In conjunction with: Custom Spanish Wine Tour Itinerary prepared for Bryan Toy September 12th – September 19th, 2020 This is the ultimate tour to experience the best Spanish wine and food. A lifetime trip for bon vivants, foodies and wine aficionados, but also for people eager to discover the history and culture of Spain through its food and wine and its people. It includes visits to wineries in the most prestigious regions of Spanish wines, as well as an extensive introduction to the excellent Spanish gastronomy both traditional and creative and of course tapas. San Sebastian is a beautiful foodie heaven, home of the pintxos and a number of Michelin star restaurants. The tour will also take you through the history and art of Spain, from the medieval monasteries and cathedrals to the modern, cutting edge architecture of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. We have selected unique hotels because lodging is a great part of the experience. All different, but all with the charm of unique four stars luxe selection. Highlights: Private visits in top wineries in Rioja and Priorat. Meet the winemakers and winery owners, traditional food, tapas, pintxos, Spanish wines tasting. Guggenheim Museum and Wine Culture Museum. Saturday, September 12th – Arrival into Bilbao Welcome to Spain! Upon arrival into the Bilbao Airport you will be greeted by your driver-guide and transferred to San Sebastian. Along the way, we will stop for a guided visit at the famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, designed by architect Frank Gehry. This unique Museum is probably one of the best modern buildings in Spain and represents architecture at its best. After your visit, your guide will bring you to your accommodations in San Sebastian for check-in. San Sebastián is a sophisticated city arched around one of the finest urban beaches in the world, La Concha (The Shell), so named for its resemblance to the shape of a scallop shell, with Ondarreta and Zurriola beaches at the southwestern and northeastern ends. The promontories of Monte Urgull and Monte Igueldo serve as bookends for La Concha, while Zurriola has Monte Ulía rising over its far end. The best way to see San Sebastián is to walk around: promenades and pathways lead up the hills that Into The Vineyard – www.IntoTheVineyard.com Email: [email protected] Toll Free: 1 855 848 3899 Suite 200 - 1807 Maritime Mews. Vancouver, Canada, V6H 3W7 2 surround the city. The first records of San Sebastián date from the 11th century. A backwater for centuries, the city had the good fortune in 1845 to attract Queen Isabella II, who was seeking relief from a skin ailment in the icy Atlantic waters. Isabella was followed by much of the aristocracy of the time. For dinner, we have included a tapas and pintxos tour. Join your group and indulge in these delicious specialty bites. Pintxos are the word used in the north for tapas Pintxo means stick, so traditionally the food is on a stick, like a skewer. Food in bite size portions – small dishes or cuisine found in the Basque country. This typical Spanish tradition has crossed all borders and it is now known all over the world, with San Sebastian being one of the most famous places in Spain for pintxos or tapas. Here you can find the most diverse tapas in Spain, from traditional dishes to creative pieces of art in your plate or stick. Enjoy a walking tour of the historical Old Part of San Sebastian, where our local guides will take you to the best bars in the city to discover these miniature delicacies. Overnight at your accommodations. Your accommodations for the next 2 nights – Lasala Plaza The sea in San Sebastián is not only blue. It changes from deep turquoise to lead grey. The bay can change in a flash from almost tropical calm to the wildest of Atlantic squalls. And it’s there, facing a port dating back hundreds of years, that you’ll find the Lasala Plaza Hotel. A space where luxury doesn’t stop in the rooms. A luxury that embraces a love of local art and culture, sharing it with its guests. Lasala Plaza aspires to be a hotel that embraces and highlights the best of Donostia-San Sebastián: its culture, its love of gastronomy and the sea, the art of knowing how to live and, above all, its people. Into The Vineyard – www.IntoTheVineyard.com Email: [email protected] Toll Free: 1 855 848 3899 Suite 200 - 1807 Maritime Mews. Vancouver, Canada, V6H 3W7 3 Sunday, September 13th – San Sebastian at Leisure The day is yours to spend as you wish. Perhaps you’ll explore the beaches or wander the promenades. Option – Basque Cooking Lesson* (Additional Supplment) This morning, enjoy a cooking class in San Sebastian with lunch. You can choose between a more traditional Basque cooking or tapas/pintxos cooking class. The class is half day, with duration of about 3-4 hours and include the meals you have cooked with wine, and the recipes you just cooked. You will start the day with a visit to the local shops with your guide/chef, where you will learn about the most typical Spanish products Iberico ham, olive oil, cheese, etc. Then continue to the hands-on cooking class to learn the secrets of the world-famous Spanish tapas and pintxos or Basque cooking. Finally, enjoy a well-deserved lunch with the pintxos you cooked accompanied by wine. Dinner at our leisure this evening and overnight at your accommodations. Monday, September 14th – San Sebastian to Rioja via Navarra After breakfast and checking out this morning, you will be met at the hotel by your private guide as we make our way towards Navarra. Along the way, we will be stop near the town of Pamplona where we will be welcomed at a winery such as Otazu Winery. In the Navarra medieval court files, in a writing about the kitchen, food and beverages of King Charles III (XV century) the wines of Eriete and Val de Etxauri (now Otazu) appeared as the most distinguished of the Kingdom. Into The Vineyard – www.IntoTheVineyard.com Email: [email protected] Toll Free: 1 855 848 3899 Suite 200 - 1807 Maritime Mews. Vancouver, Canada, V6H 3W7 4 Afterwards we’ll head for a tapas lunch in the town of Logroño and visit the Campo Viejo Winery in the afternoon for a tasting. Campo Viejo is one of the most astonishing places in Spain. This winery, state of the art producing 30 million bottles. Campo Viejo has a long history that takes us back to the Roman Empire. However, it has been only in the last century that their name became synonymous with Rioja wines. From their first vintage – brewed in the former Ortigüela winery in 1959 – to the creation of the famous ‘Rioja Bottle’ in 1961 and the unveiling of their new state-of-the-art sustainable winery in 2001, they have been at the forefront of Rioja winemaking. Join them on a journey back in time to discover more about our vibrant past. Your guide will deliver you to your accommodations at the end of the afternoon for check-in. Dinner at your leisure this evening and overnight at your accommodations. Your accommodations for the next 3 nights – Palacio Tondón The Ebro river becomes tortuous as it runs through Briñas, a little gem located in La Rioja which dates back to the Roman period. Narrow streets dotted with stately homes, including this 16th century palace with views of the Tondón vineyards, from which it takes its name. Palacio Tondón is a unique architectural complex surrounded by vineyards and mountains where tradition and history are combined with innovation and sustainability. Into The Vineyard – www.IntoTheVineyard.com Email: [email protected] Toll Free: 1 855 848 3899 Suite 200 - 1807 Maritime Mews. Vancouver, Canada, V6H 3W7 5 Tuesday, September 15th – Rioja Wine Touring Your guide will meet you at your accommodations this morning as we set out for a charming day discovering the Rioja Wine Region. We begin the day with a visit to a boutique family- owned winery called Amaren. Amaren, "the wine of the mother", was born with the harvest of 1995 as a tribute to Ángeles, mother of winemaker Juan Luis Cañas, who currently directs the winery. AMAREN, which in Basque means "of the mother", was the first wine thought, made and marketed by Bodegas Luis Cañas to place it among the most outstanding wines of the country. In 2009, Juan Luis Cañas sees his dream come true, dedicating not only a wine but an entire wine cellar to his mother. Bodegas Amaren was born. Afterwards, by contrast, we visit strikingly modern and high-tech, Baigorri winery. Built on 7 levels into a terraced hillside to take advantage of gravity flow to move their wines. This project is the work of Iñaki Aspizu, an architect whose work is an architectonic reference. In their restaurant, we will have lunch in front of the vineyards with creative food that also represents Spanish cuisine. After lunch, we can explore the small towns in Rioja such as the Medieval walled village of Laguardia (13th century), capital of La Rioja Alavesa. Under the stone paved streets and homes of Laguardia it is full of old subterranean bodegas, and over them there are many historic monuments and sites, like the Gothic facade of Santa Maria de los Reyes church. Into The Vineyard – www.IntoTheVineyard.com Email: [email protected] Toll Free: 1 855 848 3899 Suite 200 - 1807 Maritime Mews. Vancouver, Canada, V6H 3W7 6 Your guide will return you to your accommodations at the end of the day to enjoy dinner at your leisure.