
Barrel room at bodegas Cepa 21 in Castrillo de Duero, Spain
Rioja is everywhere. But where-oh-where can you buy or drink Ribera del Duero wines?
After spending a few days exploring the vineyards around the towns of Castrillo de Duero, Pesquera de Duero, Quintanilla de Onesimo and Penafiel, I think it’s a both a shame and a benefit that the Ribera hasn’t made the same maketing push that Rioja has: the shame is that a region making such powerful, full-bodied (read: super good) reds isn’t getting a lot more publicity and fame than it does. The benefit, though, is that I got a steal on some fantastic wines that I Jon was happy to schlepp back to London.
Before you go, though, I’d recommend reading Gerry Dawes’s detailed blog post about Ribera wines and restaurants, which was invaluable for a non-Spanish-speaker like me. The smattering of Chowhound posts I found were about the bigger towns in the region (like Valladolid), and otherwise, the Internet turned up surprisingly-few English-language results beyond this August 2007 LA Times article. (Think about how *long* it’s been since google failed to turn up a gazillion results for a particular search). Also helpful were a couple of wine shops (including the Sampler) we emailed for vineyard recs.

Wine tasting of joven, crianza and reserva wines at Bodegas Emilio Moro (Pesquera de Duero, Spain)
Rather than detail every wine we tried (there were many), I’ll list a few pros and cons of visiting the Ribera, geneally. Overall, the Ribera was so easy to reach (i.e., a 90-minutes drive northwest of Madrid) that it’s lame Jon and I hadn’t been there before now.
First, my least favorite parts of our trip to the Ribera del Duero:
- As I briefly mentioned in my previous post (and which Gourmet Chick immediately picked up on as a bummer), the vineyards in the Ribera required us to schedule an appointment to visit. It could be that this sort of thing is an off-season practice (right now, the vineyards are busy pruning vines, and not many tourists – Spanish or otherwise – are around), but it was annoying. Give me Napa-style “drop by anytime during opening hours” any day of the week, and huge kudos to my friend Colleen for handling all the back-and-forth and jigsaw-style planning to create a wine-tasting itinerary.
- The Ribera vineyards also required us to take a tour before tasting anything. Prices for the “tour and tasting” generally fell in the range of 10-15 euros per person, so not only did we have to plan on visiting a vineyard for at least an hour (because the tours can really take a while), but also, over time, we shelled out a substantial amount of money for tours we didn’t necessarily want (how many wine presses and bottling machines can a person see?). Now, I definitely understand that the vineyard should be able to cover the cost of wines that people are tasting (though sampling/marketing strikes me as a legit cost of doing business), but I think it’s much fairer if vineyards credit you the tasting/tour charge if you end up buying a certain number of bottles. Or at least just charge for the tasting and let me skip the hour-long tour beforehand.
- Don’t expect a huge variety of food in restaurants. While the roast suckling pig (cochinillo) and suckling lamb (lechazo) are outstanding, I have to confess that baby-animal-meat-lover that I am, even I hit my limit of rustic roasts and stews after a few days. The minute I got back to London, I practically ran to the Vietnamese place down the street to get some light, delicate flavors back in my system.
- As in the rest of Spain, be prepared to eat at later hours. Only losers and tourists (no, they’re not the same thing) eat lunch at 12 or dinner at 8. Even a 1:30 lunch is a bit Early Bird Special, so aim for 2:00 and be part of the cool crowd.
And now my favorite parts of our trip to the Ribera del Duero:
- The wines. Just outstanding stuff. I’m no wine writer, but I know what kinds of reds I like – rich, dark, nutty-chocolate-cherry-ruby-red wines that look *thick* running down the sides of your glass. And that’s the kind of wine we found everywhere we visited, particularly at Vina Mayor (which abuts the famed Vega Sicilia) and at Emilio Moro. (The exception to this enthusiastic rule was Cepa 21, which looks better than it tastes and didn’t justify the 10 euros-a-person tasting fee of a single wine. We did, however, greatly enjoy the photos on the wall at Cepa 21 of Tom Cruise and David Beckham mugging with a bottle from parent vineyard Emilio Moro).
- The bread truck guy who arrived in front of our house every morning at 9:30 am and used his special bread-truck-horn to announce his arrival. It was like the ice cream man, but with bread. Too bad his bread was rather dry, especially the round loaves of pan. But you can’t beat daily home delivery.
- The night we went to the “bodega tradicionale” owned by the family who rented us the house where we stayed. It was an underground cellar that was three parts garden shed (full of discarded old lawn furniture) and one part wine=making facility (with barrels of aging homemade wine). What started as a friendly-but-polite exchange with the son of the family soon turned into a town-wide social event featuring lots of homemade plonk, pickled snacks, and a giant pot of liebre con arroz (hare and rice stew). A memorable and heart-warming example of how people can get along fabulously despite not sharing a common tongue.
- Roast suckling pig (cochinillo). While I did (just above) list the region’s lack of menu variety in restaurants as a disappointment of the trip, the roast suckling pig was so consistently delish that I did, happily, eat a good amount of it. On a related note, if you do want some cochinillo or lechazo, some of the smaller restaurants in the area require you to mention that desire when making the booking. (I guess so the restaurant can pop one in the oven for you ahead of time).
Cepa 21, Nac. 122, Km. 297, 47318 Castrillo de Duero (Valladolid), Spain; +34 983 484 084
Bodegas Emilio Moro, Ctra Penafiel- Valoria, s/n, 47315, Pesquera de Duero (Valladolid), Spain; +34 983 878 400
Bodegas Vina Mayor, Ctra. de Soria Km 325, 47350 Quintanilla de Onesimo (Valladolid), Spain; +34 983 680 461
Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro, Ctra. N. 122 Aranda-Valladolid, Km 325, 47350 Quintanilla de Onesimo (Valladolid), Spain; +34 983 681 146
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Hi,
nice that you are writing about ribera del duero, but to tell you the truth, this makes no sense at all! I am not a supporter of Portugal in any way, but what’s this fascination with Spain? The real Douro is on the other side of the border! Port wine, a bunch of new great wines (check wine spectator’s list for 2008) and then I see someone that is overrating non-sense! bahh, another misinformed tourist that just wants to be cool instead of knowing what’s really good!
The thing with the tasting fees is quite weird and I understand it can be annoying after a while. Is it the same in Rioja and other Spanish regions? Would be interesting to know…
I don’t understand your “Ribera isn’t getting fame” reasoning though. It is known as one of the 2 big regions in Spain and probably produces the most expensive Spanish wines. I guess Rioja just needs a bigger marketing push for selling those many less expensive wines flooding the market.
regards, Alex
Idalecio – I liked the wines and porto in Lisboa and Porto, but I don’t think this is a zero-sum game. The wines in the Ribera are really good, and I think it’s hard to over-rate an area that doesn’t get much play in English-speaking countries outside of wine connoisseur circles. I also don’t think I’m complimenting the Ribera del Duero just to be “cool.”
Alex – I know the Ribera makes many of Spain’s most expensive wines, which is partly why I visited the region. But having talked to a lot of people prior to traveling there, I’d say relatively few have heard of the Ribera del Duero when compared to, say, Rioja, and the contrast is even starker if you poll (admittedly, a lot of Americans) on name recognition of Chianti, Bordeaux, or Napa. Also, while I have had some pretty bad Rioja wines, I’m not going to diss on the region as a whole: I’m a fan of Finca Valpiedra, for example. [And I visited only one Rioja winery, and they charged the tasting/tour fee.]
Hi,
I chanced upon your blog while googling some food reviews in London, and I was looking at your earlier posts and noted that you are a lawyer from the US?
If you dont mind me asking, what law school did you go to in the US? Also, is it easy to convert an american law degree to the UK version, to practice?
I am asking because I am thinking about applying to law school. I am taking my LSAT in June, and I am thinking about going to possibly an American law school, but I want to keep my options open of where I would like to work.
Also, if you dont mind me asking, how did you do on your LSAT? I guess it’s probably awhile since you took it.. but if you have any advice on the lsat, law school or the law profession, please let me know.
What is the law profession like in the US in contrast to the UK? If you dont mind asking as well, what made you choose the law path?
Although I am taking the LSAT in June, I am still keeping my options open. I am moving to London in October for graduate studies at LSE for one year, and afterward, I will decide whether I want to take the law route or the academic route. I am interested in political and legal philosophy and I am not sure if I will get the most out of it from academia or law school… so I guess i am trying out the graduate path first. I have more hesitation on the law route, i seem to get the impression that law school is almost like trade school? That there is not much analysis in the philosophy of law, but rather, the technical and procedural side of the law? What are your thoughts?
I look forward to your reply,
thanks so much,
Elizabeth
I’m planning a trip to Ribera del Duero this summer, the “bodega tradicionale” sounds great – I wonder if you could supply contact details for this (and any other restaurants you rate)
thanks
Barry
Barry – that’s great you’re headed to Ribera del Duero! Re: the bodega tradicionale, it was owned by the people who rented out the house we used as a base. The link is above in my post.
As for the restaurants, here are the two posts on places we ate in the region, but generally, you won’t go wrong using the Gerry Dawes blog that I link to above in this post, as well as some of the newspaper articles linked above, too.
https://rwapplewannabe.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/fuente-de-la-acena-and-el-molino-de-palacios-spain/
https://rwapplewannabe.wordpress.com/2009/03/01/restaurant-jose-maria-segovia-spain/
Have a great trip, and I’d love to hear how it goes.
Thank you so much for being so kind as to mention my article. I am glad to see you enjoyed the Ribera del Duero. I do much prefer the wines from the Ribera del Burgos and Soria end of the valley.
Saludos, Gerry Dawes
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Hi
I have been recently in Ribera del Duero. I read this and other posts before deciding what to do. I was not sure if I wanted to drive from Madrid so finally we arranged for a guided tour.
We visited Emilio Moro and Abadia Retuerta. It was very interesting because both wineries are totally different. Abadia is not in Ribera but it is… a bit strange. it has to do with local regulations.We also enjoyed a short tasting at a hotel called Arzuaga (also a winery) All wines were really good, though my favorite ones were from Emilio Moro.
We had our meal in Penafiel, at an Asador called Mauro. Very good.
I strongly recommend visiting the Main square in Penafiel. Fantastic!
This is the tour we contracted. I found it expensive at the beginning but could not find a better deal either. After the day we did not regret having paid for it.
http://winetourismspain.com/296/ribera-del-duero-day-tour-from-madrid
I think getting from Madrid is a long drive. Maybe a good option is to opt for a 2 day trip and stay at a local hotel