One of the oldest bodegas in Rioja, founded in 1858 at Elciego, famous for its titanium City of Wine hotel designed by Frank Gehry and its long-aged Reserva and Gran Reserva reds.
Tasting: Guided winery tours and tastings at the City of Wine complex, plus the Frank Gehry-designed hotel, restaurants and spa; book through the estate.
A Rioja Alavesa landmark near Laguardia housed in a wave-roofed cellar designed by Santiago Calatrava in 2001, focused on Tempranillo Reserva from estate vineyards.
Tasting: Tours of the Santiago Calatrava-designed cellar with its undulating roof, with tastings of Tempranillo Reserva; by reservation.
A pioneering single-vineyard producer at Laguardia founded in 1985, famous for Vina El Pison. Artadi withdrew from the Rioja DOCa in 2015 to label by site rather than ageing tier.
Tasting: Tours and tastings of single-vineyard wines such as Vina El Pison; by reservation. The estate left the Rioja DOCa in 2015 over terroir labelling.
A meticulous Samaniego estate founded in 1989, known for selecting only the shoulders of each bunch, producing structured Reserva, Gran Reserva and the cult Trasnocho.
Tasting: Tours showing the estate's grape-selection and shoulder-bunch method, with tastings of the Reserva and Gran Reserva; by reservation.
Rioja's pioneering chateau-concept estate, founded in 1973 at Laserna on a bend of the Ebro and part of CVNE, making single-estate reds including a varietal Graciano.
Tasting: Tours of the single-estate property at Laserna with its 16th-century cellars, with tastings of the estate and single-vineyard reds; by reservation.
A family bodega at Villabuena de Alava in Rioja Alavesa, founded in 1970, drawing on old-vine parcels for its Reserva de Familia and top cuvee Hiru Racimos.
Tasting: Guided tours and tastings at Villabuena de Alava, including the Hiru Racimos and the old-vine Reserva de Familia; by reservation.
The premium project of the Luis Canas family in Villabuena de Alava, created in 1996, specialising in old-vine Tempranillo and Graciano and a barrel-fermented Viura white.
Tasting: Tours of the gravity-fed cellar at Villabuena with tastings of the old-vine Amaren reds and the barrel-fermented white; by reservation.
A grower-family bodega at Samaniego in Rioja Alavesa, producing fresh estate reds and whites and the old-vine Gloria de Ostatu from a single plot.
Tasting: Family-run tours and tastings at Samaniego, including the Gloria de Ostatu old-vine selection; by reservation.
A Villabuena de Alava bodega founded in 1987 and flagship of the Artevino group, making modern oak-aged reds and a barrel-fermented white with an on-site restaurant.
Tasting: Tours, tastings and a restaurant at Villabuena de Alava, including the El Regalo and single-vineyard reds; by reservation.
A large historic house at Oyon tracing to 1861, best known internationally for the etched-bottle Faustino I Gran Reserva and a broad range of Reserva reds.
Tasting: Tours and tastings at Oyon, including the frosted-bottle Faustino I Gran Reserva; by reservation.
An architectural Rioja Alavesa winery at Samaniego opened in 2002, built as a glass cube over seven underground levels using gravity-flow winemaking, with a panoramic restaurant.
Tasting: Tours of the seven-level gravity-flow glass cube cellar at Samaniego with tastings and a restaurant; by reservation.
CVNE's Rioja Alavesa cellar near Laguardia, a striking circular building opened in 2004, home to the Vina Real range and the single-estate Pagos de Vina Real.
Tasting: Tours of the circular barrel-shaped Philippe Mazieres cellar near Laguardia with tastings of Vina Real and Pagos de Vina Real; by reservation.
A family group based at Elciego in Rioja Alavesa, founded in 1986, producing the Muriel range and the more traditional Conde de los Andes Reserva and Gran Reserva.
Tasting: Tours and tastings at Elciego of the Muriel and Conde de los Andes ranges; by reservation.
A Martinez Bujanda family bodega at Oyon dating to 1889, noted for reviving rare Rioja varieties such as Maturana Blanca and for its Inspiracion Valdemar range.
Tasting: Tours and tastings at Oyon, including pioneering work with recovered varieties such as Maturana Blanca; by reservation.
David Sampedro and Melanie Hickman farm 17 hectares of estate vineyards in Elvillar that are certified organic and certified biodynamic by Demeter International since 2021, worked with plough-horses and an off-grid solar cellar. The Phincas wines are single-plot Rioja Alavesa.
Tip: Demeter certification arrived in 2021; the Phincas range is where the biodynamic, single-plot philosophy shows clearest.
The Eguren family's Paganos estate works its single vineyards biodynamically though without formal certification, ageing El Puntido and La Nieta Tempranillo in rock-cut cellars. A mineral, terroir-led expression of Rioja Alavesa.
Tip: The biodynamic work here is uncertified; treat it as a practising estate rather than a Demeter producer.
Artadi, based outside Laguardia in Rioja Alavesa, has farmed organically and to biodynamic principles since 2002, and from the 2016 vintage carries the organic wine certification logo on every label. The estate uses no synthetic chemicals or pesticides.
Tip: Organic certification dates from the 2016 vintage; the biodynamic work is practised rather than separately certified.
Roberto Olivan makes low-intervention field-blend Rioja near Vinaspre with spontaneous fermentation, minimal sulfites and a light touch of oak. The wines are vivid, aromatic and built on old vines rather than a certification scheme.
Tip: These are natural-leaning rather than certified; the single-site and village bottlings best show the wild, aromatic style.
Tentenublo's minimal-intervention approach avoids the animal-derived fining agents used in conventional cellars, relying on spontaneous fermentation and long settling rather than egg-white or gelatine fining, which keeps the wines suitable for vegan drinkers.
Tip: Low-intervention cellars like this usually skip animal fining; confirm the specific cuvee with the importer if strict vegan status matters.