Bodegas Marqués de Riscal
The architectural counterpoint to Rioja's old bodegas. Do the tour, stay the night if you can afford it, eat the tasting menu at the Michelin-star restaurant.
A winery founded in 1858, now crowned by a Gehry-designed hotel-and-cellars complex in Elciego — the City of Wine. The titanium-and-gold canopy mirrors a Marqués de Riscal bottle.
At a Glance
- — You don't drink Rioja
Titanium and steel ribbons in shades of sunset pink and gold twist above the dusty, sun-bleached vineyards of the Rioja Alavesa, creating a jarring, brilliant clash with the traditional stone farmhouses of Elciego. This architectural fever dream houses one of Spain's oldest wine labels, blending the legacy of 19th-century cellar techniques with the radical geometry of the twenty-first. Walking between the historic stone vaults and the futuristic hotel lobby offers a sensory jolt that defines the modern, high-contrast evolution of this ancient wine region.
How it got here
Don Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga founded this winery in 1858 after living in Bordeaux and bringing French winemaking methods to Elciego. The production moved away from traditional local styles toward the systematic use of oak barrels and careful aging. This shift helped establish the Rioja denomination as a standard for quality in the nineteenth century. The contemporary structure designed by Frank Gehry rose above the original stone buildings in 2006 to mark the wine house anniversary. The project signaled a broader transition in Rioja where traditional cellar production merged with international architectural investment to command a global audience.
Where it sits
The Rioja Alavesa sits on a series of rolling slopes between the Ebro river and the Sierra de Cantabria. Limestone and clay soils dictate the vine rows that stretch toward the horizon. During summer the sun bakes the earth into a pale dust while autumn rains turn the foliage into deep shades of ochre and rust. Winter brings biting winds from the northern peaks that strip the vines bare. The quiet rhythm of rural life dominates most of the year though the harvest months bring a sudden shift in labor and movement along the narrow roads between stone villages.
What to eat and drink
Rioja wine occupies the center of the table. Order bacalao a la vizcaína which is salt cod prepared in a thick sauce of choricero peppers. The regional preference favors slow-cooked legumes like alubias de Tolosa served with pickled guindilla peppers and thin slices of morcilla. Thick cuts of chuletón de buey grilled over open wood fires provide the necessary substance to match the heavy tannins of local Tempranillo. Finish with canutillos de crema consisting of fried pastry tubes filled with custard to balance the salt and spice of the meal.
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