La Rioja Wine Tour with Laguardia Cellar & Marques de Riscal
Three wineries, underground cellars, and a valley lunch in one morning
A private guided wine tour of La Rioja starts at a family-run vineyard where you see the winemaking process from vines to barrel, taste on a veranda overlooking the vineyards, then moves to Laguardia: an 11th-century walled town built on a hill. Below its cobbled streets lies a labyrinth of cellar caves. You descend into one for a tasting, then eat a three-course lunch with views across the valley. The day ends at Marques de Riscal, the landmark winery housed in a Frank Gehry building. A guide leads the whole route in English, Spanish or French.
Step-by-step itinerary
Explore Rioja vineyards and town
- Visit family run winery tour
- Taste wines and tapas on veranda
- Tour Marques de Riscal winery
- Explore Laguardia town streets
- Visit cellar caves and wine tasting
- Enjoy traditional 3-course lunch
- Villabuena de Alava 2h
- Laguardia 3h
- Elciego 1h
What’s included
- Private transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle.
- a guided tour of the family winery with the full winemaking process explained.
- a tasting and tapas session on the veranda.
- a guided walk through Laguardia's medieval streets.
- a descent into the cellar caves for a second tasting.
- a three-course traditional lunch with valley views and drinks.
- a tour of the Marques de Riscal estate with wine or coffee.
- bottled water throughout the day.
- Every day 08:30
Information
Private La Rioja wine tour visiting three wineries and the Marques de Riscal estate, with tastings in Laguardia's 11th-century underground cellar caves and a winery lunch.
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The experience
The tour opens at a four-generation family vineyard where the guide walks you through the entire winemaking process (from the vines themselves through fermentation and barrel aging), then sits you down on the veranda for a tasting and tapas while you look out over the rows below. This first stop sets the rhythm: you're not watching from a distance, but standing in the place where the wine is made.
Laguardia is where the day shifts underground. The town itself sits on a hilltop surrounded by vineyards, its medieval walls and cobbled streets intact since the 1100s, but the real draw is what lies beneath: a network of cellar caves carved into the stone where local producers have aged wine for centuries. You walk down into one of these tunnels for a second tasting, then surface for a three-course traditional lunch with a view back out over the valley. The contrast (from the dark, cool caves to the sunlit dining room) is the architecture of the day.
The final stop is Marques de Riscal, the winery that put La Rioja on the map. The building itself is the draw here: Frank Gehry designed it, and it sits among the vines like a sculpture. You tour the estate and taste the vino tinto that made the name. Private transportation moves you between all three sites, and the guide handles the route in whichever language you've chosen.
Top questions
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English, Spanish and French.
What exactly happens inside the family vineyard on the first stop?
The family winery gives you a full guided tour of the winemaking process from start to finish. You see the vines, learn how they're harvested, watch fermentation and barrel aging, then taste the finished wine on the veranda with tapas and a view of the vineyard below.
Can you actually go down into the cellar caves under Laguardia?
Yes. The caves are a network of tunnels carved into the stone beneath the town's medieval streets, and you descend into one of them for a tasting. The guide picks a favorite cellar and takes you below ground to see how the region's wines have been aged for centuries.
How long is the lunch in Laguardia?
Lunch is a three-course traditional meal served with views out over the valley. The guide builds time into the day for you to eat without rushing, and drinks are included.
What is Marques de Riscal and why does it matter?
Marques de Riscal is the winery that originally put La Rioja on the map as a wine region. The building was designed by architect Frank Gehry and sits among the vineyards. You tour the estate and taste the vino tinto that made the name famous.
Is the guide the same person for the whole day?
Yes. A single guide leads the entire tour and handles all three wineries, the town walk, and the cellar cave visit. The guide speaks English, Spanish or French depending on what you choose at booking.
Operated by Experience San Sebastian. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated yesterday
La Rioja Wine Tour with Laguardia Cellar & Marques de Riscal
9h 30m · EN · ES · FR · at your hotel
from € 480 per person
≈ US$ 539 in your currency
Next, you choose your date and number of travelers and see the final price.