You can focus on different aspects when travelling to Cenicero: winery visits and tastings, traditional wine production, architectural history or the Ebro river landscape. At the endpoint of Stage 14.1 of the Camino Natural del Ebro, there is a park with views across the valley. The choice of experiences therefore depends less on a single attraction than on whether you want to focus on wine, craftsmanship, architecture or scenery.

Wine culture and winery visits

Winery tours at the Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres site in Cenicero can be booked. Bodegas Tritium offers guided tours with a tasting of four wines, classic Rioja appetisers and olive oil. The “Crea tu propio vino” experience adds the opportunity to learn how to make your own wine and apply basic wine-tasting techniques. These are two different formats: a guided tour with several tasting components, and an activity focused on winemaking and tasting techniques. Check the availability of Tritium’s offerings before your visit.

At Bodegas Riojanas, a sensory winery visit includes the Sala de Sensaciones del Vino and the audiovisual presentation “Los sonidos del vino”. The tasting includes three wines and Iberian cured meats. The winery’s history in Cenicero dates back to 1890, when Bodegas Riojanas, S.A. was founded there by two families. A look at today’s visitor experience and the winery’s founding history brings together a specific tasting with a longer-standing part of the local wine culture.

Bodegas Valentín Pascual uses a cave at Plaza de España in Cenicero to produce a wine made by traditional grape treading and carbonic maceration. The cave dates back to the 15th century. The continuing production tradition includes treading grapes from its own vineyards barefoot and fermenting them in a stone lagar. Valentín Pascual and his son José María Pascual conduct the winery tours themselves; check availability in advance.

Craftsmanship and the river landscape

During a visit to Tonelería Gangutia, you can see the toasting of the barrels, the tool museum and the staff making barrels. The visit must be arranged in advance. This offers a different way to explore wine culture than a winery tour or tasting: the focus here is on barrel-making, from toasting to construction.

The Camino Natural del Ebro also offers a view of the landscape. The route follows the floodplains of the Najerilla and Ebro rivers to Cenicero. Stage 14.1 ends at the entrance to the town, next to a park that serves as a viewpoint. From there, you can see the large meanders, riparian forests and islands of the Ebro valley, as well as vineyards and cultivated land used for irrigated and dryland farming. The viewpoint brings the river and the surrounding agricultural landscape into a single vista. If you want to include this landscape in your trip, you can mark the stage endpoint as a point of interest.

Architectural history in Cenicero

The parish church of San Martín was completed in the mid-16th century. Its architectural features include a single-nave layout, chapels between the buttresses, an elevated choir and a tower. The single nave is the church’s central main space; the chapels are located between the buttresses. This makes it possible to appreciate the building not only for when it was constructed, but also for the arrangement of its spaces and architectural elements.

Another historic building is the Casa de Cultura “Las Monjas”, a palace built in Cenicero in the 18th century. The tourist information centre also reflects local influences in its design: it features exposed stone walls, wine-themed decoration and historic photographs of the town and its people. Together with the church and the Casa de Cultura, it forms a cultural focus distinct from tastings and winemaking methods.

When looking for a hotel in Cenicero, you could first consider which of these themes you want to shape your trip: wine culture and tastings, craftsmanship, architectural history or the landscape along the Ebro. For individual visits and activities, it is advisable to check availability or arrange a visit in advance.

Discover more destinations: Ezcaray, Badarán, Munilla, Arenzana De Abajo, Sajazarra, Zarratón, Laguna De Cameros, Ollauri.

For the main travel overview: La Rioja.