Access-All-Areas Rioja with Jonathan Ray, a four-night wine tour from 14 April 2026
Led by drinks editor Jonathan Ray you will visit top wineries several of which don’t normally welcome visitors – and drink wines not normally on offer. You will mingle with fellow Spectator readers and, we promise, will not go thirsty. Think of our tours as roving and very genial, modestly-sized drinks parties.
All our trips are overseen by our good friends at Kirker Holidays, the multi-award-winning luxury travel specialists. Do join us!
Rioja, a four-night holiday from 14 April 2026
La Rioja is a diverse region of rolling countryside where picturesque villages cluster around monasteries and churches, and it is also the most important vine growing area of Spain. Our new spring tour with Jonathan Ray is based in one of the most charming villages in the heart of Rioja Alavesa, north of the Ebro River, and includes delicious Basque cuisine and visits to some of the finest winemakers in Rioja, from historic family bodegas which have been producing wines for more than a century, to innovative new winemakers who are producing some of the most exciting wines in the country.
The Hotel Viura (4* Superior, pictured), named for the local white grape variety, is a striking example of contemporary architecture, made up of a series of cubes that appear to balance precariously on top of one another – a stunning contrast with the surrounding traditional buildings of the village. Viura has 35 spacious bedrooms in a modern style, with large windows that allow wonderful views of the Rioja Alavesa. There is a communal swimming pool next door which is free to use and a gastronomic restaurant, Bistro Barrica.
Day 1 We fly to Bilbao and will be transferred to the Hotel Viura (4* Superior), where we are based for the duration of the tour, a stylish modern hotel in the tiny hamlet of Villabuena de Alava, in the heart of Rioja Alavesa, one of the highest subregions of La Rioja where Atlantic breezes cool the high-altitude vines. There is a gastronomic restaurant where we have dinner this evening with selected local wines from the hotel’s cellar, which stretches through a secret underground passage way below the hotel.
Day 2 This morning we will walk to the Bodegas de la Marquesa – Valserrano, just a few minutes from our hotel. Here the family has been producing wines for five generations, and we will taste their excellent Tempranillo-based reds as well as the white Rioja made from the Viura grapes, grown in the highest and poorest soils of the vineyard. There will be some free time for lunch, before we visit the innovative Viña Ijalba, who pioneered the revival of Rioja’s classic grape Graciano. We will spend this evening in nearby Logroño, where we will have time to explore the town's excellent tapas bars.
Day 3 This morning we head for the hill town of Haro, wine capital of La Rioja. Here, in the area of historic bodegas close to the railway that linked Rioja with the outside world, our first visit is to Bodegas Muga. We pause for a delicious lunch at a restaurant which was a favourite of Hemingway, before an afternoon tasting at Bodegas Roda, one of the newest and most dynamic Rioja wineries. The evening will be free.
Day 4 Today is devoted to exploring the vineyards of Rioja Alavesa, starting at the state-of-the-art Viña Real winery, followed by lunch at the farmhouse of Contino, the oldest ‘single estate’ Rioja bodega, one of the most attractive wines and most idyllic places in Rioja. In the evening, we will have a delicious tapas dinner together in Laguardia.
Day 5 This morning we check out of the hotel and drive to Bilbao, where there will be a guided tour of Frank Gehry’s spectacular Guggenheim Museum. Constructed of titanium and limestone, it stands on the banks of the River Nervion and has 18 galleries displaying spectacular large-scale works of contemporary art with a particular focus on Basque artists. Lunch is included here before we travel to the airport for our flight this evening.
Gatwick 13:40, arrive Bilbao at 16:45 (Vueling)
Bilbao 18:10, arrives Gatwick at 19:00 (Vueling)
What we include
Return flights
Four nights’ accommodation with breakfast
Two dinners & three lunches
Visits to wineries as described
All sightseeing…
Services of Jonathan Ray & a Kirker Tour Manager
£2,582 per person
Single supplement £298
For more information speak to Lucy Ayling at Kirker Travel on 0207 593 2284
