The Rioja Alavesa in the Basque region of northern Spain is an area of stunning natural beauty, where the local business is wine.
Vineyards and wineries range from small family businesses to spectacular buildings designed by the world's best architects.
Celebrated American architect Frank Gehry, creator of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Sydney's "paper bag" building at UTS, designed the imposing Marques de Riscal winery in Elciego, which also boasts a luxury hotel and two restaurants.
Opened in 2006, the exterior of Gehry's building, with its huge pink-tinted titanium panels, is meant to reflect the burgundy hues of the Rioja wine.
Meanwhile, the silver symbolises the foil that covers the cork and gold represents the mesh that covers Marques de Riscal bottles.
Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have visited the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, run by renowned chef Francis Paniego, while wine expert Hugh Johnson has described the bodega, founded in 1862, as the region's finest.
The Marques de Riscal bodega is not the only winery in Rioja Alvesa that has engaged a world-renowned architect and a celebrity chef to add a modern touch to its business.
The Ysios winery near Laguardia was designed by Santiago Calatrava, while Basque architect Inaki Aspiazu is responsible for the Bodegas Baigorri in Samaniego and French architect Philippe Mazieres designed the Villa Real in Laguardia.
The Rioja wine region is located south of the Cantabrian mountains along the Ebro river and is divided into three areas: Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa.
With almost 61,000 hectares of vineyard acreage and space for 20,000 winemakers, Rioja is one of Europe's most important wine-growing regions.
However, while Rioja wines are internationally famed, tourists had rarely bothered in the past to make the trip to this picturesque area of Spain.
The area's largest bodegas have looked to change this by opening luxury hotels and top-class restaurants, where even visitors who do not drink alcohol can enjoy good food and marvel at some of the world's most spectacular modern architecture.
Of course the winemakers are also eager to sell their wine.
"Hopefully they can savour both (wine and the views) at the same time," says Maria Jose from the Lopez de Heredia bodega in Haro, wine capital of the Rioja Alta region and home to 20 renowned bodegas.
Visitors are welcomed at a sales counter located in an art-deco-style building dating from 1910 that has been covered in a modern glass-and-steel construction.
"My great-grandfather founded this bodega 138 years ago," explains Jose.
Some of the world's best gran reservas are slowly ageing just a few kilometres away in the cellars of the CVNE bodega.
The Vina Real winery was designed by Mazieres in the shape of a gigantic wine barrel.
Aspiazu created a similar but more modern industrial-style winery for the Bodega Baigorri in Samaniego, which has been dug into the hillside, with visitors entering through a striking glass atrium.
"We are even able to do without pumps because the production process relies on gravity," explains guide Isabel Miralles.
A few kilometres further on, Victorino Eguren Ugarte built his winery on a hill, where the rows of vines can be viewed from a viewing tower.
"They are up to 100 years old," Ugarte says proudly.
Although now 81 years old, winemaker Roberto Pizarro shows visitors around the 130ha site on a Segway, explaining what makes Rioja wine so special along the way.
The imposing Bodega Ysios is located on the other side of Laguardia, in the shadow of the Cantabrian mountains, and has the appearance of a modern church, with a roof made of what resemble organ pipes.
Vineyards and wineries range from small family businesses to spectacular buildings designed by the world's best architects.
Celebrated American architect Frank Gehry, creator of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Sydney's "paper bag" building at UTS, designed the imposing Marques de Riscal winery in Elciego, which also boasts a luxury hotel and two restaurants.
Opened in 2006, the exterior of Gehry's building, with its huge pink-tinted titanium panels, is meant to reflect the burgundy hues of the Rioja wine.
Meanwhile, the silver symbolises the foil that covers the cork and gold represents the mesh that covers Marques de Riscal bottles.
Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have visited the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, run by renowned chef Francis Paniego, while wine expert Hugh Johnson has described the bodega, founded in 1862, as the region's finest.
The Marques de Riscal bodega is not the only winery in Rioja Alvesa that has engaged a world-renowned architect and a celebrity chef to add a modern touch to its business.
The Ysios winery near Laguardia was designed by Santiago Calatrava, while Basque architect Inaki Aspiazu is responsible for the Bodegas Baigorri in Samaniego and French architect Philippe Mazieres designed the Villa Real in Laguardia.
The Rioja wine region is located south of the Cantabrian mountains along the Ebro river and is divided into three areas: Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa.
With almost 61,000 hectares of vineyard acreage and space for 20,000 winemakers, Rioja is one of Europe's most important wine-growing regions.
However, while Rioja wines are internationally famed, tourists had rarely bothered in the past to make the trip to this picturesque area of Spain.
The area's largest bodegas have looked to change this by opening luxury hotels and top-class restaurants, where even visitors who do not drink alcohol can enjoy good food and marvel at some of the world's most spectacular modern architecture.
Of course the winemakers are also eager to sell their wine.
"Hopefully they can savour both (wine and the views) at the same time," says Maria Jose from the Lopez de Heredia bodega in Haro, wine capital of the Rioja Alta region and home to 20 renowned bodegas.
Visitors are welcomed at a sales counter located in an art-deco-style building dating from 1910 that has been covered in a modern glass-and-steel construction.
"My great-grandfather founded this bodega 138 years ago," explains Jose.
Some of the world's best gran reservas are slowly ageing just a few kilometres away in the cellars of the CVNE bodega.
The Vina Real winery was designed by Mazieres in the shape of a gigantic wine barrel.
Aspiazu created a similar but more modern industrial-style winery for the Bodega Baigorri in Samaniego, which has been dug into the hillside, with visitors entering through a striking glass atrium.
"We are even able to do without pumps because the production process relies on gravity," explains guide Isabel Miralles.
A few kilometres further on, Victorino Eguren Ugarte built his winery on a hill, where the rows of vines can be viewed from a viewing tower.
"They are up to 100 years old," Ugarte says proudly.
Although now 81 years old, winemaker Roberto Pizarro shows visitors around the 130ha site on a Segway, explaining what makes Rioja wine so special along the way.
The imposing Bodega Ysios is located on the other side of Laguardia, in the shadow of the Cantabrian mountains, and has the appearance of a modern church, with a roof made of what resemble organ pipes.
Source: AAP
