San Vicente de la Sonsierra
Half a day, with Laguardia and Briones in the same loop. Come at Easter for the procession, or in September for the harvest.
A castle-topped village above the Ebro with vineyards below it, and one of the last flagellant Holy Weeks in Spain.
At a Glance
San Vicente de la Sonsierra stands on a hill above a bend in the Ebro, with the ruins of its castle and the church of Santa María la Mayor at the top, and a 12th-century bridge below. It is in the Rioja Alta and surrounded by vineyards. Its Good Friday procession of disciplinantes, who whip themselves in public, is one of the last surviving in Spain.
How it got here
The site commands a strategic bend in the Ebro river that defined its importance throughout the Middle Ages. Its fortifications guarded the frontier between the kingdoms of Navarre and Castile for centuries. The castle ruins and the twelfth-century church of Santa María la Mayor document the shifts in power as the border moved. The Paces of the Sonsierra emerged from this long era of territorial friction. During Holy Week, the disciplinantes perform public acts of penance that trace back to the brotherhoods of the eighteenth century. This ritual remains the central link between the village and its medieval role as a fortified bastion on the volatile Rioja frontier.
Where it sits
Vines cover the slopes that descend from the village toward the Ebro river. The Ebro valley acts as a corridor here between the Sierra de Cantabria to the north and the rolling hills of the Rioja Alta. The river creates a microclimate that shields the vineyards from the worst of the cold air coming off the northern mountains. Access follows the valley floor roads. Summer brings dry heat that browns the grasses, while winter mist often clings to the riverbank. This is working farmland where the rhythm of the harvest dictates the pace of life for the few hundred residents.
What to eat and drink
Rioja wine dominates the local economy, specifically the reds made from Tempranillo grapes grown in these chalky soils. Menestra de verduras, a stew of seasonal vegetables like artichokes, asparagus and peas, provides the foundation for local cooking. Chuletillas al sarmiento, lamb chops grilled over an open fire of dried vine clippings, carries the distinct aroma of the surrounding vineyards. A glass of young, bright wine accompanies the meal. Dessert often consists of local peaches or pears harvested from the nearby river orchards during the late summer months.
La Rioja: the whole region
One product, done better here than anywhere else in Spain: a wine region that fits inside a valley, vineyards running from the Ebro plain up into the Sierra de Cantabria, and every town on the road between Haro and Logroño involved in it.…
Minimum 3 days · better 4-5 days · deep 7 days
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In La Rioja
In La Rioja
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