Plan a trip
A route through the vines
Pick a country and a style, and we'll sketch a few days through it — real sub-regions in a sensible order, with what to expect at each stop and when to go, drawn from everything already on the site.
Where to
Style preference
Your route
A 5-stop route through Spain
The character of this trip
Big country, long horizons
Spain's wine country is high, wide and sun-baked, and its best trips are built on contrast: cool Atlantic whites in the north-west, old-vine reds across the interior plateau, sherry country in the far south. Distances run longer than in France or Italy, so trust a few distinct places over many close ones — and let the day run on Spanish time, with a late lunch, a later dinner and cellars that are cool, old and deep.
Route length
Stops
5
Total driving
~369 km
Behind the wheel
6h 41min
Worth setting aside
5–7 days
Notable producers
- Artadi — Laguardia; a pioneer of single-vineyard, terroir-focused Rioja.
- Remírez de Ganuza — Samaniego; meticulous, old-vine single-vineyard wines.
- Marqués de Riscal — Elciego; one of Rioja's oldest and most famous estates.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~27 km · 29 min to the next stop
Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta share a climate — continental, with atlantic influence — so what sets them apart is subtler: the soil, the aspect, and the estates that work them.
Notable producers
- La Rioja Alta, S.A. — Haro; a historic bodega known for long-aged, traditional Reserva and Gran Reserva.
- R. López de Heredia — Haro; among the most traditional producers in all of Spain.
- CVNE — Haro; a major historic house, also known as Cune.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~172 km · 3h 8min to the next stop
Ribera del Duero feels different from Rioja Alta, in the glass and in the air: continental, with atlantic influence, then extreme continental.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Vega Sicilia — Founded in 1864; its Único made the region's reputation.
- Pingus — Peter Sisseck's tiny, cult estate.
- Pesquera — Alejandro Fernández's estate, which raised the region's profile.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~119 km · 2h 9min to the next stop
The route continues from Ribera del Duero to Rueda, and the climate shifts underfoot: continental, high plateau.
Notable producers
- Naia — Old-vine Verdejo from a respected small estate.
- Ossian — Ancient, ungrafted Verdejo vines, farmed and vinified with unusual care for the appellation.
- Belondrade y Lurton — A Bordeaux-trained pioneer of barrel-fermented, age-worthy Verdejo.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~51 km · 55 min to the next stop
Leaving Rueda behind, the road reaches Toro — continental, semi-arid.
Notable producers
- Numanthia — A leading modern estate for concentrated, old-vine Tinta de Toro.
- Pintia — Vega Sicilia's Toro project, from some of the region's oldest vines.
- San Román — Mariano García's (ex-Vega Sicilia) family estate in Toro.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.