Bilbao sits between two wine worlds. Twenty minutes from the Guggenheim, in the green valleys of Bizkaia, family farms make txakoli, the light, sharp, faintly fizzy white the Basques pour from a height; an hour east along the coast, Getaria makes the most famous version of it above the Atlantic. Drive an hour and a quarter south over the mountains and the landscape turns to vines and stone villages: Rioja Alavesa, with its medieval hilltop towns and avant-garde wineries, and Haro, where the great Rioja houses cluster around the railway station.
This guide is about the day trip. It gathers the wineries we would send a first-timer to in each of those four areas, the honest logistics including the buses that reach wine country, where to eat between tastings, and where to stay if a day becomes a weekend. Our deeper Rioja guides are linked at the end.
Getting There From Bilbao
The closest wineries are the txakoli houses of the Txorierri valley at Lezama, Zamudio and Larrabetzu, fifteen to twenty minutes from the centre and a few minutes from the airport, with Bakio on the coast about forty minutes north and the Urdaibai reserve forty-five minutes east. Bizkaibus route A3518 runs from Bilbao to Bakio roughly hourly in about an hour, which makes Doniene Gorrondona the easiest no-car winery in the region.
Getaria is about a hundred kilometres east on the AP-8, an hour and ten minutes from Bilbao and twenty-five from San Sebastiรกn, and the txakoli farms sit on the hills directly above the fishing harbour, so lunch at a grill on the quay is part of the day. Without a car, take an Alsa coach to San Sebastiรกn and the Lurraldebus UK09 to Getaria.
Rioja Alavesa is about a hundred and thirty kilometres south on the AP-68, an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half from Bilbao to Laguardia, with Vitoria-Gasteiz forty-five minutes away; Haro is about an hour and a quarter by the same road. Alavabus line 17 from Bilbao stops in Haro and Laguardia several times a day on weekdays, though not in Elciego. Spainโs drink-driving limit is low, 0.5 grams per litre, so agree a driver who does not taste, or build the day around the bus and a taxi.
Wine Tours From Bilbao
If you would rather not drive Riojaโs back roads yourself, these small-group and private day trips run from Bilbao with winery visits, tastings and lunch. Booking is through Viator; the ratings and prices are theirs and can change.
A full day from Bilbao into Rioja Alavesa, with two winery visits and tastings and time to walk the medieval hill town of Laguardia.
Check availability on ViatorA day around Rioja's two most striking wineries, the Frank Gehry-designed Marques de Riscal and the Calatrava-designed Ysios, with tastings and lunch.
Check availability on ViatorA small-group day visiting three well-regarded Rioja wineries with tastings, with pickup in Bilbao.
Check availability on ViatorA winery visit with tastings and a traditional Rioja lunch, on a small-group day from Bilbao.
Check availability on ViatorOur Recommended Wineries Near Bilbao
These are the tastings we would point a first-timer to, grouped so you can build a single-area day: the txakoli farms of Bizkaia closest to the city, Getaria on the coast, Rioja Alavesa with its villages and modern architecture, and Haroโs station quarter. Each links through to our full winery guide, and the map plots them all.
Wineries within day-trip range of Bilbao ยท tap a pin for the winery guide. Map data ยฉ OpenStreetMap.
Doniene Gorrondona
Why Guests Love It: Owner-Led Tours, Native Grapes, Sea-Breeze Whites
Founded in 1996 when three partners took over the Gorrondona farmhouse (the building dates from 1852) and replanted abandoned vineyards to bring Bakio back as a wine village. The 1.5 hour tour walks the vineyard, winery and on-site distillery and ends with two txakolis tasted alongside anchovies, Idiazabal cheese and Iberian ham; a few minutesโ drive from San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
Read our full Doniene Gorrondona guide โBodega Gorka Izagirre
Why Guests Love It: Hamaiketako Snack Pairing, Small-Group Tastings, Red and Barrel-Aged Txakoli
Founded in 2005 and part of the Azurmendi complex on the hill above Larrabetzu, next to Eneko Atxaโs three-Michelin-star restaurant. More than 40 hectares of its own vines across six Bizkaia municipalities feed a range that goes beyond classic txakoli: G22 on fine lees, Zura aged in barrel and Ilun, a red txakoli. The signature visit is the Hamaiketako, a traditional Basque mid-morning snack paired with the wines.
Read our full Bodega Gorka Izagirre guide โMagalarte Lezama Txakolina
Why Guests Love It: Horseback Vineyard Tour, Chorizo and Cheese Tasting, Barrel-Fermented Txakoli
A family bodega in the Txorierri valley with more than 120 years of history, 20 minutes from downtown Bilbao. Visits come in three formats: a winery and vineyard walk, a horseback tour through the vines, and a vertical tasting. The range includes Ieup! on lees, a barrel-fermented Barrikan and Aitu, a red txakoli, and reviewers consistently mention four wines tasted with local chorizo, cheese and bread.
Read our full Magalarte Lezama Txakolina guide โBodega Magalarte Zamudio
Why Guests Love It: Sixth-Generation Hosts, Airport-Close Stop, Personal Vineyard Walk
Run by the sixth generation of the family and the last remaining bodega in the municipality of Zamudio, about 4 km from Bilbao Airport. It has held the Bizkaiko Txakolina DO since 1994 and makes four txakolis including a barrel-fermented cuvee. Guided visits need a minimum group, but the shop welcomes walk-ins for bottles Monday to Saturday mornings.
Read our full Bodega Magalarte Zamudio guide โBodega Berroja
Why Guests Love It: Biosphere-Reserve Views, Paired Tastings, Open Seven Days
Twenty-five hectares of vines inside the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, about 45 minutes from Bilbao, with guided tours, paired tastings and a kitchen and social hall for groups. The wines are mostly Hondarrabi Zuri, some blended with a little Riesling, plus a rose from Hondarrabi Beltza. Open seven days with the last tour at 4 pm, and reviewers repeatedly single out the views from the tasting building.
Read our full Bodega Berroja guide โBodegas Itsasmendi
Why Guests Love It: Aged and Late-Harvest Txakoli, Blend-Your-Own Workshop, Urdaibai Setting
The serious end of Bizkaia txakoli, in Gernika inside the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve: Itsasmendi 7 was the first aged txakoli in the DO and Urezti is a late-harvest wine from dried Hondarrabi Zuri Zerratie grapes. Experiences run 2 to 3 hours with published prices (37 to 57 euros) and group minimums, including a blend-your-own-wine workshop; visits Monday to Saturday.
Read our full Bodegas Itsasmendi guide โTxomin Etxaniz
Why Guests Love It: Sea-View Vineyards, Anchovy and Tuna Pairing, Historic Family Name
The reference name in Getaria: San Sebastian Turismo calls it one of the oldest producing wineries in the area, with family ties to vines here recorded back to 1649. Tours run Monday to Saturday at 11 am, last 90 minutes and cost 22 euros, ending with several txakolis tasted alongside Getaria anchovies and white tuna; the vineyards sit on the slopes above the harbour with the sea below.
Read our full Txomin Etxaniz guide โGaรฑeta Txakolina
Why Guests Love It: Ocean-View Tasting, Young Fourth-Generation Hosts, Vineyard Picnics
A fourth-generation family estate above Getaria: grandfather Manuel made txakoli in the 19th century, the modern bodega was built in 1992, and siblings Paula and Enaitz Ostolaza took over in 2021. Vines are 85 percent Hondarrabi Zuri and 15 percent Hondarrabi Beltza, picked in early October, for a white, a rose and the lees-aged Berezia. Guided visits and picnic experiences among the vines, with the tasting served alongside pintxos.
Read our full Gaรฑeta Txakolina guide โGaintza Txakolina
Why Guests Love It: Stay-Among-the-Vines Hotel, Century-Old Vines, Tuna and Anchovy Pairing
Family-owned since 1923 on the Akerregi hillside, with a small hotel on the estate so you can sleep among the vines. The flagship Aitako blends 90 percent Hondarrabi Zuri with 10 percent Chardonnay from century-old vines on the traditional overhead trellis. Guided tours end with txakoli paired with Cantabrian tuna and anchovies, and the tasting terrace looks over the vineyards to the sea.
Read our full Gaintza Txakolina guide โBodegas Valdelana
Why Guests Love It: Wine Museum, English-Speaking Guides, Stay-Above-the-Cellar Rooms
A family winery in Elciego that traces its history to 1583 and pairs its cellar tour with an on-site wine museum and a small hotel, all a few hundred metres from the Gehry-designed Marques de Riscal. English-speaking guides, generous opening hours (from 8 am daily) and a relaxed, hands-on style make it the easy first stop in Rioja Alavesa for families and first-timers.
Read our full Bodegas Valdelana guide โBodega El Fabulista
Why Guests Love It: Underground Medieval Cellars, Walkable from the Bus, Open Daily
Seven metres below the 17th-century palace where the fable writer Felix Maria de Samaniego lived, in the middle of walled Laguardia. The visit starts in the square with the story of the palace, then drops into the four calados (rock-cut cellars) where the wine is made, aged and tasted. It is the one Rioja cellar you can reach on foot from the Alavabus stop, and it opens every day of the week.
Read our full Bodega El Fabulista guide โBodegas Luis Caรฑas
Why Guests Love It: Old-Vine Parcels, Vineyard Walk with Views, Cheese-Paired Tasting
Four generations of the Canas family in Villabuena; Luis Canas (born 1928) founded the bottling winery in 1970 after a century of family bulk-wine trade, and his son Juan Luis has run it since 1989. It farms about 450 hectares split into more than 1,000 small parcels of old, low-yield vines on clay-limestone slopes. Tours walk the vineyard and full winery and finish with wines and cheese; the Sierra de Cantabria views come free.
Read our full Bodegas Luis Caรฑas guide โBodegas Javier San Pedro Ortega
Why Guests Love It: Michelin-Chef Pintxo Pairing, Modern Wine Bar, Young Winemaker Story
A fifth-generation Laguardia winemaker who made his first wine at 17, started his own label in 2013 and opened a new bodega on the edge of town in 2018. Ten hectares of family vines feed more than 19 wines across red, rose and white. The tour is built as a sensory tasting with pintxos created with Michelin-starred chefs Inaki Murua and Carolina Sanchez, in a modern space with a garden and a wine bar; timed slots daily at 11 am plus afternoon slots Friday to Sunday.
Read our full Bodegas Javier San Pedro Ortega guide โBodegas Campillo
Why Guests Love It: Chateau-Style Estate, Big Barrel Hall, Patient English Tours
Built in 1990 at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria just outside Laguardia and an early mover in Rioja wine tourism. The visit takes in the vineyards around the house, a large barrel hall and a private wine storage vault; English tours run about 90 minutes even for a party of one. Part of the Familia Martinez Zabala group, so bookings go through their visits office by phone or WhatsApp.
Read our full Bodegas Campillo guide โMarquรฉs de Riscal
Why Guests Love It: Gehry Hotel Architecture, Historic Bottle Library, Guided Cellar Tour
Marquรฉs de Riscal in Elciego is the oldest wine house in Rioja, founded in 1858, and since 2006 the most photographed thanks to Frank Gehryโs titanium-ribboned hotel rising from the vineyard. The winery tour walks from the original nineteenth-century cellars, with bottles from every vintage since 1862, to the modern winery, and the estate hotel and restaurant make it the natural overnight in Rioja Alavesa.
Read our full Marquรฉs de Riscal guide โBodegas Gรณmez Cruzado
Why Guests Love It: Boutique Station-Quarter Cellar, Best-Value Tasting, Old Bush Vines
Founded in 1886 and the smallest house in Haroโs Barrio de la Estacion, a few steps from Muga, Roda and Lopez de Heredia, which makes it the natural add-on to a no-car day by Alavabus. Old bush-trained vines in Rioja Alta and Alavesa go into wines that aim for finesse over power, from a white through Crianza and Reserva to the Vina Motulleri Gran Reserva. Tastings come with cheese, bread and olive oil, and visitors call it the best value in the quarter.
Read our full Bodegas Gรณmez Cruzado guide โPlan Your Wine Day
Tell us how long you have and what you are after, and we will put together a day from the wineries in this guide, in real driving order, with a route you can open in Google Maps and reminders to book.
Where to Eat
Basque wine country eats as well as anywhere in Europe: a three-star restaurant inside a txakoli winery, grilled turbot on the Getaria quay, and roast lamb in the old houses of Laguardia and Haro. These are the standouts, all well loved by the travellers who review them.
Azurmendi (Bizkaia)
Eneko Atxaโs three-Michelin-star restaurant shares the Larrabetzu hilltop with Gorka Izagirre; tasting-menu lunch Tuesday to Saturday, reservation required well ahead.
Aretxondo (Bizkaia)
Traditional txakoli-house restaurant in Galdakao, 15 minutes from Bilbao and an easy pairing with the Txorierri wineries when Azurmendi is beyond budget.
Kaia Kaipe (Getaria)
Grilled whole fish over the harbour in Getaria, with a terrace looking down on the port; the classic txakoli-and-turbot lunch.
Iribar Jatetxea (Getaria)
Grill restaurant on Getariaโs main street, a less formal alternative to the harbour-front names and a short walk from the Lurraldebus stop.
Restaurante Amelibia (Laguardia)
Laguardiaโs dining room on the walls, with vineyard views south across Rioja Alavesa; book for lunch between a morning at El Fabulista and an afternoon at Campillo.
Hospederia de los Parajes (Laguardia)
Two restaurants and a tapas and wine bar inside a historic house on Laguardiaโs main street, so you can lunch and taste without leaving the walled town.
Restaurante Terete (Haro)
Haro institution founded in the 1870s that still roasts lamb in a wood oven and pours its own house reserve; a 10-minute walk from the Barrio de la Estacion.
Where to Stay
Bilbao is an easy base for the Bizkaia wineries, but Getaria and Rioja Alavesa reward a night, and Elciego has one of the most famous wine hotels in the world.
Hosteria Senorio de Bizkaia (Bizkaia)
Historic building in Bakio 0.7 miles from the beach and 2.3 miles from San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, with free parking; the sensible base for the Bakio wineries and the coast.
Check availability on Booking.comSaiaz Getaria Hotela (Getaria)
A 15th-century Gothic house in the old town of Getaria with sea-view rooms, rated 9.0 by 780 guests; walk to the harbour restaurants and uphill to the txakoli houses.
Check availability on Booking.comHospederia de los Parajes (Laguardia)
Inside walled Laguardia with a spa, a 15th-century wine cellar for tastings and a 9.7 location score; you can do El Fabulista, Casa Primicia and Amelibia on foot.
Check availability on Booking.comHotel Marques de Riscal, a Luxury Collection Hotel (Laguardia)
The Frank Gehry-designed hotel inside the Marques de Riscal winery in Elciego, with a Caudalie vinotherapie spa and rooftop wine bar; the splurge option next door to Valdelana.
Check availability on Booking.comEurostars Los Agustinos (Haro)
A 14th-century convent in the centre of Haro with a glass-roofed cloister lounge, rated 8.3 by 1,481 guests; walkable to Terete and the Barrio de la Estacion.
Check availability on Booking.comWhat to Pack
The Basque coast is green for a reason: expect showers in any month, mild summers and cool winters, so pack a rain layer and comfortable shoes for the vineyard slopes above Getaria. Rioja, south of the mountains, is drier and hotter in summer and colder in winter; sun protection matters from June to September and a warm layer from November to March.
Bring water for between tastings, a cooler bag for the bottles you buy, your IDs and confirmations, and cash for the buses. Most Rioja wineries need a booking for tours; the txakoli farms are smaller and often owner-led, so a phone call ahead is the norm.
Why Bilbao Is a Wine Loverโs City
Bilbao is the only city in Europe where you can taste a wine style that barely exists outside its own valleys in the morning and stand in the cellars of one of the worldโs great red-wine regions by mid-afternoon. Txakoli was nearly lost in the twentieth century and was rescued by the families who still pour it; Rioja Alavesa, meanwhile, has become an open-air museum of modern architecture set among some of the oldest wine villages in Spain.
Pick one direction per day, book the tours you care about most, and let the rest unfold over a long Basque lunch. That is the whole art of wine tasting from Bilbao.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can you go wine tasting near Bilbao?
The closest wineries make txakoli in the valleys of Bizkaia, fifteen to forty-five minutes from the city. Getariaโs txakoli farms are just over an hour east on the coast, and Rioja Alavesa and Haro are about an hour and a quarter south over the mountains.
How far is Rioja from Bilbao?
Haro and Laguardia are both about an hour and a quarter from Bilbao on the AP-68 motorway, roughly 95 to 130 kilometres. Alavabus line 17 links Bilbao with Haro and Laguardia on weekdays, and Vitoria-Gasteiz is forty-five minutes from Laguardia.
What is txakoli?
Txakoli, or txakolina, is the light, dry, slightly sparkling white wine of the Basque Country, made mostly from the Hondarrabi Zuri grape and traditionally poured from a height to lift its fizz. Bizkaia, Getaria and รlava each have their own appellation.
Can you visit wineries near Bilbao without a car?
Yes. Bizkaibus A3518 reaches Bakio for Doniene Gorrondona, Alavabus 17 stops in Haro and Laguardia, and Getaria is reachable by coach to San Sebastiรกn and a local bus. Elciego and the farms in the Txorierri valley are easiest by taxi or with a driver.
When is the best time to visit wineries near Bilbao?
Late spring and September are ideal on the coast, when the txakoli farms are open and the weather is kind. Rioja is at its best at harvest in late September and October; Haroโs wine battle on 29 June and Bilbaoโs Aste Nagusia in late August fill hotels, so book ahead.
Sources and further reading
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