YOUR RIOJA ADDRESS BOOK
ACCOMMODATION
Hospedería de los Parajes Located in Laguardia, this hotel has spacious rooms, a bar in a 15th-century cellar and two restaurants offering generous, traditional dishes. hospederiadelosparajes.com
Hotel Calle Mayor Logroño
Set in the town’s historic centre, this small hotel is handy if you want to enjoy the tapas and wine bars a few blocks away without having to drive. Helpful staff and excellent breakfast. hotelcallemayor.com
Palacio de Samaniego
Luxury rooms in a 17th-century palace owned by the Rothschild family. Expect an outdoor lap pool, creative dishes in the restaurant and the chance to visit the Macán estate, co-owned by Vega Sicilia. palaciodesamaniego.com
RESTAURANTS Héctor Oribe
Family-owned, this restaurant offers one of the best lunchtime menus in Rioja Alavesa, hence its popularity among wine producers. Oribe’s traditional food is matched by a cellar containing more than 100 wines. hectororibe.es
Ikaro
Run by a young Spanish-Ecuadorian couple, this ‘fine dining’ one-star Michelin, but moderately priced, restaurant offers a creative vision of local gastronomy combined with some fusion dishes. restauranteikaro.com
Venta Moncalvillo
A one-star Michelin restaurant owned by brothers Ignacio and Carlos Echapresto
(see ‘Who’s Who’, p28). Many of the ingredients are sourced from their vegetable garden, visible from the dining room. The wine cellar boasts more than 1,300 cuvées, with a focus on Rioja. ventamoncalvillo.com/web
PLACES TO VISIT Erroiz
Few people are aware that Rioja also produces some excellent olive oil. At this mill in Lanciego, you can see old groves and sample extra-virgin oils. erroiz.eus
Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture
Next to the Vivanco winery in Briones, this museum houses a grapevine garden with more than 220 varieties, a vast wine-themed art collection with works by the likes of Picasso and Warhol, and one of the world’s finest collections of corkscrews. vivancoculturadevino.es