Tasting at the Mayor de Migueloa winery

Mayor de Migueloa is a house, restaurant and winery at number 20 Calle Mayor. They make their wine in the traditional way in centuries-old spaces beneath the palace, and show it with a one-hour visit that ends in a tasting.

The simplest, with five wines and a tapa of local cheese, costs €25. With a board of Idiazabal cheese it goes up to €35, with acorn-fed Iberian ham to €45, and with a Riojan menu or a chuletón menu in its restaurant, to €110 or €135. In summer there are sessions every day at 12:30 and 17:30; the rest of the year, ask. Book on its website at least a day in advance.

The winery beneath the palace

Mayor de Migueloa is a medieval palace inside the wall, which today is at once an inn, a restaurant and a winery. The house presents its winery with an idea: traditional winemaking in centuries-old spaces. Beneath the palace is the calado, the dug cave where the wine is aged, and in the photos on its website you can see wines aged in the calado and in damajuanas, the big glass demijohns. Like other houses in the old town, the winery is part of that network of more than 300 calados beneath Laguardia's streets.

In 2023 the winery received a Best of Wine Tourism award and the public's prize from the Great Wine Capitals network, according to the logos shown on its website.

The five experiences

All begin with the winery visit and a tasting of five wines, and last about an hour:

• 5-wine tasting: with a tapa of local cheese, €25.
• 5 wines with a cheese board: with a board of Idiazabal cheese, €35.
• 5 wines with Iberian ham: with a plate of 100% acorn-fed Iberian ham, €45.
• Tasting with winery menu: the tasting ends with a typical Riojan menu in the restaurant, €110.
• Tasting with chuletón menu: the tasting ends with a premium chuletón menu, €135.

The booking form asks for the day, time, number of adults and experience, at least a day in advance; the house then contacts you to confirm. The website does not give languages or rules for children: if you are going as a family, ask on 945 600 187 or at [email protected].

Their wines

The shop on its website shows its labels: Juliett Golf, also as a rosé and a white; G de Jaime; the Colección Damajuanas; and El Foehn, with a white from centenarian vines and vintages from 2020 and 2021. Prices range from about €20 to over €100 a bottle. If you like one at the tasting, you can buy it right there or order it on the website.

How to fit it in

The 12:30 session leaves the afternoon free; the 17:30 one fits after a day of visits. If you choose one of the options with a menu, go hungry and without a car to drive. Before or after, visit the Torre Abacial and Santa María de los Reyes, a few steps away. For comparison, the El Fabulista winery, also in the old town, shows another calado with a tasting from €14. Leave the car in the car parks outside the wall.