Visit to Bodegas Baigorri, the winery beneath the glass cube in Samaniego

From the Vitoria to Logroño road, at Samaniego, all you see is a glass box on the hillside, with the Sierra de Cantabria behind. It is the entrance to Bodegas Baigorri. Everything else is below: floors dug into the earth where the grapes enter at the top and the wine goes down by gravity, without pumps, to the barrel room. The visit is the best way to understand that idea, and lunch in its dining room, between the window onto the vineyard and the glass floor over the barrels, is one of the most complete in the Rioja Alavesa.

What you see

You go down from the glass cube, where the grapes are received, through the production floors: sorting tables, tanks, the barrel room. What the guide explains is simple to see: each step is one floor lower than the last. The classic tasting is two house wines with two of the cook's pintxos; the premium, in the afternoon, three top-range wines.

Prices, slots and booking

Tuesday to Saturday, always by reservation. Classic tasting at 10:30 and 13:00, €25 for adults and €15 for children. Premium tasting at 16:00, €35. Visits are in Spanish and English, and in other languages for groups if a guide is available. On Sunday and Monday there are no slots.

The 13:00 visit also serves as the entrance to the restaurant: the tasting menu, with starters, first course, main and dessert, costs €70 with four classic wines and €80 with five premium ones, visit included. Under-18s have a €30 menu. Book on the website, on 945 60 94 20 or at [email protected].

Getting there

It is about 12 km from Laguardia along the A-124 and the Samaniego road. The bus does not stop at the door: without a car, the practical choice is a taxi from Laguardia or sleeping nearby, in Villabuena or Samaniego. If you eat the five-wine menu, nobody in the group should drive.