• More than 25% of the visits to the Ribera del Duero Wine Route take place during the months of September and October.
• Grape treading, must tasting and vineyard visits are some of the options that the wineries have prepared for the coming weeks.

Aranda de Duero, 27 September 2024

September and October continue to be the most important period in terms of visitors to the Ribera del Duero Wine Route. The arrival of the grape harvest accumulated in 2023 around 65,000 tourists in the area, representing more than 25% of the annual visits in the territory.

The wineries, museums and other establishments offer, during these days, visits focused on the grape harvest that provide wine tourists with a greater knowledge from the inside of how this moment is experienced in Ribera del Duero. Most of the winemakers organise specific activities during these weeks that vary the way in which their usual visits are carried out. During these weeks, tourists can see the work carried out by the different members of the Route, as well as participate in the treading of the grapes, taste the bunches of grapes in the vineyard itself or taste the must at different stages of fermentation.

A high percentage of the wineries offer an immersive experience that gives you the chance to learn about the process from the inside, participating as a spectator in such special moments as the start of fermentation, the selection of grapes or devatting. To this we can add those that have visits created specifically for this period, generating games or gymkhanas and organising concerts, parties or lunches in the vineyard.

For his part, Miguel Ángel Gayubo, president of the Ribera del Duero Wine Route is aware of the attraction of the grape harvest for the area and assures that “it is important that the establishments of the Route continue to create original and inclusive experiences that continue to generate quality wine tourism”.

During these days, many of the wineries are concerned with making wine tourism accessible to all kinds of people, preparing inclusive and universal activities that seek to allow access to different groups. In addition, the winemakers seek to promote family visits so that children can discover first-hand how the work in the fields works, tasting the grapes in situ and being the protagonists of the treading to taste the first must before fermentation begins.

The grape harvest in the villages along the route

The month of October will see several events celebrating the arrival of the grape harvest along the Ribera del Duero Wine Route. The first weekend will see the celebration of the Peñafiel Grape Harvest Festival, an event that will once again feature the traditional parade, which will include the grape harvest proclamation and the treading of the grapes.

On the other hand, Quintanilla de Onésimo, also in Valladolid, will once again hold its Medieval Market and Grape Harvest Festival, with activities such as street entertainment, grape treading and grape juice tasting.

About the Ribera del Duero Wine Route

The Ribera del Duero Wine Route is a tourist consortium made up of tourist entities and companies from Ribera del Duero. Consolidated as the third most visited wine tourism itinerary in Spain, it covers the four Castilian provinces of Castilla-La Mancha, Burgos, Segovia, Soria and Valladolid.

It is made up of 341 associates and members. Among them are 97 villages, 5 associations, the Regulatory Council of the Ribera del Duero Designation of Origin and 239 tourist establishments. The Ribera del Duero Wine Route has been chosen as a recommended destination by prestigious publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post or Traveler’s Food National Geographic UK.

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Members of the Ribera del Duero Wine Route opt for immersive experiences during the grape harvest