More than 200 guests filled Logroño’s newly opened Center of Rioja Wine Culture for the 2013 ‘Best Of Wine Tourism awards ceremony’ for Bilbao-Rioja on October 10.
The 2013 winners are:
Accommodation: Finca Los Arandinos (Entrena, La Rioja)
This hotel and winery on a hilltop features a spectacular panoramic view of vineyards and the mid-Ebro valley, a restaurant and a number of wine tourism activities for guests. fincadelosarandinos.com
Architecture, Parks and Gardens: Bodegas Casa Primicia (Laguardia, Álava)
Casa Primicia, the oldest example of civil architecture in Laguardia, was originally the office of the tax collector. It has been lovingly restored by Julián Madrid, a local grape grower and winery owner and is currently used by the winery to host events. bodegascasaprimicia.com
Art and Culture: Bodegas Valdelana (Elciego, Álava)
Juan Jesús Valdelana is the third generation of grape farmers and winery owners in Rioja Alavesa. Intensely interested in ethnography and the history of wine culture in Rioja, Juan Jesús has created a museum in the old underground cellars under his winery. bodegasvaldelana.com
Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences: Bodegas Franco-Españolas (Logroño, La Rioja)
Bodegas Franco-Españolas can not only boast about its 110 year old history but also its wide range of interesting activities for wine lovers including speed dating and wine events, mini-theater presentations, wedding ceremonies in the winery and Halloween parties. The jury also commended the company for its efforts to stand out as an inside-the-city winery. francoespanolas.com
Wine Tourism Restaurant: Remenetxe (Muxika, Vizcaya)
In addition to its outstanding wine list, featuring not only wines from Rioja but from other Spanish DOs and a wide range of international offerings, Remenetxe offers courses in an area specifically designed area devoted to wine education. remenetxe.com
Wine Tourism Services: Gourmet Echapresto (Daroca, La Rioja)
Carlos and Ignacio Echapresto offer guests the excellent cuisine from their Michelin-starred restaurant Venta Moncalvillo, as well as a number of wine and food related activities such as cooking classes, wine tasting courses, wine and food pairing dinners, walks through Rioja vineyards and wild mushroom picking in the mountains that surround the town of Daroca. ventamoncalvillo.com
The members of the jury were Carlos Delgado, wine journalist from El País, Lourdes Aedo, director of GPS, the weekly travel and entertainment magazine of the Correo group of newspapers and Carmen Romo, director of Romotur, an incoming travel agency from the Bilbao area.
Bilbao-Rioja’s winners will compete for the international Best Of Wine Tourism Awards at the annual meeting of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network in Florence on November 8.
About the Great Wine Capitals Global Network
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is an alliance of nine internationally renowned wine regions – Bordeaux, France; Cape Town, South Africa; Christchurch-South Island, New Zealand; Florence, Italy; Mainz-Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; Bilbao-Rioja, Spain and San Francisco-Napa Valley, USA. The Best Of Wine Tourism awards serve as an industry benchmark for excellence and recognize leading wineries and wine-tourism related businesses within each Great Wine Capital that have distinguished themselves in areas such as innovation, service and sustainable practices. For more information visit greatwinecapitals.com.
Written by Decanter
