It's our family tradition that whenever we do a course on a given wine region, we immediately plan a trip there to experience the theory first-hand. I did the Rioja Wine Academy course in May 2025, and by June 2026 it was high time to go.
Rioja is a huge and diverse region, so I figured it'll take multiple visits to really experience everything - but you have to start somewhere, and the plan was Haro. Mainly because it's extremely easy to organize: you fly to Bilbao, take a convenient train, and you're there. While planning, I noticed an odd thing: every winery seemed to be closed on the 29th of June. A quick Google revealed it was the famous Batalla del Vino, which made me even more excited about the trip. But let's start from the beginning.
Bilbao
I spent two full days in Bilbao and honestly, the food scene deserves its own post. Pintxos and tapas are ubiquitous and the quality is excellent. You can easily spend a couple of days happily switching bars every few hours and have a magnificent time.
Wine-wise, it's not that exciting - especially if you don't happen to like their flagship Txakolina. Even then, you can easily get a decent Rioja, since Rioja Alavesa is so close to Bilbao.
Haro & the night before Batalla del Vino
I arrived in Haro the day before Batalla. Getting off the train at El Barrio de la Estación immediately sent shivers down my spine - banners of all the big Rioja names lining the streets. But that had to wait for the next days, so I continued to my hotel.
Before going out for dinner, I decided to wear white clothes - obligatory for the Batalla - just in case. I also bought the festival's red handkerchief at a nearby Chinese market (which also sold white clothes, in case somehow you didn't bring yours).
When I arrived in the historic old town, I was astounded: it turns out it's a huge pre-party, with people in the streets, local orchestras, music, joy, and of course wine. I had a great night joining the international crowd. I left around 2 AM - I needed to get up at 6 to catch the bus to the battle grounds.
Batalla del Vino
You can walk from Haro to the battle grounds, but it's a decent walk. Luckily, the city organizes buses. I'll answer the immediate question: the buses are ALL wrapped in plastic, and that's how they survive it.
The buses start early and the queues form even earlier. By the occasional pavement pizza here and there, you can tell some people came straight from the party in the city center.
The battle takes place uphill from where the buses drop you off - another decent walk. You don't need to be very fit, but some hiking experience helps.
It was really hard to say when the battle actually started. At some point a helpful person gave me a hand up a steep slope and then immediately blasted me with a bucket of wine. I responded with a sprinkle from my plastic bottle and moved on.
As you got closer to the crowd, you'd notice more and more people already in a frenzy of pouring wine on each other. At some point it was easy to spot "that's the main place," so I just joined in. It's really hard to describe, but it was… really fun. Also cold and vinegary.
After two hours or so I decided to head back to the buses, and I passed quite a few clean people just arriving.
If you ever consider joining Batalla del Vino, I don't have many suggestions - wear white clothes you're happy to throw away. Bring something to pour wine with; a plastic bottle is perfectly fine, but people bring water guns, BiBs, buckets, sprinklers, basically everything.
I got initial ammo at the local Carrefour, but it's very easy to replenish at the cisterns on-site. Some people wear glasses to protect their eyes from wine, but honestly, I don't think it's necessary. People are very respectful (that was surprising, tbh) and try not to shoot you in the face.
After Batalla, I threw away my clothes and went to sleep before the first visit.
CVNE
My first stop was CVNE. Their bodega is impressive but the tour is fairly standard. The tasting included a couple of their non-classical wines, which was a nice touch.
Was it worth it? Yes - but every next bodega was even better.
La Rioja Alta
The second day of visits started with the absolute highlight of the trip: La Rioja Alta. Viña Ardanza (recommended to me here on this group) was the original bottle that got me into the Rioja hype.
Their bodega is truly amazing - you can see the attention and devotion to quality at every step, in every room. But I didn't go there just for the views: the tasting really delivered.
Besides the standard bottles, I got a chance to drink 904 for the first time - vintage 1997. Just WOW. And Viña Ardanza, of course, still rocks.
RODA
Next up was RODA. Smaller-scale production, a pretty distinct style. The tour was nice.
As for the wines - I think it's a pity they present their Riberas (from their sister winery Bodegas La Horra in Ribera del Duero) side-by-side with the Riojas, sacrificing some of the local bottles they could show instead.
Gómez Cruzado
The third one that day was Gómez Cruzado. I didn't have time for a visit, so it was "just" a tasting - but the narrative was superb.
To be frank, I completely fell in love with these wines. I loved the diversity and, of course, the quality. I ended up buying way too many bottles. Next time in Haro, I'd love to visit the bodega as well.
Muga
Then I tried to taste Muga, but the tasting room was closed during standard business hours - and it wasn't the first time it happened.
Well, shame on you, Muga.
López de Heredia / Viña Tondonia
The crown jewel of the trip was López de Heredia - the legendary Viña Tondonia. The visit was by far the best one, ever.
The bodega is magnificent, from the press room to the cellars, and the story behind the wine only made the tasting better.
If you were to visit only one bodega, make it Tondonia - the pavilion tasting room (the Zaha Hadid one) takes public bookings, but the full bodega tour is mostly reserved for professionals by appointment. Still worth asking if you have any credentials in the wine industry.
Eating & drinking in Haro
As for the restaurant scene in Haro - it's on par with the wines.
The best one, by far, was Terete: famous for lamb chops and a gigantic wine list. The nicest thing is they also make their own wine, and I was able to taste their 1973 Gran Reserva for only €50.
My other recommendation would be Arrope - also an extensive wine list and high-quality local food.
For more classical wine bars, check out Roots or La abacería de la Auro. The tapas bars in the heart of the historic center are also nice, but mind that Haro is practically dead in the evening outside of festivities and weekends.
Am I coming back?
Am I coming back? Certainly. There are still more bodegas in Haro to visit, but next time I'll rent a car and go around Rioja more - I want to taste the other styles beyond classical Rioja Alta.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Some visuals on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DctGr6JAoap/
For 15 years, Athan Zafirov has traveled the vineyards around the world and worked with some of the greatest chefs including Francois Duc and Alan Brown.
Athan Zafirov's Medium
Athan Zafirov's Wordpress
Athan Zafirov's LinkedIn
Comments
Post a Comment