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The modern, functional, inexpensive, but comfortable
Vado del Rey Hotel in the center of the lively, historic
wine town of Roa is also a good base for exploring this
region and it has two excellent restaurants, Nazareno,
one of the most highly regarded asadores in Castilla
y León and El Chuleta, which serves superb roast
lamb and a very good broader menu of regional specialties.
At Roa, the Roman Rauda, a Roman bridge still in use
spans the Duero. Cardinal Cisneros (Gonzalo Jiménez
de Cisneros), once confessor to Queen Isabela and the
powerful regent of Castile after the death of King Ferdinand
died here in 1517 and there is a statue of him on the
esplanade, overlooking the Duero plain where there are
several important wineries including Aalto,
Condado de Haza and López Cristobal,
one of real sleeper wineries of the region, winner of
one of the most important Spanish wine prizes in 2007,
Castilla y León's Zarcillo de Oro, for its red
crianza 2004.
Visiting Peñafiel a must
No visit to the Ribera del Duero would be complete
without seeing Peñafiel (Valladolid province),
the largest town between Aranda and Valladolid. Peñafiel
spills down a high escarpment that rises above the Duratón
River, which meets the Duero here. Peñafiel means
faithful rock, the rock being crowned by the unique,
long, narrow, white-gray, 14th-century castle, which
rides on the hill above the town itself like a battleship
in the sky, and now faithfully houses the Museo del
Vino, the Wine Museum. Peñafiel, home to Bodegas
Protos and Pago de Carraovejas
is a fascinating, lively market town with loads of atmosphere.
Besides the castle, the town has a number of impressive
old churches and ancient buildings scattered about its
steep, narrow streets. The Plaza del Coso, an unpaved
square, is surrounded by three-story, balconied houses
with shuttered multi-paned windows, and still serves
as the town bullring during fiestas. Zarceras
are also a prominent feature in Peñafiel–
ventilation chimneys dot the castle hill, which is home
to a warren of underground wine caves, and some even
project from the steep streets themselves. Mesón
Mauro, one of Castilla y León's greatest roast
houses, is located on one of the highest streets, near
the castle. The fare here is salad, a plate of local
cheese and chorizo, a quarter of roast baby lamb, and
jarras (clay pitchers) of Mesón
Mauro's spectacular Ribera del Duero house
wine. If you have time for a couple of meals in Peñafiel,
the colorful Molino de Palacios a very good Castilian
fare restaurant ensconced in renovated old mill house
on the Duratón is an excellent choice. The good,
comfortable Hotel Ribera del Duero has some rooms with
a view of the castle.
Pesquera de Duero- home to important wineries
North of Peñafiel, past another ancient bridge
is Pesquera de Duero, home to Alejandro Fernández's
Pesquera, Emilio Moro, Bodegas Monasterio and Bodegas
y Víñedos del Jaro. West of Pesquera,
are several of the Ribera del Duero's most important
wineries, including Vega Sicilia, Dominio de Pingus,
Alión, Mattaromera, Finca Villacreces and Arzuaga
Navarro, but some criss-crossing of the Duero is required
to take in the wineries in the towns of Valbuena de
Duero, Padilla de Duero and Quintanilla de Onésimo,
plus the not-to-be missed major historic attraction
in the area, the 12th-century Cistercian monastery of
Santa María de Valbuena. It will take it will
take some serious enchufe (connections) and
writing ahead to get into either Vega Sicilia or Pingus.
At this end of the Ribera del Duero are some excellent
hotel and dining choices, including the hotel and restaurant
in Arzuaga Navarro winery and Fuente de la Acena, a
highly rated hotel and creative cuisine restaurant in
an old renovated mill on the Duero, both in Quintanilla
de Onésimo.
Just beyond the western limits of the Ribera del Duero
D. O. are two major wineries, Abadía de Retuerta
in Sardón de Duero and Mariano García's
Mauro in Tudela de Duero, which also has one of the
great country restaurants in the entire region, Mesón
2,39. Both produce wines classified as Vinos de la Tierra
de Castilla y León.
Quiet flows the Duero
The Duero flows on west, south of the historic capital
city of Valladolid and the Cigales
wine district. It goes on through the Rueda
district, where some excellent white wines are being
made from the Verdejo grape, and Toro, where some of
some Spain's most powerful red wines are made. At the
Portuguese border, this great wine river becomes the
Douro and its waters bless the region
that produces the grapes for Port then flows on to meet
its date with the Atlantic Ocean at Oporto, but those
are tempting adventures for another time.
Doubling back through the Ribera del Duero on the way
to Madrid to visit a few more wineries and having another
meal of that irresistible lamb accompanied by a good
bottle of rich, black ruby Ribera del Duero wine are
temptations that few can resist.
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