grown to be a major exporter of wine in Spain, selling nearly 10 million bottles each year. Near the end of the tour, the guide shows us where they keep the wine that is waiting to be shipped and there has to be over 3 million bottles in the warehouse!
The tour starts by taking us by the hotel, which is world-renowned for being designed by Frank Gehry; the very same architect that designed the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. The exterior has some of the same elements, but it unique to the winery at the same time. Gehry pulled inspiration from their most popular wine, a reserva that they sell anywhere from 3 to 5 million bottles of each year. In the past, frauds would buy the bottle of this incredible vintage and fill it with cheap wine. Marqués de Riscal was quick to find a way to stop this crime. They took the bottle of wine and wrapped in a gold wire mesh. In order to get the cork out, one has to cut the fine wire.
Gehry saw the colors of the bottle—pink for the wine, gold for the mesh and silver for the bottle top—and infused them in his design ideas for the hotel.
After the hotel, we see where the wine ferments, including a small section of the vineyard. Their production facility is a modern and shiny room with state-of-the-art technology. A video walks us through the entire process from start to finish. After ample time to admire the complexities of the process, we go to the oldest part of the winery. It’s the ancient cellar where the company started, and now its only use is to store their most precious wines and special ceremonies. They honored Frank Gehry here by opening a wine they’ve kept since the year of his birth, for example.
The cellar leads to their bottling center, where we watch the process from start to finish. A machine efficiently wraps the thin wire of the mesh around the bottle in less than three seconds.
Finally, we get to taste this famous wine! There’s a few, including a white, and I have to say that it’s on par with the wine I tasted in the Tuscany region of Italy. If it weren’t so expensive to ship to the United States, I would have bought a case!
The taxi takes us back to the train station, where we impatiently wait for our train. Exhausted from the long day of walking, I decide to sleep at my host family’s apartment since I have class in the morning that I can’t skip.
November 7
It’s the hardest waking up for an 8am class has even been, but go I must. After sitting through the two hours of class—all in Spanish—I meet my mom. She’s waiting outside the university so we can go to the Guggenheim. It’s practically a contractual obligation to visit this museum that reinvigorated the urban growth of Bilbao, plus they have a few exhibits that I love. We explore inside and out before going to a nearby cafe for breakfast.
From there, we walk to the nearby La Salve bridge before following the river further away from the sea. On our way, we pass another landmark of Bilbao bridges; Zubizuri. All of the bridges in Bilbao are a work of art, and this one holds its own. This is an area of town I haven’t spent much time in, and it’s fun to see the different styles of buildings.
Eventually, I have to head back to the university for my afternoon class. Afterwards, we continue our tour of Bilbao by walking around Casco Viejo. It’s the foundation of the city, and obviously so; cars aren’t allowed and the shops squeeze into thin buildings.
My mom does most of her souvenir shopping here due to the overabundance of shops, and we see the sights; Arriaga Theater, the Cathedral, and Plaza Nueva to name a few. I’ve since decided that while all of Bilbao is special, I do like Casco Viejo the most!
Our last sightseeing spot of the day is the funicular that crawls up the mountain in order to give a bird’s eye view of Bilbao. We walk back to the bridge Zubizuri and cross to the other side of the river. We take a brief respite at a pintxo bar for our last meal out before continuing on to the funicular.
While waiting for the machine to come back down the mountain, we meet a couple from America. They’re only here for a few short days, so I gave them must-see places in Bilbao. It’s crazy to think that I know the city well enough to be giving advice to tourists like a true Bilbaína!
We find not just a scenic platform at the top, but an entire extension of the town. Several kids bring their bikes with them up the funicular and take off towards their houses, presumably.
The views are just as incredible as one would think. The sun sets behind a protective layer of clouds and the city lights turn on, one by one. We wander through the area a little, but it’s a normal Basque neighborhood with a restaurant and grocery store. We return to look at the panoramic view as the sky turns dark one more time before taking the funicular back down. I’ve attached a video of us going down the mountain here!
Once back at the river, we head towards my host family’s home. They’ve graciously invited both my mom and me over for a large dinner tonight. I’m excited—and nervous—to see how it’s going to go with the mix of Spanish and English.
Everything goes wonderfully! My mom brings a pastel that is special to Bilbao. It is in the shape of the street tiles here that are one of the symbols of the city. In turn, my host mom gives us bollas de mantequilla. They’re for breakfast on our way to the airport in the morning, which such an incredibly thoughtful gift. My mom and I are beyond grateful!
November 8
D-day has arrived: my mom’s flight is at 6:50 from the airport. My host family, as accommodating as ever, called our taxi for us during dinner the night before and it’s waiting outside when we leave. I stayed the night at the Airbnb with my mom so I could go with her to the airport.
Once we arrive, we spend some time in the cafe eating the bollas de mantequilla. We’re both reluctant for her to go through security. I can’t come with her but eventually, she has to go. I thought it would be easier than when I said goodbye to her in the States, but it will never be simple for me to be without one of my best friends. Even when I’m older and more experienced, I don’t know if I’ll ever not cry when I leave her! Thankfully, she had a safe flight. I think it was slightly more enjoyable than her flight to Bilbao since the layover in Amsterdam was shorter.
Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better week to spend with my mom in Spain. The weather wasn’t warm and not everything worked out the way we wanted, but we saw some incredible things and it was just nice to be able to share it with someone who I love so much.
It may not happen again in the future, or it may. Either way, I will never forget this week. ❤️
