Northern Spain... wineries to visit, places to eat!

I am new to this board. I have plans to be in Spain for two weeks at the end of this and beginning of the next month (6/24 to 8/4). We will be in Barcelona, San Sebastien, Bilbao, Penefiel (Ribera Del Duero), Cenicero (Rioja), and then Sitges (beach south of Barcelona). We have plans for a visit to Emilio Moro (Ribera) and to Costers del Siurano (Priorat) with the assistance of Nejaimes of Stockbridge and Fine Estates From Spain. The only one of these locales we have been before is Barcelona.

It is my understanding that the wineries of Rioja have become a showplace of modern architecture… but is there a parallel between beautiful wineries and wineries with beautiful wine?

Any input at all would be welcome. My 22 year old son will be joining us in Barcelona and Rioja… and shares the passion for wine!

Although it is on this architectural list, I would actually be sure to hit R Lopez de Heredia for the wines. I hear the cellars are covered in black moss or something, but the wines are among my favorites in the world. I would love to visit someday!

http://designcrave.com/2009-05-14/winery-design-and-architecture-the-worlds-10-best/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just PM’ed Michel. Hopefully he’ll chime in.

In the meantime Matthew, you can check out his blog:

http://vinotas.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gracias Ken for pointing this out.

Matt, I just got back from Northern Spain/Southern France. It was a wine business trip, and I can give you some pointers in Barcelona and areas north of it (the region is called Emporda and I blogged about it recently). Wines are so-so, some nice stuff but lots of ordinary wines and some God-awful stuff (I started calling those Millerized :wink: ). Food is outstanding, however.

This was my first time in Barcelona, and I was there for 5 days. My usual MO in most European cities I visit is to rent an apartment so I can live like the locals, shop the wonderful markets, cook when I want to stay in and have a place to call “home”. It has rarely been a bad decision.

I have a list of places to eat in BCN, let me rummage in the mess my apartment has become and I’ll post them here. One definite place to visit is Cal Pep, in the Old Town. WOW. Food is wonderful, and I had a 3-hour, 3 bottle and 1 shot lunch with some locals I met at the bar there, and we ended up befriending the bartender (which is where the shots came into play). For some reason, I have a hard time remembering everything I ate that day… [drinkers.gif]

Let me find the list and I’ll post it shortly.
Cheers! [cheers.gif]

A good friend of mine, Miguel, grew up in Barcelona and still goes there at least once a year to visit his mom - more often these days since his work takes him to Europe every other month. He’s obsessed with food and relatively recently set up a food blog. I searched for his posts on Barcelona restaurants which you may find helpful (lots of photos too):

http://www.miguelvecin.com/search/label/Barcelona%20restaurants

Best,

N

This was an excellent source of information, BTW. Thanks so much!

I want to thank you all for your responses. I will follow up on your recommendations in Barcelona… and just sent an email to R Lopez de Heredia to attempt to schedule a tasting!

Respectfully,

M

You are most welcome, Michel.

Matt, I hope the link helps you somehow on your trip.

N