Another week of classes clearly merited another weekend trip. So Jenny and I headed off to La Rioja, a famous wine making region of Spain, just south of Bilbao. Having adopted the Bay Area, USA as my home, I felt obliged to be a good Californian and appreciate the wine of my temporary home, Northern Spain. My California instincts were spot on - the landscape was stunning, the wine was delicious and the locals were gracious. Jenny and I rented a car and left town Friday after class. Road tripping made me feel uniquely at home, which was odd since I usually don't even like to drive. But I suppose driving is something I don’t usually do on vacation and this entire semester has felt, strangely, to be an unending vacation. Navigating the roads was an adventure in itself and made me realize how culturally based driving is. There were new road signs to learn, highway categorizations to depuzzle and roundabouts every 10 feet or so. But, we successfully found our way without even scratching the shiny rental … and only few u-turns.
When we were in Burgos I realized fall was here, but in La Rioja, the season was unavoidably stunning. The landscape was mixed - alternately mountainous and rocky, sometimes flat for miles around. But it was all covered with grape vines changing color in the brisk fall and the entire countryside was blanketed in red, yellow, and orange. I grew up in Upstate NY and am used to the beauty of trees in fall, but I'd never seen anything like the patchwork quilt created by changing vines. The weather in La Rioja is extreme - very hot in the summer and snowy in winter. But these extremes help them grow fantastic grapes, including the tempranillo for which they are famous. Speckled among the vineyards are tiny, quaint medieval towns with cobblestone streets, requisite cathedrals and town plazas. Spaniards have been making wine in this region for centuries, and the multitude of vineyards ranged from small family-owned to large global exporters.
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| Jenny and our rental car in front of some beautiful scenery. |
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| The patchwork of vineyards. |
Jenny and I started out at Miguel Merino vineyards where the very kind, jovial Miguel himself gave us a tour and hosted our tasting. Miguel, his son and three employees run the entire winery, and produce only 30,000 bottles per year, but they were decorated with awards and even export to KML Wines in San Francisco. Miguel teased us about being law students, as he himself was trained as a lawyer before becoming a wine salesman and eventually opening his winery. The love and passion he had for his craft were obvious; we thoroughly enjoyed his wine and made him promise to call when he visited San Francisco.
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| Jenny, Miguel and I |
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| Miguel's aging wine. |
Throughout the weekend, we visited many other wineries and ended our visit at a vineyard on the other end of the spectrum from Miguel's. Marques de Riscal is a winery that produces millions of bottles per year and exports to over 100 countries. It recently opened a hotel designed by Frank Gehry, the architect of Bilbao's Guggenheim, and now the buildings on its property span three different centuries. The Gehry building was stunning against the vineyard, and the ancient town cathedral was framed by Gehry's characteristic twisting and turning eaves.
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| The Frank Gehry hotel at Marques de Riscal. |
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| Vines set against the hotel. |
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| Elciego's cathedral seen from the hotel. |
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| Wine tasting at Marques de Riscal. |
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| C'mon guys let's crack this thing open! |
After Marques de Riscal, we visited the wine museum where we learned about the wine making process throughout history, how barrels are built and how corks are made. It made me thoroughly appreciate the work of the winemakers and the production of the region, which was a fitting end as we hopped back in the car towards industrial Bilbao and another week of classes.
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| The entrance to the Wine Museum. |
