Wine and dine

Do you know how wine is made? which grapes are the best to use? how the grapes ferment? how long the wine is bottled and why?  Who really cares? What matters is how the wine tastes, which Sara and I got to experience straight out of a cement fermentation block at a bodega in La Rioja.

La Rioja, also known as The Wine Country, begins just two hours south of Bilbao and is full of vineyards and bodegas (wineries). A month ago, Sara and I decided to go down there to have a peaceful, relaxing weekend. Instead we were greeted by one of the biggest party streets and found some of the most amazing churches in all of Spain.

We started in Logroño, the capital of La Rioja. After stepping off the bus we knew we were going to have a good time. The sidewalks were made from red tiles with grape shapes. There we made a pact to have a glass of wine at every place we stop at and to take a picture to remember each one. However, we weren't there very long, only to change buses to get to the little town of Laguardia, nestled between mountains and valleys and surrounded by vineyards.

The entire town of Laguardia is situated within its walls, which were once used to protect the town. The views are beautiful outside the walls, but all the appeal is found inside. Like other old sections of towns, the streets are narrow and the walls high to keep the town cool in the summer. There isn't even enough room for cars to fit down the streets, which is part of the reason they are not allowed inside the town walls. The other reason is because the entire town sits on a comb of caves, and too much weight would make the caves and town collapse.

The caves, however, have become natural cellars for Laguardia's wine. There are several bodegas found within the walls that store their wine in the dark, damp caves. When we first arrived to the town we made our way to one of these bodegas to learn more about the process, as well as get a few samples out of it. When we entered the bodega (Fabulista) we were immediately hit with the smell of the grapes fermenting right in front of us. The smell is nauseating and sucks the oxygen out of your breath and replaces it with an intoxicating vapor.

Once the tour began they led us down into the caves and cellars. Although the tour was incredibly informative, Sara and I were more preoccupied with taking photos and sampling the wines. Of the more than 20 people on the tour, we were by far the youngest. The others, mostly seniors, kept making jokes about how we were going to get drunk. Little did they know that we were already half-way there after our stop in Logroño earlier...

After we left the bodega, we joined the locals and headed to the bars for more wine tastings and pre-dinner pinchos. This included my first try of fried pig snout, which is much tastier than it sounds (as long as you don't notice the hair that is still attached). We ended up making it an early night and headed back to the hostel/restaurant for dinner and some much needed rest after the long day of traveling.

The next day we got up early to explore Laguardia in the daylight. For such a small town, it was really bustling. Part of the reason so many people were there, was to walk inside La Inglesia de Santa Maria de los Reyes. From the outside the church doesn't look like anything of significance, but inside its doors is one of the best preserved Spanish porticos (doorway). Built in the 14th century, it is over 600 years old, chiseled completely from stone. It was also painted twice, once after it was built and again in the 17th century. The stonework and painting is spectacular for its size. It is about 30 feet tall with exquisite carvings of Mary, scenes from her life, and the 12 Apostles (each one standing over five feet tall).

The inside of the church is just as spectacular. It was used as a fortress when the town was attacked so it has very few windows and therefor very little light. However, the light that does pour in reflects off a giant 24 karat gold alter piece, leaving the cavernous interior in a golden glow, and leaving me wondering if they would notice a piece of the corner missing...

After exploring the church we headed back to Logroño where we had reservations for the night, but not before stopping in another bodega on the way out. This bodega had a tour in English and we got to sip wine straight out of the giant cement blocks that it was fermenting in. We thought it was one of the best wines we had tried the whole trip.

Back in Logroño, our hostel was located perfectly in the Casco Antiguo (old part). It was one block away from the gorgeous cathedral and a block away from the famous Calle Laurel (Laurel Street). The best way to describe Calle Laurel is to picture 6th Street in Austin in the middle of Nappa Valley. The street is no more than a couple of blocks, but there are easily 50 bars on the one street alone. Unlike 6th St., where bars have multiple stories and rooms and can take up a whole block, these bars only have... well, a bar. That's why most people are out in the street enjoying a glass of wine and a pincho. It's the ultimate Bar Hopper's paradise.

Speaking of pinchos, each bar has its own "specialty" pincho that is posted on the door or can be found in a bar guide located throughout the street. We tried a different specialty and glass of wine at every bar we stopped at. We tried grilled octopus with milk and honey, fried sheep neck, several different sandwiches of hams and strong cheeses, but our favorite was the grilled shrimp and pineapple.

Unfortunately, most places in Spain are closed on Sunday, so we weren't able to do much our last day, except eat and drink of course. We walked around the city and walked into a couple of churches (I witnessed my first Spanish Baptism), but we missed an opportunity to explore caves or check out Dinosaur tracks because they were too far from the city center. If you ever go to La Rioja and save some room after the eating and drinking, take a few minutes to check those things out while you're digesting.

As for La Rioja, I was pleasantly surprised. The food was cheap but delicious, the wine flowed through the streets, the sights were spectacular, and the people only cared about enjoying life. How could they not? La Rioja was the perfect weekend expedition.