Sandwiched between the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria and the Ebro River lies Rioja Alavesa.
The wine region, which belongs to the Basque province of Álava, looks back on a settlement history of more than 5,000 years.
Countless megalithic monuments, such as the dolmens of Layaza or the barrow of Elvillar, bear witness to this.

The Romans brought wine to the region around 2,000 years ago. Today, about 4,000 winegrowers produce mostly heavy red wines from the Tempranillo grape on an area of 13,000 hectares.
Some of them ripen in rock caves that were inhabited as early as the Bronze Age. Others in modern wine cellars resembling palaces.

In mid-September, the region celebrates its vintage festival - each year in a different wine village.
For one day, the center around the main square of the respective venue becomes a wine street along which vintners from 16 villages offer their precious wines for tasting.

Beforehand, the new harvest is stomped and must is pressed to the applause of the public.
A wood-chopping competition - one of the many archaic sports of the Basques - provides entertainment, as do numerous musical groups and a colorful children's play program.