Jumping in Rioja's capital

J. and I really like Rioja wine, it's probably our favorite. Rioja doesn't have such a great reputation, and it's true that in the past, many were of mediocre quality. But in the last decades, Rioja winemakers have really upped their game, and if you like intense tanic wines, like we do, this is an excellent choice.

So for our holidays of 2024, we decided we'd stop in La Rioja autonomous community and visit a couple of bodegas. Gunther drove us to the Camping de Haro, the wine capital of Rioja.

For the wineries we visited Muga and CVNE. We like both visits for very different reasons. Muga is a small family-owned winery. In the bodega, we saw a cellar that has wines of more than 100 years old! Degustation was very nice.

On the other hand, CVNE, also a family-owned business funded in 1879, is a much larger winery, with more production and various brands. It is easier to find in retail stores and abroad. But we were lucky enough to have a private tour (nobody else showed up for our time slot) with a guide that had been working there for ages and knew everything about the winery and its history. It was very interesting as well.