It's late autumn when we arrive, and the grapes are gone. The gnarly vines that cover the hills are decked in pink, red and yellow leaves. It's the best time to see them.
While tourists crowd the streets of Barcelona, clever travellers head an hour and a half south of Bilbao, to seek out Spain's most raved-about wine and some of its best tapas bars. Both can be found in a relatively small area, with the pretty walled town of Laguardia or the region's capital Logroño as your base. You'll need a car to get around; we hear of a man who toured the wineries by bicycle, but the hills and the booze could be a messy combination.
Our home in Laguardia is the turreted Castillo El Collado, owned by Javier, who greets us with a platter of melt-in-the-mouth jamón and a bottle of Rioja. We're off to a good start.
The region has a traditional feel, but the wineries, such as the Marqués de Riscal, a sci-fi temple to wine designed by Frank Gehry, look as if they've landed from space.
Our first tasting is at Baigorri – a sleek, glass cube that juts sexily out of the hillside (a local later describes it as an impractical waste of space.) We are led down seven floors and taught about Riojan wine. The whole place has a lovely stink of yeast, fruit and oak. Then we settle into the restaurant for a long lunch overlooking the vineyards. The food is classic northern Spanish fare – cheese croquettes, stew and chops – and after several glasses of Rioja, it's spot on. You can take tours like this in most local wineries for around €10 (€40 with lunch), and it's fun to compare designer wineries such as Baigorri with the ancient, atmospheric cellars of Fabulista in Laguardia, or a large-scale venture such as Campo Viejo.
After the wine, it's time for tapas. Logroño is a bustling, slightly plain city that wouldn't be an obvious destination if it weren't for a cluster of streets in the old town lined with tapas bars. This, some say, is the best tapas in Spain. It must at least be the most fun. We join the throng lining the streets around Calle Laurel and Calle San Juan, each bar specialising in a different tapas – everything from quails' eggs and ham to miniature portions of patatas bravas. Locals cram in, order a round of food and a glass of "carbonic wine" – a young, acidic red. Ask for "R" (erre punto), but be warned: your gut won't take too much. Then everyone bundles en masse to the next bar, becoming increasingly greasy-chinned and drunk. The tapas crawl is chaotic and hilarious, and the food delicious. My favourites are garlicky mushrooms (La Cueva, Calle San Juan), gloriously tender pincho morunos (lamb kebabs; Bar Paganos, Calle Laurel) and tortilla with piquante sauce (Bar Sebas, Calle San Agustin). Each round will set you back just a couple of euros. It would make a great night out with a big group of friends.
The final stop is Dinastia Vivanco, a winery, restaurant and museum. Founder Pedro Vivanco was a wine fanatic and amassed an enormous quantity of wine-related artefacts – including the world's biggest corkscrew collection. Lunch in the restaurant is a treat: white asparagus, juicy lamb chops (both regional specialities), powerful wine and a splendid view of the vineyards in the late autumn sun. We're there for more than three hours. Time is forgotten: all that counts is food, wine and talk. It's the perfectly decadent ending to a bacchanalian long weekend.
Getting there Vueling flies London Heathrow to Bilbao, from £50 one way.
Stay at Castillo El Collado, £110 per room per night. Marques de Vallejo, from £45 per room per night; . Go to winesfromrioja.co.uk for details about visiting the wineries.
