Wine routes from Valdegovía to La Rioja

01.12.2009

At Instituto Hemingway, we often organise activities that combine Spanish courses with other activities like wine tasting or visits to wine cellars.
This time we are booking one of the cottages in Valdegovía and travelling to La Rioja.
We are going to the famous winery founded by D. Ramón López de Heredia – Viña Tondonia.
We are visiting the centenary wine cellar where it seems as if time has stopped and we learn the traditional techniques for ageing wine. One of the features of the wine cellar is its take on tradition, by which they take to banishing stainless steel in order to focus on wood and barrels. They even make their own barrels.
One of the most important characteristics of the wine cellar is its ability to offer ageing white wines using the same process as red wines, which give them different and unique tastes.
This time we took the opportunity of taking part in tasting historical wines. The tasting was lead by Mercedes, the oenologist of the family who is always kind. Let’s begin with white wines from Todonia from the years 1999, 1978 and 1973; amazing wines. For those who like white wine, to enjoy the 1973 wine in the conditions that we tried it, is truly a unique experience.
Then we go through the red Viña Todonia from the years 1991, 1986, 1978 and Viña Bosconia from 1964. This last one has made us all smile because it was older than any of us and still in an excellent state.
So if you like wine, we welcome you to our school and to visiting Valdegovía, whether it’s for our combination of Spanish courses or even just for a unique experience.