from £1,799* per person	7 Days	September
Comfort accommodations		Exertion level: 3
Operator: Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours		24 people max

The vineyards of Rioja are set in huge tracts of land that make for excellent walking countryside. Autumn is an ideal month to go for a vineyard walk – the buzz of the harvest will be in the air, at harvest time the vineyards will be beginning to take on their multicoloured autumn hues, and it should be a great temperature for walking!

We meet in Bilbao and drive down to Rioja to check into our first hotel. This afternoon there is a walk around Haro, the main wine town and a tasting visit.

Over the next couple of days we cover the ground between the Monasterio de Yuso and Cordovin, a village of small cellars surrounded by classic red earth Rioja Alta vineyards. Here we visit a small cellar, perhaps a ‘Cosechero’ (grower).

We continue to walk through Rioja Alavesa and then below the Sierra de Cantabria. We’ll see the roof line of Ysios, the dramatic building in flashing titanium that matches the jagged line of the mountains behind it.

We climb up to the superb viewpoint above the Rioja Alavesa called the Balcon de Rioja. There will also be a fascinating walk through the mountains above Rioja where we come across a ruined monastery. Later, we will explore the medieval hill town of Laguardia.

As we walk, we will see the dramatic differences in ‘terroir’ of Rioja, between the Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta. Although these regions are defined politically, it is the geological difference that is most noticeable; Alavesa has white clay lime soils whereas those of Alta can be shocking dark red, betraying the presence of iron.

The wines of Alavesa tend to be elegant and those of the Alta more forceful, as you will see in the series of excellent tastings along the route at smaller bodegas and also some farms, such as Remelluri, Baron de Ona, David Moreno, Florentino Martinez, Muga, Vina Izadi and Contino.

Apart from the high quality wines which you will be tasting along the way, you will see nature at close hand. We have seen bee-eaters and other rare birds, and are often escorted by a posse of partridges with kites, buzzards and eagles soaring over head.
The vinedos de Ternero wine estate is home to lovely flora and fauna.

There are some climbs and descents on the route, but the coach is usually on hand to pick up any weary walkers. There are pit-stops along the way at Bodegas and in the villages.

Our base for exploring Rioja Alta is a comfortable family run hotel with a gastronomic restaurant and a wine bar. We are then based in a 4* convent hotel in Haro and finally a delightful family-run Palacio in the Rioja Alavesa village of Samaniego.

This is a fascinating region to visit and being on foot, you will see this from a privileged view-point.