La Rioja wineries.

We’ll be in Las Rioja by tomorrow, staying for 3 nights near Laguardia. I just found out that we may have a couple of open afternoons that I can use up to do some bodega visits. I’ve already made advanced appointments to visit Lopez de Heredia and Remelluri for this trip. I know the importance of making advance appointments at Rioja, but was wondering if anybody know of bodegas that allow ad hoc tasking/visits? We’ve visited a couple of times before and have made appointment visits to a few other wineries outside of LdH and Remelluri, but don’t mind repeating visits if it so happens that they’ll allow walk-ins?

Ramon; Look into Muga.

Cheers!
Marshall

Thanks Marshall.
Good suggestion. I’ve been to Muga on an appointment-visit before and your response made me remember that they do have a tasting room where they sell wines but not sure if they’ll let me in without an appointment.

In addition, I was told by my LdH-guide this morning that La Rioja Alta accepts walk-ins to their wine tasting-sale room.

I’ll do both of them tomorrow afternoon.

If you are interested in visiting any of the CVNE wineries let me know. The winemaker is a friend and I can check if he is available at short notice.

Thank you for the offer Carlos.
Inasmuch as I’d love to do CVNE (OK, also done the CVNE winery tour many years ago, but would love to go again), I will pass on your kind offer. I don’t want to stretch the wine “hall pass” that I got from the wife on this trip.
I’ll stick with the 2 close ones at Haro tomorrow.

Just following up on my attempts at walking in at a couple of tasting rooms in Rioja a couple of days ago.

The serene and very beautiful grounds of La Rioja Alta winery in Haro includes an impressive modern tasting room that was manned, or more appropriately, womanned by a very friendly and very knowledgeable young lady who obviously took some time off from her office duties in the adjacent room, to attend to the wife and I and explain the different LRA products from Galicia, Rioja Alta, Rioja Alava and Ribera del Duero and invited us for a taste wines from each. I politely declined on most as I’ve had most of their Rioja wines that were listed as available for tasting, and also because I’m driving and didn’t want to ask the wife to man the wheels on that day. Both their 2012 Albarino and, especially the 2005 Aster Reserva from their Ribera del Duero operation, were impressive. Our tasting room hostess pointed out how there’s that more modern approach to their Rivera del Duero wines (and more so in their Rioja Alava wines), but I was still happy with the overall roundness and complexity of the Aster tempranillo from Ribera del Duero. I’m kinda bummed now as I don’t see this available in the US as per current winesearcher pro site.

Bodegas Muga has a very modern, very sleek, wine tasting room that doubles as a wine bar. There’s an open-concept office within one side of the bar itself where the employees double as the reception and bar-keeps for the visitors. Among the many listed wines that were available for tasting, I only wanted to taste the 2005 Prado Enea GR. I struck up a conversation with our office-worker/barkeep about the sparkling wine that they had on the tasting list and she promptly popped the cork on a fresh bottle and poured us each a full glass, complimentary. I like the 2005 Prado Enea, but liked the 2000 version more as I thought it had more rustic and complex character with longer aging potential.