Rioja, where century-old cellars meet Frank Gehry's titanium

Both are great Spanish Tempranillo regions. Rioja is elegant and red-fruited, built around the aging ladder; Ribera del Duero is deeper and more powerful. They sit next door, so most of our guests do both rather than choose.

They are Rioja’s aging classes, set by how long a wine ages before release. Crianza rests about 2 years with at least 1 in oak; reserva at least 3 years with a year in oak, the classic Rioja; gran reserva at least 5 years, with 2 in oak and long bottle age.

Mostly Tempranillo, close to 75 percent of what is planted, usually blended with Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo, with white Viura for the whites. The result is elegant and red-fruited, marked by vanilla and oak with balanced acidity.

Three. Rioja Alta in the west is high and structured with iron-clay and limestone soils. Rioja Alavesa is the smallest and coolest, on chalky-clay terraces, and lighter-bodied. Rioja Oriental, to the east of Logrono, is warmer with a Mediterranean influence.

May to October for the vineyards and long light, with September and October adding the harvest. Summer is hot and lively. Winter is quiet and local, a good time to taste up the ladder without a crowd.

Yes, especially to understand how oak and time make red wine, and to see the region where century-old cellars and avant-garde architecture sit a short drive apart. It is one of only two Spanish regions with the top DOCa rating, and its food culture matches the wine.

3 to 5 days lets you taste across the aging ladder, move through the subzones, spend an evening on Calle Laurel and still see the architecture. Because Ribera del Duero is next door, many guests combine the two into a single 6-day trip.

Logrono, the regional capital, makes the best base. It is central, it puts you a walk from the Calle Laurel pinchos street, and it keeps the subzones within easy reach. On our trips we also add a Relais & Chateaux spa night in a restored 15th-century flour mill.

Denominacion de Origen Calificada is Spain’s top wine classification. Only two regions hold it, Rioja and Priorat, which makes it a mark of the country’s most tightly regulated and prestigious wine.

Rioja eats as well as it drinks. Logrono’s Calle Laurel is one of Spain’s great eating streets, each tiny bar making one perfect pincho. Beyond it there is slow-cooked lamb, grilled vegetables over coals, and a Michelin and Green-star kitchen set inside a restored 15th-century flour mill.

Rioja became a design destination through a wave of star-architect wineries. The best known is Frank Gehry’s titanium-roofed Hotel Marques de Riscal at Elciego, which opened in 2006 over a house founded in the 19th century, set beside a whole generation of modern glass and steel bodegas.

The wineries spread across 3 subzones with limited public transport, so most visitors need one. On our trips you never drive: we handle the vehicle, the driver, the routing and the winery access.

Classic Rioja aged its wines in American oak, which gives more vanilla and sweet spice. A modern wave leans on French oak for a tighter, more structured style. Many houses now use both, and tasting the two side by side is one of the clearest lessons the region offers.

Calle Laurel is Logrono’s famous pinchos street, a short run of tiny bars where each one makes a single perfect bite to go with a glass of red. Locals move from doorway to doorway rather than sitting down to one meal, and it is one of Spain’s great eating streets.

Yes, and most of our guests do. The two regions sit next door, so a single 6-day trip can take in both, tasting Rioja’s elegant aged reds against Ribera del Duero’s deeper, more powerful style. It is the best way to understand Spanish Tempranillo.

Gran reserva is the top rung of Rioja’s aging ladder, made only in the better vintages. It spends at least 5 years ageing before release, with a minimum of 2 in oak and long time in bottle, which gives a mellow, complex red built to keep improving for decades.

Yes. Beyond the cellars, Rioja has Logrono’s Calle Laurel pinchos street, a hands-on cooking lesson, and a Michelin and Green-star kitchen inside a restored 15th-century flour mill, plus the Frank Gehry architecture. There is plenty here for anyone travelling alongside a wine lover.

Rioja Alavesa is the smallest and coolest of the three subzones, a band of chalky-clay terraces that tends to give lighter-bodied, elegant wines. It is also home to the Frank Gehry titanium hotel at Elciego, so it holds both the classic and the avant-garde sides of Rioja.