Ábalos
Today, we probed the western and northern boundaries of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. This area is quite fascinating and strangely beautiful in places, particularly north of the Ebro River. And, the weather turned nicer - an even 2.0 today.
<Wine commentary only>
Administratively (politically), La Rioja is a province. However, not all of the province grows grapes or makes wine and not all of the province is actually part of the official D.O. Rioja. The official D.O. Rioja wine region is divided into three parts - Rioja Baja, Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. Generally speaking, the better Rioja wines come from Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. All of Rioja Alavesa is north of the Ebro and is actually in Álava, which is one of the three provinces that make up Euskadi (Pais Vasco) - the Basque country. We are staying in Ábalos, which is north of the Ebro, but it is in a very small enclave that is part of La Rioja province administratively - the only part of La Rioja that is so situated (except for a tiny bit around Briñas). From a wine point of view, technically this part of the area is Rioja Alta, but it is impossible to distinguish from Rioja Alavesa, which adjoins this small enclave both to the east (a little bit) and to the west (a larger bit), stretching from Haro to Logroño north of the Ebro.
</Wine commentary only>
We first went to Nájera, which is a major stop on the Camino de Santiago, a 1000-year old pilgrim trail from France to Santiago de Compostela, which is in northwest Spain. The pilgrimage is based on some Christian mythology and the trail is still used extensively today by not only religious pilgrims (a minority), but many hikers and bicyclists. Our main purpose in Nájera was to buy a copy of the Financial Times, an English-language newspaper (British) that we read occassionally and is widely available in Europe. It also happened to be market day (mostly clothing) which was fortuitous, since Steve needed a light sweater (mission accomplished).
Then, on to Ezcaray, which is up in the Sierra de la Demanda, a small mountain range that is south of the Ebro and roughly marks the southern border of the Rioja region. We then headed north (toward Haro), approximately along the western edge of the Rioja area, eventually crossing the Ebro at Briñas. This is the northwestern part of the region, containing parts of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa.
Our final stop for the day was in San Vicente de Sonsierra (this area between the Sierra de Cantabria and the Ebro is known as Sonsierra). San Vicente is an interesting old village on top of a rather high hill. A very old church and the ruins of an old castle are at the very top and we explored them for a while and enjoyed the amazing views of the countryside. Finally, we continued our drive through some beautiful back roads, making a circuitous return to our temporary home in Ábalos.
As usual, we had dinner tonight at the Hotel Villa de Ábalos, which we enjoyed with one of the local wines (Rioja, of course!) that are featured there: Marqués de Lagarda Reserva 1998.
<Wine commentary only>
Administratively (politically), La Rioja is a province. However, not all of the province grows grapes or makes wine and not all of the province is actually part of the official D.O. Rioja. The official D.O. Rioja wine region is divided into three parts - Rioja Baja, Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. Generally speaking, the better Rioja wines come from Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. All of Rioja Alavesa is north of the Ebro and is actually in Álava, which is one of the three provinces that make up Euskadi (Pais Vasco) - the Basque country. We are staying in Ábalos, which is north of the Ebro, but it is in a very small enclave that is part of La Rioja province administratively - the only part of La Rioja that is so situated (except for a tiny bit around Briñas). From a wine point of view, technically this part of the area is Rioja Alta, but it is impossible to distinguish from Rioja Alavesa, which adjoins this small enclave both to the east (a little bit) and to the west (a larger bit), stretching from Haro to Logroño north of the Ebro.
</Wine commentary only>
We first went to Nájera, which is a major stop on the Camino de Santiago, a 1000-year old pilgrim trail from France to Santiago de Compostela, which is in northwest Spain. The pilgrimage is based on some Christian mythology and the trail is still used extensively today by not only religious pilgrims (a minority), but many hikers and bicyclists. Our main purpose in Nájera was to buy a copy of the Financial Times, an English-language newspaper (British) that we read occassionally and is widely available in Europe. It also happened to be market day (mostly clothing) which was fortuitous, since Steve needed a light sweater (mission accomplished).
Then, on to Ezcaray, which is up in the Sierra de la Demanda, a small mountain range that is south of the Ebro and roughly marks the southern border of the Rioja region. We then headed north (toward Haro), approximately along the western edge of the Rioja area, eventually crossing the Ebro at Briñas. This is the northwestern part of the region, containing parts of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa.
Our final stop for the day was in San Vicente de Sonsierra (this area between the Sierra de Cantabria and the Ebro is known as Sonsierra). San Vicente is an interesting old village on top of a rather high hill. A very old church and the ruins of an old castle are at the very top and we explored them for a while and enjoyed the amazing views of the countryside. Finally, we continued our drive through some beautiful back roads, making a circuitous return to our temporary home in Ábalos.
As usual, we had dinner tonight at the Hotel Villa de Ábalos, which we enjoyed with one of the local wines (Rioja, of course!) that are featured there: Marqués de Lagarda Reserva 1998.
posted by Steve at
11:00 p.m.
