The Cata del Barrio de la Estación draws 3,500 visitors as the great wine and food experience for enjoying prestigious wines and Michelin-star cuisine

The Cata del Barrio de la Estación has today attracted over 3,500 wine and food lovers from all over the world to this enclave in Haro (La Rioja), thus consolidating this fifth edition as the benchmark wine and gastronomy event in Spain by bringing together great Rioja wines from the Barrio de la Estación and the best Michelin cuisine in this historic setting, the largest concentration of century-old wine cellars in the world. This event, promoted by CVNE, Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal, Gómez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta, S.A., Muga and Bodegas RODA, strengthens their commitment to haute cuisine, with six projects with Michelin stars, as perfect allies for the top of the range wines, and with a record response from the public, with all the tickets already sold out in December 2023.

The Cata del Barrio de la Estación is conceived as a celebration of the pleasures of wine and fine dining as culture, with a programme which lasts throughout the day, with music and activities in the wineries based in this enclave of valuable architecture.

The twelve wines chosen for this fifth edition reflect excellence in viticulture and oenology, as well as the diversity of styles and approaches to winemaking that coexist in the cellars of the “Station Quarter”, producers of a legacy that forms part of the history of Spanish wine: from CVNE, Imperial Reserva 2019 and Monopole Clásico Reserva 2020; from Bodegas Bilbaínas – Viña Pomal, Viña Pomal Gran Reserva 2015 and La Vicalanda Blanco 2022; from Muga, Torre Muga 2019 and Flor de Muga Rosado 2022; from Gómez Cruzado, Viña Dorana 2017 and Montes Obarenes Magnum 2017; from La Rioja Alta, S.A., Viña Arana Gran Reserva 2016 and Viña Ardanza 2017, and from Bodegas RODA, RODA 2020 and RODA I 2019.

In this fifth edition, the most spectacular so far, with a greater number of restaurants with a Michelin star present, the wines of the Barrio de la Estación – which have accompanied the revolution in Spanish cuisine over recent decades-, have been joined by great names from a new generation of chefs who are leading the country’s culinary revolution: Ikaro, Nublo and Ajonegro, Michelin stars from La Rioja; El Serbal, Michelin-star cuisine from Cantabria, and Cobo Estratos and Erre de Roca, two projects with a Michelin star from Castilla y León.  In addition to these the cuisine of Alberto Toribio from the Delicious Gastronomía catering company.  The sweet creation of the Cata del Barrio de la Estación bears the signature of the master pâtissier and chocolatier Juan Ángel Rodrigálvarez, from his Kankel Bean to Bar project. In addition, the gourmet gastro zone of the event has allowed visitors to taste a larder of artisanal, sustainable products, representing the best flavour of their lands.

The versatility of the pairing of great Rioja wines

 Thus, the Cata del Barrio de la Estación has offered a journey around the larders of La Rioja, the Basque Country, Castilla y León, Cantabria, Ecuador and Mexico and a taste of the cultures, experiences and influences of the chefs who have participated in the fifth edition. The travellers of the Cata del Barrio de la Estación have been able to enjoy iconic labels of wines from the “Station Quarter”, some with a century of history behind them, with the rich gastronomic offerings with different accents, a reflection of the versatility of the pairing of great Rioja wines and their understanding with dishes with different roots.

In parallel, the bodegas have opened their doors to lay on activities that demonstrate the link with the culture of wine they hold inside. In CVNE, the experience of the ‘Tunnel of aromas’ to awaken the link between wine and the senses; in Gómez Cruzado, ‘Tasting White grape varieties’ to show the rich diversity of the varietal catalogue of Rioja; in La Rioja Alta, S.A., ‘Artisanal racking by candlelight’, to enjoy live the magic of this delicate craft; in Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal, ‘Disgorgement, a display of how sparkling wines are traditionally made; in Muga, ‘Cooperage: shaping and toasting the barrel’, to learn the barrel making craft in order to achieve wines with a unique character, and in Bodegas RODA the photographic exhibition ‘Maridajes’ of the Fundación Foto Colectania to explore the common link between the work of different photographers and different themes.

In their commitment to internationalisation of the Cata del Barrio de la Estación, a delegation from ‘The Wine Society’, one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious wine clubs, has attended, and with whom the bodegas visited Great Britain in 2023.

The starting point of the Cata del Barrio de la Estación was the musical tasting led yesterday, Friday 14 June, by the writer and wine critic for Robert Parker’s journal ‘The Wine Advocate’, Luis Gutiérrez, who journeyed through seven decades, going back as far as 1962, via eight iconic wines from the bodegas of the Barrio de la Estación. Wine and music were the vehicle for awakening the memory and travelling back in time.

The Barrio de la Estación, Rioja’s main wine tourism destination, receives over 160,000 visitors per year, which contributes to the development and promotion of the region. This century-old enclave, gateway to Rioja, can be enjoyed all the year round, with combined experiences such as the Barrio Estación Tours or the Barrio Estación Passport.

The Haro Station Wine Experience is supported by Gobierno de La Rioja and Ayuntamiento de Haro and is sponsored by Cartonajes Santorromán, Argraf, Ramondín, Berthomieu – Ermitage Tonnellerie, Víctor y Amorim, Irundin, Agua 22, Ecotelia – Sorigué, AUDI – Rioja Motor and RIEDEL Euroselecció. Also partnering are Fusión Vínica, Bucher Vaslin – Enolviz, Estuchería Vargas, Hideco, EMESA, Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra AUBOCASSA, Embutidos G. Sobrón Martínez, Celebona 1960, Queso Los Cameros and Consejo de la Producción Agraria Ecológica de La Rioja (CPAER).