Private Rioja Wine Tasting Tour from San Sebastian

Ander was a terrific tour guide. He picked us up from our hotel and gave us an overview of what to expect throughout the day. We spent the drive talking about wine, the region, and any questions we had about Spain or the Basque Country. After our first stop and tasting, he catered our further tastings to our preferences from the first. Laguardia was a great stop for lunch and he recommended the seasonal, local favorites for a truly authentic lunch.

Every care was taken to ensure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves through the day. He is friendly, a great driver, and an excellent host. I highly recommend this tour.

My partner and I had an amazing day with Ander touring the Rioja region. We were both interested in knowing more about the wine making process and the wineries themselves, so Nina and Ander created a personalized tour that was exactly what we were looking for! Ander picked us up from San Sebastian and we enjoyed talking to him about life in Donostia and Spain on the drive. We had a tour through the wine making process at the first winery, and tastings at it and the other three wineries. Our favourite part of the day was a private and personalized tasting in a beautiful garden at a small winery. All four wineries were very unique and different from each other, and driving through the region with Ander were were able to see and learn so much about Rioja and its history. Ander took us for an excellent tapas lunch and a stroll through Laguardia, which was a perfect midpoint to the day. He was so friendly, kind, and charming, and we felt like we had spent the day with a friend. After one of the wineries we wanted to purchase from was closed, he even went back the next day and personally dropped off the wine himself! We could not have been happier, and agreed that this tour was the highlight of our entire trip. We would absolutely recommend this tour - it is 100% worth it. If we go back to Basque country (which we hope we do!), we will be booking another tour with Go Basque travel. Thank you so much!

My friend and I had a truly amazing day touring La Rioja with Ander from Go Basque Travel.
We were picked up directly from our apartment in San Sebastián by Ander in a luxury sedan. I had needed to make an unplanned urgent stop at a pharmacy before we started our journey and Ander handled it like a pro ensuring I was able to get what I needed.
Then on the stunning drive out to La Rioja Ander provided some really wonderful information about the local areas and we were driving through. Anecdotally, we ended up having a fascinating conversation on the drive with Ander about the Basque Country, its people and culture. It was excellent getting the perspective from someone who grew up locally. The great conversation definitely enhanced our experience on the tour.
Since we were making good time we visited several wineries (which was an awesome surprise since only two were guaranteed initially when booking the tour).
The wineries were pretty different one to the next, which we appreciated as it made the tour overall very interesting and not at all repetitive. In some wineries we were able to go deep in to their production areas and others we stuck to the showrooms for tasting.
We also had a chance to explore a bit in a small town that housed one of the wineries, Ander took us around and showed us a few places in the town.
We did then have lunch at another winery where Ander had taken special care to ensure my friend who is vegetarian was accommodated. The lunch was several courses... delicious, refined and not rushed at all.
Eventually we got back in the car to meet back with Ander after we had finished eating and he took us to see a couple of sites that I had specially requested to snap some photos. Then we enjoyed the drive home with our stomachs full of delicious food and wine and again great conversation with Ander.
For anyone who loves trying wine this is the tour to book. Over the course of the day we had tasted about 12-15 wines (the tastings also catered to our individual preferences which was fantastic, so my friend and I each tried some different wines).
Finally, Ander was awesome - professional, courteous and a genuine pleasure to have as our guide.
I absolutely recommend this tour to others, might seem pricey on first glance but I promise you it is worth it. I will do another tour with Go Basque when I’m back in Basque Country in the future.

This tour was incredible and unforgettable due to our tour our guide Ander.His personality, friendship and knowledge of tour area was enjoyable and time to remember.

We had the privilege of experiencing a personalized wine tour of the Rioja area with Ander and Nina, and the whole day was absolutely perfect from start to finish.

We are wine enthusiasts who live in San Francisco (so we have access to a lot of great wine), and we were looking to explore wineries and wines that would no be commercially available to us back home. When I wrote to Ander and Nina they specified which of their tours would be best suited to our likely, and then they spent the time creating a full day experience at very small boutique wineries in the Rioja region.

I cannot begin to describe how perfect the day way - it completely exceeded our expectations. Nina and Ander had contacted it place to let them know about what we were looking for, and each of the 4 places we visited was exceptional both in terms of the quality and varietal of wine as well as the staff interaction and discussion. We weren't looking for winery tours, just wine tasting and learning more about the varietals and different blending grapes of the area.

Nina and Ander were extremely friendly and very knowledgeable about the area, and we learned a lot not only about wine in the Rioja region but many interesting Basque tidbits.

We cannot recommend them enough - if you are looking for a personalized wine tour of Rioja, you must contact GO BASQUE and spend your day with Nina and Ander. For the price we paid, it was a tremendous value. We could not have explored the area in the detail we did with them had we attempted to do this type of tour on our own with a car, and we certainly could not have drank as much wine as we did (which was the whole point!).

Absolute perfection! Thank you Nina and Ander for a truly perfect day.

Ander and Nina were fantastic guides with a great knowledge of the Rioja wine region and the Basque Country - we learnt so much. Every winery we visited was stunning with beautiful wines to taste. We would highly recommend this tour, if you are in San Sebastián and love wine.

We couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable beginning to our San Sebastian vacation! Nina and Ander drove us to La Rioja in their luxuriously roomy Audi and gave us a very interesting overview of the Basque region while we enjoyed the sights along the way. We had the opportunity to enjoy several wineries, which all included tastings. The tours at the wineries were in English and very informative, and of course the wines were incredible. We had an enormous, delicious lunch - included in the tour - and topped off our visit with a stop in charming La Guardia. Overall, an amazing day!

Nina and Ander organized an unforgettable day for me in Rioja. When I was looking for a day of wine-tasting, I wanted something a little different from what was on their website. They were quick to respond to my inquiry and were able to customize a day that was just perfect.

They picked me up bright and early and we were off! On the 90-minute ride out, they pointed out areas of interest, so I wouldn’t miss a thing. Throughout the day, we not only talked about wine (of course!) but also talked about the history, politics and culture of the Basque region. It was great to learn a little bit while traveling through the gorgeous country side. They were so warm and friendly, it felt like I was out with friends rather than “guides.” Our first stop was a wonderful private tour and tasting at Muga then off to a few more tasting rooms in the Rioja area before lovely walk through Laguardia and finally a delicious feast surrounded by stunning views. The day was just perfect.

Thank you for day that I can’t stop telling my friends about!