A BFTF in Rioja

A BFTF in Rioja



Saturday March 21, 2015

We are so spoiled by José Luis.  He told us that he was out until around 2:00 with friends the night before because he was celebrating his birthday.  This morning he was up at 8:00 and making breakfast for us.  There were a bunch of others in the hotel, but he hung in there doing a great job with the eggs, coffee and all the fixings.  We were downstairs at 9:00 at the start of breakfast to make sure that we could catch up on paperwork and plans.  In fact, we went out on a 4 mile hike that morning and arrived back at 9:00 AM to eat.  We finished up our paperwork just as Carlos texted that he was at the front door.

Baigorri Tasting Room

BFTF Wine Student

Carlos checked into his room and then he joined us to go to Bodegas Baigorri just a short drive from here.  We were lucky because they had a couple of cancellations and were able to fit us in on a Spanish Speaking tour.  Carlos was really impressed with the tour and said he learned more about wine and wine making in that one tour than he had in his whole life.  What I was glad to hear was that even Carlos wasn't familiar with all the technical terms.   We returned upstairs to the tasting room and had some pinxtos (Basque for tapas) and then tried their white and their reserve Red.  Both Carlos and Cathy ended up buying a bottle of their "Garage" wine.  It is from old vines, at least 60 years old and 24 months in the French oak barrels.

We left there and headed over to LaGuardia to see the town.  We found a restaurant which is highly recommended called Doña Blanca.  We ordered a special for the day - fresh Prawns that were boiled in a slightly spicy sauce and laid out on the plate with heads and all, which is not Cathy's favorite way to see food.  We like eating food, but we don't need all the details of where my meal is coming from.  I don't need to know that it was born on a free range, one of 4 children and it played with others well.  It's like we had Sarah McLachlan singing in the background trying to make you a vegetarian.   That turned out to be the most expensive part of the meal at 24 euros.  Good lesson learned - ask for the price when you get offered something off the menu.

We followed this appetizer with a Hamburger, a Risotto, and a plate of artichokes that were grilled and came with ham.  The food was very good and moderately priced, and the wine wasn't  expensive either.  For desert, we ended up with 3 different ones that we shared.  There was a chocolate cake with molten chocolate; Cheese Ice Cream with Blackberry sauce; and a typical Easter desert that was cake with lots of cinnamon flavor and whipped cream.   They also invited us to a shot of their own whisky.  Similar to offerings of Limoncello in Italy, when Spaniards finish a meal the hosts will offer you a shot of their homemade liquor.  We each had a coffee and then made our way out for a walk.

Tasting Cave below LaGuardia
in El Fabulista

We also up going to one of the two remaining Bodegas that operate within the walls of LaGuardia.  La Fabulista is one that has tours even on Saturday afternoon at 7:00 PM.  The tour includes the story of the bodega and how to this day they will stamp the grapes in the traditional style using your feet (in season, they'll let you suit up and help) and then took us to their basement cellars to show us their vats and the tasting area.  Since trucks are not generally allowed in the city because the whole hill is full of caves, they have to bring in small batches of grapes to make their wine.  In fact they have to dismantle part of their wall to open up the room to get the grapes in.   It is time well spent to learn about their unique and traditional ways.

Dan Cathy & Carlos

We ended up leaving Laguardia for Abalos around 8:00 and dined back at the hotel with Carlos.  Another wonderful meal by Merche and then we relaxed in the sitting room with Carlos talking about his immediate plans for work and travel.   We were all in bed early that night by Spanish standards.