A WINE AND FOOD TOUR OF NORTHERN SPAIN:
BASQUE COUNTRY, CANTABRIA & LA RIOJA
Hosted by Tony Aspler and Stephen Pauwels
From Friday, May 13, to Friday, May 20, 2022
Friday, May 13th (The only Friday 13th of the year): Flew to Bilbao to join the group (several of whom had already arrived in Europe and were acclimatized to the time change). A taxi picked Deborah and me up for the hour-long trip to the coastal town of Santander, regional capital of the province of Cantabria, a land of ancient towns, pretty fishing villages and mountain valleys stretching along the Bay of Biscay.
Our accommodation was the 5-star Eurostar Hotel Real Santander, ideally situated above El Sardinero beach, one of the most beautiful in Europe (all rooms have ocean views). After meeting in the downstairs lounge bar, we had Canals & Nubiola 2019 Vintage Brut Cava, Freixenet Reserva 2919 Cava, Bosque de Matasnos 2019 and sampled two bottles of Marques de Caceres 1970.
We held our traditional welcome dinner at the elegant local favourite restaurant La Canadio (C. Gómez Oreña, 15). An appetizer of a small glass of pumpkin cream soup and a puree of mussels dip with lovely crusty bread followed by deep-fried cod croquettes, a plate of anchovies, peppers and crushed tomatoes. The next dishes were cabracho, a bottom-feeder fish, hake in a green sauce, and beef cheeks followed by cheesecake with dulce de leche ice cream. The accompanying wines: Vina Calera 2021, Abadia Retuerta Selección 2018, Mar de Frades Albariño Atlantico 2021. An excellent start to the trip! Taxied back to the hotel.
Saturday, May 14: From the brochure: “Cantabria boasts a rich and diverse gastronomic heritage, with abundant fresh seafood from the Atlantic, incredible produce and vast mountain ranges that are a source of plentiful game, cured meats and artisan cheeses. The anchovies fished exclusively in the spring along the Cantabrian coastline are considered the finest in the world (and pair beautifully with glass of Albariño).
“Surrounded by gorgeous mountain and coastal scenery, Santander is a vibrant city for lovers of culture with first-rate museums, excellent shopping and fine restaurants. Despite a fire that destroyed much of the town’s old centre in 1941, Santander still exudes the Belle-Epoque charm reflecting its former status as a summer destination of Spanish royalty and the wealthy from Madrid. While in the shadow of the megawatt stardom of nearby San Sebastian on the international food scene, Santander has much to offer wine and food lovers including a thriving tapas culture (not called pintxos here as in Basque Country).”
After breakfast we took a walking tour of central Santander. Our guide Irena, a trained sommelier, showed us a series of streets named after the famous Spanish novelist José María de Pereda and the novels he wrote. We toured Mercado de la Esperanza, the historic food market, with its fabulous displays of fish and seafood. Stopped to taste olives and anchovies. Stopped for tapas at La Casa del Indiano – where we had anchovies done three ways, raw, pickled and deep-fried, accompanied by Casona Micaela 2020 (a blend of 80% Albariño and 20% Riesling).
At 12:30 PM we departed the hotel by bus to our group lunch at restaurant El Remedio. The menu: Mussels in wine sauce, jamón iberico, anchovies with mozzarella, and calamari, followed by grilled monkfish, filet steak and a millefeuille for dessert. The wines: José Pariente Rueda 2021 and CVNE Imperial 2017.
Then we enjoyed some free time exploring the charming, historic town of Santillana del Mar – which is known as The Town of Three Lies, since it is neither saintly, on a meadow (llano) nor near the sea.
A tasting of old Rioja reds in Jim and Kathleen’s suite: Viña Ardanza 1970, Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva 1982 and Muga Gran Reserva 1995 in magnum.
Dinner at Bodega la Riojana. The restaurant is decorated with barrels whose heads have been painted, one of which is of Woody Allen holding his clarinet. We are divided into two tables. Our table ordered Paco y Lola Albariño 2017 and Viña Bosconia 2009. I ordered Pimentos A Ca Brasa and calamari. When I ordered a second bottle of the Paco y Lola, the sommelier began to top up the glasses before allowing me to taste the wine. I noticed it was a 2015 vintage. No apologies. He didn’t offer me a taste of the red, which he left open on the table for us to pour ourselves. So much for wine service here.
Sunday, May 15: Morning hotel check-out and departure for Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque Country and the capital of the province of Biscay. Late AM a guided tour of the city’s famous Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art (designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry), which is credited with the city’s renaissance as an arts and culture destination. Lunch at La Olla de la Plaza Nueva, outdoors. I ordered black pudding and roasted pepper with Marqués de Cáceres Excellens Rosé 2012.
Back on the bus for a 75-minute trip south to La Rioja, Spain’s most beautiful wine region, and our hotel, Palacio Tondón, a converted 16th-century palace situated alongside the Ebro River in the town of Briñas. Group wine tasting of a specially chosen portfolio of aged Riojas before our dinner in the hotel’s fine restaurant.
Menu: Russian salad; ham and cheese croquettes; mushrooms with a poached egg; sirloin steak and/or turbot (you could have surf & turf for those brave enough to indulge); dessert – lemon curd tart. The wines: Deóbriga 2021, Viña Boscania Lopez de Heredia 2010, Viña Tondonia 2009. And so to bed.
Monday, May 16: Morning tour and tasting at CVNE, short for Compañia Vinícola del Norte de España (confusingly known as “Cune”) in the town of Haro. Our host was Natalia, the company’s PR Manager. She told us that within a square kilometre of the railway station seven of Rioja’s (and Spain’s) best wineries are to found. Their white wine called Monopole (100% Viura) was Spain’s first white wine. We had a tour of the historic cellars, including the iron-gated “cemetery” with its library of old wines going back to the founding of the house, kept behind locked gates. A framed chart on the wall shows where each vintage is located. Around the edges are the signatures of the men who established the cellar. Each had a key, which, so goes the legend, they all threw into the River Ebro.
Lunch: Blood pudding, a pork and bean dish, lamb grilled outdoors on vine cuttings, potatoes and salad; dessert – millefeuille with chocolate sauce. The wines: CVNE Monopole Crianza 2018, CVNE Imperial Reserva 2017, CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva 2015; with the dessert, CVNE Corona 2017.
Optional late afternoon explorations in the region included a visit to the Frank Gehry–designed Marqués de Riscal winery in Elciego.
In the evening we were joined by Miguel Torres, who had flown in from Dusseldorf, where he had been attending Prowein. Miguel showed us a video about the Torres company while we tasted Torres Viña Sol 2021 and Torres Celeste Crianza 2019 from Ribera del Duero. Bussed to dinner at the Michelin one-star Nublo Restaurant in Haro matched by a special selection of Torres wines.
Tuesday, May 17: Hotel checkout before our morning tour and tasting at Bodegas R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia (better known simply as “Tondonia”). Our tour and tasting was conducted by Maria López de Heredia. Following a walk around the cellars (with its 19,500 barrels and “cemetery“ of old wines), we sat down to a tasting of Viña Tondonia 2010, 1981, 1977, 1973, 1968, 1964 and a remarkably fresh and lively Rosato 1964.
After the tasting we bussed from La Rioja to the Basque country, where we lunched at Casa Julian in Tolosa, one of the most famous of the Basque asadores, or grill houses. The Basque region is known for its thick-cut bone-in rib steaks, or txuletas, and old-school Casa Julian is considered not only to serve the best txuleta in the region, it is routinely referenced in discussions about the best steak in the world! (The beef came from Austria!) The menu: White Asparagus, green salad, roasted red peppers, steak, cheesecake and lemon pudding.
After lunch we drove to San Sebastián and checked into Lasala Plaza Hotel in the old city before hitting the streets to sample the city’s famous pintxos scene.
Wednesday, May 18: In the itinerary of our 2010 tour, we described San Sebastián (“Donostia” in the Basque language) as “one of Europe’s hidden gems.” That is certainly no longer the case, as food lovers from around the world pilgrimage here in ever increasing numbers to experience Spain’s (arguably the world’s) greatest culinary destination. That the town itself is so incredibly charming – with its magnificent architecture and historic atmosphere set along an enormous crescent-shaped bay with one of the world’s most beautiful urban beaches – only adds to the allure.
After a morning’s shopping we convened for our formal group lunch at the world-renowned restaurant Arzak. Highly creative food using only the finest, local ingredients is the hallmark of the nueva cocina or “new cuisine” movement that was pioneered by chef Juan Mari Arzak. He and his daughter Elena still preside over the high-tech food laboratory at Arzak to deliver an ever-evolving menu that has earned the restaurant three Michelin stars consistently for over thirty years, drawing fans from around the world.
Thursday, May 19: Leisurely morning before our farewell group lunch in the nearby seaside town of Getaria, where Elkano restaurant’s grilled seafood, and particularly its turbot, has earned its reputation as one of (if not “the”) best fish restaurants in the world.
We had had the option of going to a restaurant in the evening, but we were all so full we only had room for several more wines in the hotel.
Friday, May 20 (B): AM hotel check out and departure for Bilbao airport. Chaos at Pearson airport as six international flights landed at the same time. Long wait on the tarmac before we could disembark. Thank heaven for Nexus!
