There are almost two hundred residents in Moradillo de Roa, approximately the same number of wineries that this riverside municipality of Burgos has. The connection between Moradillo de Roa and wine comes from the past but it is proven that it has a lot to do with its future. And, El Cotarro, as its ethnographic group is known, has managed to unite a town in an adventure that seems to have no end. This is their philosophy: “rebuild to live” and, therefore, they strive every day to return the lost splendor to a legacy that dates back to the 15th century.

“El Cotarro” means (in old Spanish) high area or hill. This neighborhood of wineries occupies all sides of the hill of the Church of San Pedro and consists of a total area of ​​18,000 m², housing an ethnological complex made up of 157 underground wineries (positioned on up to four levels) and 7 cave winepresses excavated in said hill. natural.

In this small town in the Ribera del Duero all the families have or have had vineyards and currently there are a dozen of them that continue to dedicate themselves professionally to wine. However, in recent decades many of those wineries that were used specifically for wine aging had fallen into disuse and had deteriorated. In some cases, they had become picnic areas that brought together friends around some delicious lamb chops.

In December 2015, the Moradillo de Roa City Council decided to recover and maintain this valuable heritage, launching an ambitious project that is currently consolidated, which has aroused the interest of the neighbors themselves and the curiosity of visitors, coming from all over. of Spain and the world. In order to finance this recovery project, Moradillo de Roa has undertaken several projects that have been carried out simultaneously:

• The production of “El Cotarro” wine in a traditional winepress from 1736 (El Tercio)
• The innovative preparation of vintage beer with local grapes
• Wine tourism through guided tours of this ethnological complex: “here people can learn the journey of the grape from the treading and pressing in the traditional Tío Santos winepress (1744), to its climb to “El Cotarro” of wineries and its guard in the underground winery El Bodegón (1861)“.

This project has been a reference for other towns that also have winery neighborhoods to implement similar ideas. In addition, he has received many prestigious national and international awards such as:

• Best National Wine Tourism Initiative 2016 from the Spanish Association of Wine Cities (ACEVIN).
• Best National Wine Tourism Initiative 2017 by APAPNIDICSUR.
• Best Wine Tourism Initiative of the 2017 RENACIO Award.
• European Heritage Award for the Conservation of Europa Nostra 2020 and Accésit Category Award for Intervention in the Territory or Landscape of Hispania Nostra 2020.

Travel 300 years into the past, entering the bowels of the earth, just like our ancestors did. Taste the region’s wines that have shaped and sustained our towns for centuries, discover an underground world where culture and tradition come together to take the visitor back several centuries.

VISITS to the UNDERGROUND WINERY NEIGHBORHOOD “EL COTARRO” are organized by its City Council (see “Contact” section)

Information of interest:

• Tour not recommended for people with reduced mobility.
• Wear flat shoes and warm clothing (the temperature inside the underground cellars is 10ºC).
• All benefits from visits go towards its maintenance and conservation.