Eskuernaga, also known as Villabuena de Álava, combines winemaking with architectural history and a distinctive landscape: the Arroyo Herrera flows through a deep valley, and the town stretches along both sides of the stream. This offers visitors several ways to shape their stay: wine tours and tastings, buildings from different periods, or mountain-bike routes through the vineyards. Wine, architecture and routes through the vineyards offer different considerations when choosing where to stay.
Winemaking Tradition and Tastings
In Villabuena’s traditional wine-cellar quarter stands an iron sculpture depicting a man operating a wine press. The sculpture makes the town’s winemaking visible in a tangible way. At Marquesa-Valserrano, a centuries-old family winemaking tradition lives on in the wines produced there.
The wine visits each offer a different focus. The full tour of Marquesa-Valserrano explains winemaking and ageing, followed by a tasting of three wines with a snack. The “Valserrano Origin” visit includes a tour of the family winery’s centuries-old cellars, followed by a tasting of two wines. The first combines explanations of production and ageing with a tasting, while the second focuses on a tour of the old cellars. Check the booking details in advance, as they may change.
The wineries of Villabuena also offer wine tourism tours of their facilities and wine tastings. Availability must be checked separately with each winery.
Architectural History Across Several Periods
The Iglesia de San Andrés was built in three phases between 1539 and 1728, combining styles from Late Gothic to Baroque. The three construction phases and the stylistic range make the building’s evolution over time its central feature.
The Marqués de la Solana manor house was built mainly in the 16th century and expanded with two wings in the 18th century. A relief of Santiago Matamoros adorns the Casa del Indiano. The manor house is notable for its 18th-century expansion; at the Casa del Indiano, the focus is on a single visual detail.
The chapel was restored in 1997. Every year on 15 May, the residents of Villabuena honor their patron saint there. Ibaola Harriak is a cemetery with a megalithic aesthetic, integrated into its surroundings and offering an alternative to religious cemeteries. These cultural sites therefore bring together different themes: architectural development, religious observance and distinctive cemetery design.
Valley, Vineyards and Active Exploration
The Arroyo Herrera flows through a deep valley, and Eskuernaga stretches along both sides of the stream. The landscape and the opportunity to explore the vineyards on the move are two distinct points of orientation. In Villabuena, you can mountain bike along numerous routes through the vineyards. The valley describes the landscape, while the routes offer an active way to experience the vineyards. Together with tours and tastings, they provide a picture of Eskuernaga that shows winemaking from several perspectives.
Discover more destinations: Elciego, Añana, Laguardia, Lagran, Lalastra, Lukiano, Maturana, Pobes.
See the broader travel overview: Alava.
