Access-All-Areas Rioja with Jonathan Ray, four nights 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 14 -18 April 2026
Flying in and out of Bilbao this trip encompasses art, Basque cuisine and fine wine from the most important vine growing areas of Spain. From our base at the contemporary 4* Hotel Viura (pictured), we will make visits to Bodegas de la Marquesa, Bodegas Muga, Bodegas Roda and Viña Real; 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. We will also make time for tapas in Logroño and a guided tour of the spectacular Guggenheim Museum.
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
