La Rioja Travel Guide

Get out the copas (glasses) and make sure to arrive hungry, as La Rioja is a destination bursting with fine wine and superlative gastronomy. It is Spain’s second-smallest Autonomous Community (after the Canary Islands), and yet both Riojan wines and the region’s culinary heritage are famous throughout Spain. Utilizing local produce as much as possible, Riojan gastronomy is all heart and soul – divine, but intensely nourishing and homely. Family-run inns and unpretentious casas de comidas are the staple of Riojan restaurants, offering home cooking that has much in common with that of neighboring Navarra, Aragon, and Leon.

However, while Riojan gastronomy has always been of high quality, in recent years a culinary shift has seen a stronger emphasis on experimentation and molecular cuisine. Of course, traditional restaurants still abound, but they have been joined by a firmament that values innovation as much as tradition. The result has been the awarding of Michelin stars, which can only enhance Rioja’s reputation as a premier food and wine region.

Indeed, budding chefs are really spoilt for choice when it comes to fresh produce. Market gardens are full of artichokes, asparagus, cardoons, borage, Swiss chard, aubergines, and courgettes. Small and fiery red chili peppers, alegrias Riojans, are a key component of local cuisine, as is wine. Many meat dishes involve wine and brandy – look out for solomillo al vino de Rioja ( beefsteak macerated in red Rioja and brandy, and cooked with shallots and mushrooms) – as do desserts. Traditional desserts are usually fruits poached in wine, while local pastries are made with walnuts and almonds.

Yet the food culture in Rioja’s mountain areas is quite distinctive. Pork is vital; all kinds of cured pork products – chorizo, salchichon and a delicious sweet blood sausage made with rice – go into stews rich with the mottled caparrones (kidney beans) and red beans. Wild boar, venison, partridge, hare, and quail are all regular guests on menus. But perhaps Rioja’s greatest culinary treasure is its tradition of grilling lamb over smoldering vine prunings. Chuletas, which are lamb chops from very young lamb, taste unbelievably moreish when cooked over vine shoot embers. Lechazo asado or cordero lechal asado, which is young milk-fed lamb rubbed with garlic and roasted in a hot wood-fired oven until tender, defies words. Freshwater crayfish, trout and salt cod are also popular in La Rioja. The fresh, salty, slightly acidic goat’s cheese Camerano rounds off this gastronomic feast nicely. It makes a divine tapa, served over caramelized onions.

Laguardia is one of the most perfectly preserved medieval villages in Spain. It is also located right in Rioja wine country and is the perfect base for your wine tour of Spain’s most well-known red wine region. Laguardia is a medieval hill hamlet (called “villa” in Spanish), reminiscent of Tuscan hilltop villages. The town is surrounded by an ancient wall and has a delightful jumble of cobble-stoned streets lined with “Tabernas,” wine shops, palaces, and cafes. Laguardia was founded in the year 1164 by King Sancho Abarca, and the spectacularly preserved wall dates back to the 15th century. The entire village became protected as Patrimony of Spain in 1964. The name “Laguardia” originates from “La Guardia de Navarra,” the “Guard” of Navarra, referring to its strategic importance in the kingdom of Navarre.