Rioja from Bilbao — Route, Towns and Wine Guides
Planning guides for a Rioja day from Bilbao: the route and whether to drive or train it, why half of Rioja is Basque, what Haro and Laguardia are, what the ageing labels mean, and when not to bother.
When to Do the Rioja Day
September for the harvest, May and June for the weather, and one thing worth knowing: the Ebro valley is a lot hotter than Bilbao in summer.
Read guide →Getting from Bilbao to Rioja
About an hour by road. The train reaches the region but not the cellars, and if you drive, someone is not drinking. Which is why the day trip exists.
Read guide →Haro and Laguardia
Haro is where the wine trade lives; Laguardia is the walled hill town with cellars under the houses. What each gives you, and why the tour visits both.
Read guide →Is Rioja Basque?
Rioja Alavesa sits inside the Basque Country; the rest of Rioja does not. Why one denomination spans three administrations, and the argument about splitting it.
Read guide →Is the Rioja Day Trip Worth It?
Yes for the places. If you only want to drink good Rioja, a $58 sommelier tasting in Bilbao beats an $87 day on the road — and we would rather say so.
Read guide →Rioja, Explained in One Page
Tempranillo, and four words that tell you more than any score: joven, crianza, reserva, gran reserva. What to taste and what to ask in a cellar.
Read guide →Want the day sorted first? See the two-winery Rioja day →