Cheese Lovers Tour of Spain

On arrival at Bilbao airport, your chauffeur will be waiting for you. Hit the road and head west to beautiful Asturias, home to some of Spain’s best shepherd’s cheeses. First stop is at a quaint, stone “sidreria” Cider House; Casa Poli for a delicious tapas-style lunch. Generous portions of octopus, local anchovies, chorizo cooked in cider, cured ham, meats and cheeses accompanied by a continuous flow of scrumptious cider – welcome to Asturias! The cheeses will include Vidiago cheese from terrific, tiny artisan producers like Queso Collera. Vidiago is traditionally from cow’s milk and cured in olive oil, providing a smooth texture and mild creamy flavor. read more

Your chauffeur will meet you in the lobby this morning for a 20-minute drive along the coast to visit Queseria Bedon near San Antolin, a famous surfer beach for a private tour and tasting. Bedón Cheese takes its name from the Bedón River that flows next to the cheese farm and ends near to the monastery of San Antolín. You will learn how they produce their fine, smooth textured and intensely aromatic cheeses from their own livestock of both cow and goat. You will most likely be invited to meet some of “furry” members of the team who happily graze in the surrounding pastures. The tasting follows, which is unsurprisingly heavenly and makes for an interesting comparison as here the cheeses are elaborated at sea level. After a convivial visit with this charming family, enjoy a scenic walk along a bucolic river set in the mountains, down to the sea and into the sweet hamlet of Naves. read more

Head to the hamlet of Corao for a Gamoneu Cheese tasting. Gamoneu or Gamonedo or Queso de Gamonéu (D.O.P.) is produced from a blend of cows, sheep’s and goat’s milk. Cangas de Onis is a fascinating certified craft producer of Gamoneu de Valle cheese in the heart of the Corao. Alberto makes “Valle” using the traditional method and from milk from his own livestock. The cheese is smoked in ash and then matured in a cave in the “Peaks of Europe” natural park. The cheese wheels are not pierced to accelerate the penetration of blue veins. Rather, the delicate patches of interior blue mold are allowed to develop naturally, giving the cheese a gentle flavor and still allowing the flavors of the smoking to come through. Next, you will head to the mountains and enjoy a full Cabrales experience (from the pastures to the plate) including a cave (Cueva) visit at Queseria Main in Sotres. Your hosts are a delightful young married couple who left the city where they lived to go back to their mountain village in the Cabrales P.D.O. area and continue the cheese making family tradition. They have several caves, each bringing a different taste and smell to the cheeses. Accessing some of the caves by car is totally impossible, so for some of them, the cheeses are actually transported by a horse. Finish with the tasting; starting with the young, white, fresh cheese with no aging followed by an older blue and finishing with a fabulously honking aged blue all washed down with traditional cider. read more

Visit the small yet bustling country weekly market in Cangas de Onis this morning- brimming with supreme artisan products from fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, cured meats, and cider. It is a historical occurrence, having been held every Sunday morning for over 200 years. Afterwards you will have some free time to wander around the cute village, shop (all the shops open on market day as well, Sunday really is a working day in Cangas!) and stroll up to the emblematic Roman Bridge, known as the Roman Bridge of Cangas de Onís, the “Puente Vieyu” or “Puentón”, it is one of the best-known symbols of the Principality of Asturias. Despite its symbolic connection to Roman times, the present bridge in fact dates to medieval times, it consists of 3 arches, the middle and largest arch holds a replica of the Victory Cross (the original made of precious metal and dating back to the beginning of the 10^th century is housed in Oviedo Cathedral). read more

Discover more of incredible Cantabria today! This morning you will visit an artisan “queseria” making the famous Queso Picón in the Valle de Liébana. An enticing blue cheese from a mixture of cow, sheep and goat’s milk. Traditionally sold wrapped in moist leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus, but today regulations require the cheese be sold in a dark-green-colored aluminum foil. It’s truly remarkable to see the effort involved in maturing the cheeses in these caves, it’s no mean feat. Then, get ready for some outstanding views. Take the Teleferico de Fuente Dé (cable car) up into the “Picos”, climbing over 750m in less than 4 minutes taking you into the heart of the peaks at an elevation of 1823m. Once up on top, you can enjoy a coffee or glass of wine overlooking the incredible mountains, or go for a short walk. read more

After breakfast, your chauffeur will be waiting for you to whisk you off the striking Basque Country. Sit back and make yourself comfy as it’s a good 2-hour 15-minute drive. Your base for the remainder of this trip is alluring San Sebastian, it really is a special place; it’s stunningly beautiful and heaven on earth for the gourmand, with infinite bars, taverns and restaurants serving top-notch food and more Michelin starred haunts than you can dream of fitting in. You will arrive in time for a Pintxos tour of characterful tapas bars in the old quarter, there will be a focus on cheese, but you will be as equally blown away by the other local specialties. read more

Today you will enjoy an Idiazábal cheese experience. But first, hit the atmospheric market in Ordizia for a peek, it’s only a half hour drive inland south of San Sebastian. This weekly market is the center of top local produce and agriculture, absolutely brimming with stalls with the finest array of cheeses, cured meats, pickles, vegetables, and livestock. Lunch is next in the Oiangu Park at Caserio Oiangu, a historic, cozy farmhouse has been converted into a remarkable tavern come restaurant come bar, the creative brains behind this project are 4 young and dynamic chefs; Ferran, Iñaki, Ander and Tomé. They prepare inspiring variations of traditional Basque dishes, a favorite being the “Slow cooked pork with passion fruit jelly”. There is a vegetable and herb garden on site and they produce their own charcuterie – delicious! read more

This morning you will be traveling a little further afield (approx. a 90 min drive) and across the border to Saint-Etienne-de-Baïgorry in the French Pays Basque. This is home to the AOP Ossau Iraty cheese. You will enjoy a private visit and tasting at Fromagerie Tambourin. At the foot of Mount Jarra, in the heart of the Irouléguy wine country, lies this family-run dairy and farm. The cheese making history in this family dates back to the eighteenth century. Noël, Jean-François, Michel and Guillaume Tambourin are at the helm now and raise the sheep and make Ossau-Iraty cheese. This mouthwatering, almost fruity cheese is made from 100% ewe’s milk from the famed Brebis sheep that graze in the valleys. To respect the natural cycle of the animals, milk and cheese production is seasonal. After a delightful tour, you will taste 3 different aged cheeses (4 months, 6 months and 8 months) accompanied by local wines. The countryside here is totally unspoiled. read more

Hit the wine country today, the scenic Rioja region, also home to the Queso Camerano where you will savor your final cheese tasting of this trip. Established in 1962, and using a traditional method dating back centuries before. You will have a private tour and tasting including their range of cheeses from cow, sheep and goat’s milk complemented with the superior liquid of these lands, of course – an ideal match. Then, a fine wine tour at outstanding Roda; producing some of the most succulent wine in Rioja, we are sure you will agree having tasted their powerful, spicy and concentrated superior quality reds. After a private tour of the spectacular premises, you will conclude with a tasting of not only their wines but their truly remarkable, finger-licking Arbequina Olive oil – the perfect aperitif! read more

At your desired time your chauffeur will transfer you to Bilbao airport and that concludes your tasty cheese lovers tour of Northern Spain. Buen Viaje. read more