A new winery in Azagra, Navarra, has been built aiming to offer facilities for people with reduced mobility. Accessible guided tours in the winery have been designed in order to learn to enjoy Rioja wines.

The world famous wine producing region of Rioja is situated in the River Ebro valley, a very privileged environment for vineyards. The 57,000 hectares of vines which currently make up the region of the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja (D.O. "Designation of Origin) are located in three Autonomous Communities, La Rioja, the Basque Country and Navarra. Their average annual yield is 250 million litres, 85% of which is red wine, with the rest whites or rosés.

After a long process, during which the "Rioja" Designation of Origin always endeavoured to ensure quality and maintain controls at point of origin, in 1991 a Ministerial Order granted the category of "Calificada" to the D.O., the first and only wine designation of origin in Spain to attain this ranking. The Control Board was officially established in 1953, and is the one to uphold the Designation of Origin and enhance, monitor and foster the quality of these wines.
Rioja wines are divided into different categories, which are based on minimum ageing periods:

-Crianza: Wine in its third year, matured for at least one year in oak cask.
-Reserva: Carefully selected wines, aged for at least three years, of which at least one is in oak cask.
-Gran Reserva: refers to great vintage wines which have been aged at least two years in oak cask and three years in bottle.

"Bodegas y Viñedos Fernandez de Manzanos" has built a very special winery in a 150.000 m2 farm, next to the Ega and Ebro rivers amidst a beautiful landscape. The new winery is located between the villages of St. Adrian and Azagra (Navarra) off the road NA- 134, km 47. The organisers have designed a wheelchair accessible tour and works in lodging and restaurant areas at the winery are being carried.

This accessible guided tour in the winery will take you along the winemaking processes, from vine care to commercialisation or bottling, from wine-related tourism to agriculture. The way from the car park area to the reception and office building is level (though no disabled parking bays have been reserved) and there's a ramp in order to access the building. On the ground floor one can see how grapes are pressed and from there, going down several floors (4) by means of an accessible elevator (wheelchair turning space inside), one will go through large and small casks, filtering rooms, bottles, cellars and "cemetery" areas. Once the -4 floor is reached the tour is taking us outside to have a look at the vineyards. Premises are barrier free and the whole of the building is said to have been designed having in mind people with reduced mobility.

Two fully adapted toilets (featuring transfer bars, wheelchair turning space, automatic lighting.) are available on the ground floor in the "tower" building, accessed by means of a ramp.

An accessible (ramps) outdoor picnic area has been arranged; grills and tables (one central leg) have been set. There are two more adapted toilets in this area.

These are the winery tours available at present:

- "Exprés" (all year round). This is a guided tour in the winery including tasting of 2 kinds of wine. (7 Euros)

-"The cycle of vineyards" (certain dates in the year).This is a guided tour entended to understand and learn about the process and evolutions in the vineyards during the year. Lunch in the premises is included.

Guided tours should be arranged and booked in advance (groups of 10 people minimum) and Mª Pilar Sánchez/Guillermina Roldán are the persons to be contacted, either by phone, fax or e-mail.

Opening schedule:
Monday to Friday: 10:00 - 13.30 and 16:00- 19:00
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays: on request.

Bodegas y Viñedos Fernández de Manzanos
Ctra. San Adrián-Azagra km 47
31560 Azagra (Navarra)
Tel: (+34) 948 692 500
Fax: (+34) 948 692 700
www.bodegasfernandezdemanzanos.com
info@bodegasfernandezdemanzanos.com

Rebecca Arce

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