Thabuca - Rioja Wine Tours

Wow, sometimes it is hard to describe just how great of an experience you had. As if the words are not enough. We were traveling to the area for the second time in the same year and wanted to have a different experience than we had the first time, which was fun but filled with running around Haro to different Bodegas, trying to capture the best we could find in just six short hours. This time we wanted to relax and have a different kind of fun. Thabuca was responsive to our needs from the very first email communication. At one point, we felt snobby asking for a specific dining experience, but they reassured us they understood our desires and it was nothing out of the norm. We were picked up from our San Sebastian stay and brought into Rioja, our driver was the absolute most pleasant man we could have encountered. The trip was more memorable because of him (Thank you Mr. Inaki!!!). Upon arrival to Haro, Gentzane met us with an infectious smile and from the moment we met, we knew we were going to have a great day together. After the first 10 minutes, it stopped feeling like a tour and it felt like four friends having a day out together; one with an extensive knowledge of the area and the world class wine it produces, one designated driver who also taught us about the areas we drove through as well as the rest of Northern Spain, the other two (us) seemingly along for the ride. The Bodegas (Amarena and Cor de mei) were absolute class and we couldnt help buy a few bottles from both stops. We begged for a dining experience that we would taste for years and man oh man did Gentzane deliver. Alboroque plated a 5-course tasting menu that sent us to space. Everything local and you can tell the Chef (and his wife) has top-flight experience. If you are looking for anything wine or tour related in Rioja, you would be silly to look elsewhere. The literal original, Thabuca, was the best tour/excursion experience either of us have ever had. We look forward going back to this area just so we can do this again.

Awesome day out with Thabuca Wine Tours. Gentzane was an amazing guide. We were very lucky to have her deep knowledge of La Rioja and importantly we had a few laughs along the way! Carol organised 4 great winery visits that we wouldn’t have found otherwise. Highly recommend Thabuca Wine Tours!

Thabuca Wine Tours are first class! We only had 1 day to visit Rioja and Carol helped us plan the wineries where we would get to experience a little of everything Rioja had to offer. Each place was unique and the wine was fantastic. Transportation was top notch and our guide was so knowledgeable of the area. I only wish we could have spent a few days on tours with Thabuca. Would definitely reach out to them to book again.

My wife and I had a wonderful day on a wine tasting tour with Thabuca! Carol was an excellent guide, and Fernando was a great driver. Carol selected three different wineries in the Rioja region for us to try, each very different but all with excellent wines. We enjoyed being able to visit the different types of wineries, especially the cave tour at the second winery. Throughout the tastings and tours, Carol was able to offer great insight into the Rioja region and winemaking there, which we appreciated. We ended the trip with an incredible tasting lunch at Hector Oribe Restaurant, which was the perfect way to cap off the day.

We highly recommend Thabuca for your wine tastings in Rioja!!

Fantastic time with a really in-depth tour that balanced history, culture, and of course, great wine. Our comfort was emphasized and we appreciated the level of planning and care that went into making our trip to Rioja excellent.

Thabuca arranged an amazing 3-winery tour for us, despite the difficult time of year we requested for (December 30).

The wineries we visited were all family-owned and not as commercial as those mega famous wineries; That's exactly what we wanted! We didn't want those generic visits, we wanted personalized visits with wines we couldn't easily find in the US.

If you're looking for an agency to help you arrange a one of a kind tour of Rioja, I highly recommend you to give Thabuca a try. It is a almost once in a life time experience after all, go big or go home! You won't regret it.

Fernando with Thabuca Wine Tours was fabulous!! He made our visit to La Rioja exceptionally better by sharing his passion and knowledge for the culture, history and winery’s in La Rioja. Fernando went above and beyond to make our trip unique to what we were looking for and contributed to the memories we’ll cherish forever. Thank you Fernando for sharing your day with us! We can’t wait to visit again.

Impossible to find a better company than Thabuca to design a memorable experience in Rioja! We have used Thabuca several times in the past and are looking forward to the next time we are in that beautiful part of the world. Each tour we have done with Thabuca is a totally different experience from those that have gone before. The company (and Carol in particular) have a seemingly endless network of prestigious contacts, including not only the big names, but also those small boutique vineyards and wineries that you would never learn about (let alone find!) on your own, but which you will never forget.

We have found Thabuca to be exceptionally responsive to our emails, as well as to any questions we have. They are professional, dependable and work hard to craft an itinerary that will insure an unforgettable day sampling the best wines and the glorious food of the region.

If you are planning on being near Rioja, do yourself a favor and touch base with Thabuca before you go. Cheers!

We did two full day tours and one half day tour in October 2021. Carol was our guide for the two full day tours. Everything was expertly planned out, timed, and coordinated. We learned so much at all the wineries we went too, the wine was excellent, and Carol did a great job of picking out a variety of different wineries (small, large, old, modern). We also enjoyed the two lunches that she had reserved for us (5 and 6 course meals). She provided plenty of local knowledge on our drives between the wineries and had a fun personality. For the half day walking tour of Laguardia, we had Jen as our guide. We learned a lot about the history of the town and enjoyed eating pintxos at various restaurants/bars around town. Overall, the wine tours we did with Thabuca were the highlight our trip to Spain and we would definitely recommend a tour with Carol and her team.

Thabuca sets the standard for wine tourism. They put together wonderul days of wine tasting and gourmet lunches. Transportaion was included so we didn't have to worry about finding the approrpriate winery. Because we love Rioja wines, we chose to spend 4 days exloring the wineries in the region. Every stop was chosen by Thabuca and they were all winners! Communicaton was timely and responsive. Our guide was very knowledgable about wines and the region.

My husband and I could not have enjoyed our time with Gentzane and Thabuca more! From booking to our very last meal together, it was spectacular and special. We learned so much and cannot wait to go back and use Thabuca again! :)

We thoroughly enjoyed our “Rioja Discovery” tour of 2 wineries and LaGuardia - a perfect way to get out to the country and learn about wines and local culture and history.

Our guide, Marta, was absolutely lovely. It was like having a friend show you around her home town. Marta arranged two very different wineries for us. One was a small family run boutique, and the other was a medium sized producer. Both made excellent wines and had interesting tours. The smaller winery is one of the vey few run by women, and it was great to get some history as perspective from them.

Marta was also very generous with her time in answering questions and tailoring the tour to our needs.

And a couple of days later we got stuck in Haro due to a train strike and weren’t sure how to get to our next destination. Marta graciously accepted a phone call from us and emailed instructions that helped us get to a bus and onward to our final destination. Above and beyond service, and a truly lovely person.

If you’re looking for hospitality, knowledge and a fun tour, book here with confidence.

If you love wine you must book a tour! Everything was planned to so well and it ran like clock work but never felt rushed. Lunch was amazing and the wines were better than I expected.

We had a private tour of three vineyards with a driver and guide. We were collected from our occommerdation at 09.30 and returned at 17.30. The tour also included a very nice lunch. Our guide was knowledgeable, friendly and great company to be with. I would highly recommend this tour.

Wine tours

Ha sido un fin de semana maravilloso. De verdad que me he quedado sin palabras de lo bien que entendisteis lo que buscábamos para este viaje. Un acierto máximo. Obviamente organización de 10 pero agradezco 100% vuestra profesionalidad, compromiso para conmigo (que entiendo será para todos los clientes), empatía, el mimo y cuidado que trasmitís y el conocimiento que tenéis de la zona (y de los tiempos para ir de un lugar a otro). GRACIAS por haberme ayudado en un fin de semana inolvidable para mi y mi familia.

Hicimos dos tours con Thabuca y la verdad es que solo tengo palabras de agradecimiento por la experiencia disfrutando de La Rioja Alavesa y sus vinos. El primero de ellos fue un grupo reducido en inglés donde disfrutamos de un día de vinos. La experiencia fue maravillosa y nuestra guía Elena supo darnos todo el cariño y llevarnos a las mejores bodegas para conocer los entresijos en una visita íntima, además de comer fenomenal en un restaurante tradicional. El segundo de ellos fue el Enobús, una idea súper divertida donde te recogen por la mañana, te llevan a diferentes bodegas con visita guiada y cata, y por la tarde te regresan. Tienen diferentes paradas en el País Vasco, y van cambiando las bodegas en cada visita. Sin duda, son los mejores anfitriones en esta bella y rica tierra de España.

Una estancia para recordar! 3 días de excursiones y visitas muy interesantes, con un trato muy cercano y profesional. Paisajes especiales y llenos de historia. Ya hemos recomendado a más de uno que contacten con Thabuca para disfrutar de la Rioja Alavesa. Queremos volver a Labastida!!!

Poca gente conoce mejor Rioja Alavesa, con sus paisajes, su gastronomía, sus bodegas y sus vinos, que el equipo de Thabuca, con Carol a la cabeza. Si vas buscando una visita guiada especial por esta región de fábula, no lo dudes ni un momento, te asesorarán y crearán un plan a medida para ti y para los tuyos.

La mejor forma de organizar una visita a la Rioja Alavesa. Nos hicieron un variado programa de visitas a diferentes bodegas en Labastida y alrededores. También pudimos disfrutar de la gastronomía de la zona y participar en el "pintxo-pote". ¡Para repetir!