Murua Winery, located in the Alavesa area of the DOCa Rioja and belonging to Masaveu Wineries, has doubled its wine tourism visits this summer compared to July and August of last year, experiencing a 103% increase.
To date, the number of people who have come to discover Murua’s wine tourism offerings is 49% higher than in the first nine months of last year. This increase is the result of the winery’s commitment, since 2020, to promoting wine tourism under safe conditions and offering a wide range of activities for travelers centered around the world of wine.
The winery, located in the Rioja town of Elciego, has also regained international visitors after last year’s pause due to Covid-19. In fact, this summer, three out of every ten visitors to Murua came from outside Spain. “In recent months, we have focused on private visits as part of our safety protocol and reactivated small events at the winery, which we had suspended last year due to the health crisis,” explains Chelo Miñana, Director of Wine Tourism at Masaveu Wineries.The very nature of wine tourism—an outdoor activity linked to rural areas and centered around the enjoyment of wine culture integrated into the landscape and natural surroundings—has served as a major attraction for travelers this summer, many of whom remain highly conscious of the pandemic. “Wine tourism has strongly rebounded and now holds a solid position compared to other types of travel. We are working with the hope that wine tourism will become a powerful economic, viticultural, and social driver in Rioja Alavesa, as it brings together all the right conditions for strong growth prospects and represents a true value for the future. ” adds Miñana.
Wine tourism activities and experiences
As part of its wine tourism offering, Murua Winery has recently extended its opening hours and expanded the wine list at its Wine Bar, which can now be set up in different areas of the winery depending on weather conditions. Visitors can enjoy it in the charming and historic inner courtyard, in the cozy lounges that lovingly house magnificent works of art owned by Masaveu Corporation, or outdoors overlooking the vast vineyards at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria.
In addition to the Wine Bar, other experiences offered by Murua include the following:
- Getting to Know Murua Visit to the vineyard surrounding the building and the winery facilities. Tasting of three Murua wines. RRP per person: €25.
- Masaveu WineriesTasting Visit to the winery and vineyards with a tasting of four wines from four different Wineries Masaveu wineries located across Spain, accompanied by a small appetizer: Fillaboa, Pagos de Araiz Rosado, Más de Leda, and Murua Reserva. Price per person: €35.
- Collector’s Tasting. Guided tasting, with appetizer, of the five wines that make up Bodega Murua: VS Murua, Murua Reserva, Murua Barrel-Fermented White, Veguín de Murua Gran Reserva, and M de Murua. Price per person: €80.
- Catas Flight. A proposal to explore the landscapes of Rioja Alavesa through a guided tasting of Murua wines. Murua Premium: €15 and Murua Super Premium: €25.
Library and Private Art Collection
In addition to enjoying the wines produced by the winery, the noble main building, which preserves the structure of the ancestral manor houses typical of this area of Rioja Alavesa, is another major attraction for visitors.
The interior of Murua allows visitors to discover the exclusive library and its private art collection, owned by Masaveu Corporation, featuring sculptures, paintings, and engravings from the 16th to the 21st century.
These exhibitions feature works by renowned artists such as Miquel Barceló, Francisco de Goya, Álvaro Alcalá Galiano, Tomás Hiepes, Juan de Arellano, Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor, Francisco Bores, and Daniel Quintero, among others, whose artworks adorn the corners of the buildings that make up the Rioja winery.
The library is another treasure open to the eyes of travelers who visit Elciego. Unique within the Rioja Designation of Origin, it houses more than 2,455 books and magazines related to the world of wine, spanning from the 16th century to the present day.
In this library, the main authors of everything ever written about wine are represented, whether from a technical or cultural perspective. The collection includes scientific, literary, essayistic, legal, and informative texts. In this extensive and unique collection, one can find both classic works on oenology and the most recent publications from Spain and other countries. Among the treasures housed in Murua’s library are very old manuscripts that bear witness to the history of wine, such as the Libro de los Arbitrios de Logroño (1774–1796), vineyard purchase and sale deeds dating from the 17th century, as well as facsimiles of rare and out-of-print titles and first editions.
About Murua Winery
Murua, a winery belonging to the Masaveu Wineries wine group, is located in the beautiful town of Elciego, in the heart of Rioja Alavesa.
La familia Masaveu constituyó esta bodega en los años setenta y actualmente Murua produce 250.000 botellas elaboradas con una materia prima que refleja el respeto a la tierra que define al grupo bodeguero presente en diferentes zonas estratégicas del país: Murua (D.O.Ca. Rioja), Fillaboa (D.O. Rías Baixas), Pagos de Araiz (D.O. Navarra), Leda (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León) y la sidra de hielo Valverán (Asturias). Desde entonces, Bodegas Masaveu ha ido creciendo hasta convertirse en un referente, por la calidad en la elaboración de sus vinos en diferentes DO´s y por la filosofía medio ambiental que demuestran y el máximo respeto a la tierra, en las que posee sus propias plantaciones de viñedos, gracias a las cuales logran transmitir, en cada botella, la personalidad única de cada terroir.
