Bike and Enogastronomiy in SPAIN
finally, the perfect couple!

STAGE A - From Iregua Valley to the Capital of Rioja

We have barely left behind the vineyards of the Finca de los Arandinos - the Hotel-Winery where the route usually begins - when we arrive at the characteristic dome of the Medrano Wine Cellars Quarter. The power emanating from the environment itself imbues us with the atmosphere that will surround us during all stages of the route. From the hill that culminates the "Barrio" we can follow with our eyes the route that takes us downhill first and then on a long plain to the Ebro basin in the vicinity of Cenicero. We will not leave the basin until the end of the stage in Haro, the so-called "Capital del Rioja".
The Castle of Davalillo and Briones add the medieval factor to the ever-present wine-growing atmosphere of the route.
We will not list them, but at the end of the stage we will have left behind a notable portion of the more than 700 wineries that LA RIOJA wine region is home to.

If the 61 kilometers of the stage are excessive, we can reduce them to 47 by replacing the starting point at the Finca de los Arandinos Hotel-Winery with theFyA Hotel-Winery if the criterion is only for quality, the choice will be complicated, - 4* vs 4*-
In this version it will be in San Asensio where we can appreciate the uniqueness of the Rioja Wine Cellars Quarters riojanos.With the addition of being able to make a visit-tasting to the Lecea Winery-Cave, located in the heart of the Quarter itself.
Otherwise, as seen in the profiles, the itinerary does not differ too much from the previous one.

STAGE B - Ribera del Ebro

Walking along the North bank of the Ebro between HARO and LAGUARDIA plunges you into the world of wine in such a way that it makes you think that perhaps the Denomination could have been called "Ribera del Ebro", similar to its neighbor Ribera del Duero located a few kilometers further South.
The intimidating silhouette of the Castle/Church of San Vicente de la Sonsierra will give way to one of the loneliest sections of the Ebro basin, where without any warning we will pass from La Rioja Alta to Rioja Alavesa.
In the last kilometers of the stage we will finally leave La Ribera to come face to face with the Villa de Elciego and the Guggenheim-style winery of Marqués de Riscal, one of the first caves in La Rioja. In the background, on a higher plane, the end of the stage can be seen imposingly in the form of the "Walled town of Laguardia".

If we opt for the SLOW option, after passing through San Vicente we will leave the Ebro and without losing the classic solitary character of this part of La Rioja territory we will enter the Rioja Alavesa through Villanueva de Alava.
The last kilometers of the stage take place in a more "friendly" environment between the medieval towns of Leza and Páganos and with the Cantabria Range taking more and more prominence.

STAGE C

The stage that returns us to the point where we started the route a few days ago, crosses in its first half some of the fundamental places in the wine tourism universe of LA RIOJA. After winding through the photogenic Lagunas de Laguardia, the track heads - with a downward trend - towards the unmistakable silhouette of the Marqués de Riscal Wineries in Elciego.
In the 2nd half and with a slight but constant climb, we will have to travel in the opposite direction some of the kilometers of stage A with which we began the route. We thus go up from the Ebro basin to the slopes of terraced vineyards of the Moncalvillo Range. As a "reward", as we ascend, the vision of the Riojan "scenery" will expand and we will go from being part of the landscape to being privileged observers of it.

If the stage falls short, we will modify the track by continuing along the Ebro to Logroño and going back to the beginning in Entrena through the Iregua Valley. This is a geographically broader route that will allow us to complete the route with a more complete vision of the Riojan territory.

STAGE D - Iregua Valley

Stage D of FUENTES del VINO CULINARY BIKE TOUR runs along the slopes of the Sierra de Cameros, one of the FUENTES or mountain formations that feed the vineyards of La Rioja and that at this point also give shape to the Iregua Valley. We are in what is known as Rioja Baja or Eastern Rioja.
The Alberite Wine Cellars Quarter which we will visit almost at the start of the route, show just from the beginning the importance that wine has historically had in this region.
It will then be time to ascend under the gaze of the Castle - a lighthouse for us - of Clavijo.
The track leaves behind some of the revalued "high altitude vineyards" of the DO Rioja, previously neglected plots that now, thanks to the modernization of oenology, produce some of the great wines of LA RIOJA. In this environment of vineyards and terraced crops, and not without effort, the rest of the day's kilometers will be developed along the slopes of the Cameros Range. The wine-producing town of Albelda, the medieval Nalda and the cattle-raising town of Sorzano, each in its own way, will be the towns that invite us to stop and take in more of the territory we are traveling through.

STAGE E - Sajazarra and The Pulpito of La Rioja

HARO is defined in tourist catalogs as La Capital del Rioja, and just by visiting its emblematic HARO STATION DISTRICT where several of the most important Rioja wineries are located, oneself understands the reason for the title.
This importance and the generosity of its geography - which allows adding a stage to the route without "stepping on" the tracks of the adjacent stages justify its choice as a possible point to spend 2 nights when we pedal FUENTES DEL VINO.
Along the southern slope of Montes Obarenes -full of Singular Vineyards- we will go to Cellorigo, the westernmost point of the proposal, ascending during the process to the so-called Pulpito de La Rioja.
On the way back to HARO the "obligatory" stop will be in Sajazarra, a medieval village classified as "one of the most beautiful towns in Spain" partly due to its spectacular castle and partly to the general care of the complex carried out by the inhabitants of the place.

If we opt for the SLOW option, we will close the circle before reaching Cellorigo to go directly to Sajazarra.

STAGE F - Rioja Alavesa a tope¡

The slopes of the Cantabria Range monopolize the territory that houses practically all the kilometers of this last stage that runs almost entirely through the Rioja Alavesa.

Small terraced vineyards, terroirs adapt to the complicated morphology generated by the ravines that descend from the mountains. From this complexity and the multitude of microclimates that this generates, the possibility of "playing" with the modern concept of singular and author wines that characterize current oenology trends.

La Huesera, La Hechicera and El Encinar, the 3 dolmens, that almost unintentionally link the track, reinforce backwards in time the historical sequence that began in the architectural contemporaneity of modern wineries and continued in the homogeneous medieval profile present in all the villages that we pass through. Elvillar, Kripán, Vinasperi, Iekora, the monumental Labraza... Demanding sequence of village-valley village-valley that gives the stage a PLUS in sporting terms over the previous stages of FUENTES DEL VINO CULINARY TOUR.