Bodegas Bilbaínas to Host Bilbao-Rioja’s Best Of Wine Tourism Awards Ceremony

The Best Of Wine Tourism Awards ceremony for the Great Wine Capitals Global Network’s Bilbao-Rioja region will be held on Wednesday, October 8, 2026, at Bodegas Bilbaínas in Haro, La Rioja. This annual event celebrates excellence in wine tourism experiences across one of the world’s premier wine destinations.

The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of La Rioja presides over the organizing committee for this year’s awards ceremony, with support from the Government of La Rioja. The awards are jointly organized by the official chambers of Álava, Bilbao and La Rioja, the Bilbao City Council, and the DOCa Rioja Regulatory Council.

The Best Of Wine Tourism recognition is awarded across seven categories:

• Accommodation
• Culinary Experiences
• Architecture & Landscape
• Art & Culture
• Sustainable Wine Tourism
• Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences
• Wine Tourism Services

This year’s candidates include renowned wineries and hospitality providers: Almudena Merino Artista, Cultural Association of La Rioja Sommeliers, Tastavín Restaurant, Bodega Teodoro Ruiz Monge, Bodegas Amador García, Bodegas Faustino, Bodegas Izadi, Bodegas Lozano, Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta, Bodegas Montecillo, Bodegas Valdemar, Bodegas Ysios, Brittany Ferries, Centro de la Cultura del Rioja-Magmacultura, CVNE, El Legado, El Retiro del Obispo, Faustino Rivero Ulecia, Hospedería de Los Parajes, Hotel Viura, La Manducateca, Las Lías Bilbao Restaurant, Bodegas Ostatu, Palacios Vinos de Finca-Bodegas Nivarius and Proelio, Ramón Bilbao, Otium Restaurant, Rioja Alavesa Tourism, Rioja Wine Trips, Thabuca Wine Tours, Villa-Lucía Gastronomic Space, and Vintae.

The jury comprises prestigious professionals from gastronomy, leisure and travel, inbound tourism agencies, journalism, wine education, and consulting. These experts have carefully selected and evaluated the projects submitted to the competition.

Path to International Recognition

Winners will be announced during the awards ceremony, completing the first local phase. Subsequently, regional winners will compete for the International Best Of Wine Tourism Award alongside candidates from the other ten member regions of the global network.

The “Global Winner” recognition will be presented during the Great Wine Capitals Global Network Annual Conference, taking place in Bordeaux, France, from November 2-6.

In the next phase, regional winners compete for the Best Of People’s Choice Awards, determined through public voting on greatwinecapitals.com

Celebrating World-Class Wine Tourism

The Best Of Wine Tourism Awards recognize companies providing exceptional wine tourism services across the eleven premier wine regions worldwide: Adelaide (Australia), Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Hawke’s Bay (New Zealand), Lausanne (Switzerland), Mainz-Rheinhessen (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal), San Francisco-Napa Valley (United States), Valparaíso-Casablanca (Chile), and Verona (Italy).

Recent Award Winners

The 2025 BOWT Bilbao-Rioja’s winners included Bodegas Bilbaínas, host of the 2026 event (also recognized with the International Best Of award), Bodegas Campillo, Boroa Jatetxea, Palacio Arriluce, Natura Resorts, Finca La Emperatriz, and Riojatrek.

Recent international winners include: Bodegas Bilbaínas (2025), La Casa Cosme Palacio (2024), Marqués de Murrieta (2023), Bodegas Vinícola Real (2022), and Villa Lucía and Bodegas Valdemar (2019).

The 2025 People’s Choice Awards highlighted Bilbao-Rioja’s wine tourism excellence with five of seven awards, recognizing Finca La Emperatriz, Bodegas Bilbaínas, Riojatrek, Palacio Arriluce Hotel, and Boroa Jatetxea in sustainable wine tourism, architecture, wine tourism services, accommodation, and gastronomic experiences categories, respectively.

The Vivanco Foundation and Museum of Wine Culture received the organization’s lifetime Great Wine Capitals Special Achievement Award, in 2023.