Who said wine culture is only for adults? In the stunning Great Wine Capital Bilbao-Rioja, Spain, a new generation of wineries has emerged, catering not just to wine enthusiasts but to families with children and even four-legged companions. The region’s commitment to inclusive wine tourism shines through in the history of the Best Of Wine Tourism awards, which recognized several establishments for their innovative approaches to family experiences.
Villa Lucía – Where Wine Meets Fantasy
Nestled in the medieval town of Laguardia, Villa Lucía remains a flagship family destination. Winner of the Best Of Wine Tourism award in 2019, this establishment continues to set the standard for family-friendly wine tourism.
The crown jewel remains the award-winning 4D Experience “In a Dreamland,” which has collected over 17 international awards. This multisensorial journey transports visitors through wine culture in a way that captivates both seven-year-olds and seventy-year-olds. The museum itself is the first wine-themed center in Spanish that is universally inclusive and accessible—a detail that matters when traveling with young children or those with different abilities.
Beyond the museum, Villa Lucía’s sprawling 10,000 square meters of gardens provide a natural playground. Children can explore terraces and traditional game areas while parents linger over tastings in the restaurant—the first Km 0 restaurant of the Rioja DOCa, certified by the international Slow Food movement.
The “Pásalo de Fábula” -Have a Fabulous Time experience offers school groups and families an educational adventure through wine culture and literature, connecting the history of the fabulist Félix María Samaniego with the region’s viticultural heritage. During special events like Easter week, the venue transforms with bouncy castles, Formula 1 simulators, and monitored play areas—proof that Villa Lucía understands what it takes to keep a family entertained for an entire day.
Bodegas Lozano – The Pet-Friendly Pioneer
Located in Leza, Álava, Bodegas Lozano has emerged as a specialist in family tourism and stands out as one of the most welcoming destinations for visitors traveling with dogs. Though a candidate for the Best Of Wine Tourism 2026 awards, this family-run winery has already carved out a reputation as a must-visit for families and pet owners.
The winery’s signature “Family Aroma Game” transforms wine education into an interactive treasure hunt. Children receive welcome packs complete with puzzles and a blank bottle to decorate, design, and label—taking home their own creation as a unique souvenir. The tour winds through the experimental vineyard, aging hall, and historic cellar, with hands-on activities that reveal the secrets of cork-making and barrel production.
What truly sets Bodegas Lozano apart is its genuine embrace of pets. Recent visitors consistently praise guide Maialen Sánchez for her warm welcome of dogs, complete with fresh water served in special bowls. Dogs accompany their owners through most of the tour (gently excluded only from the winemaking room), making it one of the wineries in the region where your canine companion is truly welcome, not merely tolerated.
Children taste grape juice while adults sample three wines, all paired with local products. The winery’s location at the foot of Sierra de Cantabria provides a stunning backdrop, and free entry for children under eight makes it an accessible option for families managing travel budgets.
Bodegas Valdemar – The Family Legacy Continues
Bodegas Valdemar in Oyón, winner of the Best Of Wine Tourism 2019 award, remains a benchmark for family wine tourism. The winery has refined its family experience over the years, transforming what could be a standard tour into an adventure story.
Children help Pedro, the little Count of Valdemar, find his lost magic grapes through a gymkhana that winds through the winery. The treasure hunt includes an aroma game, must-tasting, and a torch-lit search among the barrels. The entry area features toy tractors for the youngest visitors to ride through the vineyards, and an indoor play space with drawing materials provides respite during the nearly two-hour experience.
Parents follow the same route, tasting three wines paired with aperitifs, but the genius lies in the synchronization—adults learn about the winemaking process while watching their children engage with the same concepts through play. Each child leaves with a “Kit Valdemar” of puzzles and the story of the magic grapes.
The winery’s guides receive consistent praise for their patience and ability to include children in explanations without losing the adults’ interest—a delicate balance that makes or breaks a family tour.
The winery also makes it easy to arrange tailor-made experiences: just ask for the visit of your dreams!
Best Of Wine Tourism 2026 Winners
The recent Best Of Wine Tourism 2026 Bilbao-Rioja awards highlighted several establishments that, while not specifically children-focused, offer family-friendly elements worth noting:
Bodegas Ramón Bilbao (Haro, La Rioja) won for Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences, celebrating its centennial with diverse activities. Their wine bar and restaurant provide casual tasting options that work well for families looking for flexibility.
Hotel Viura (Villabuena de Álava) took the Art & Culture award with its striking avant-garde architecture—the stacked-cube design fascinates children and provides unique photo opportunities for the family album.
Bodegas Faustino (Oyón, Álava) earned the Architecture, Parks and Gardens award and went on to win the International Best Of Wine Tourism 2026 award. The new visitors’ center features industrial-inspired architecture in earthy tones that blend with the landscape, and the facility’s Planet 1.0 certification demonstrates environmental sustainability—teaching moments for environmentally conscious families.
Hospedería de Los Parajes (Laguardia, Álava) won in the Accommodation category. This 18-room palace-hotel includes two restaurants, a 16th-century underground cellar, wine shop, and spa—offering families a complete base for exploring the region.
Vivanco – The Cultural Wine Adventure
Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture in Briones continues to stand as one of the world’s premier wine museums (recognized by UNWTO and GWC Special Achievement Award), and its commitment to family programming remains strong. The 4,000-square-meter museum houses the Vivanco family’s extensive collection, but it’s the interactive elements that capture young attention.
The museum offers workshops specifically designed for children — Vivanco Kids brings wine culture to young minds through games and crafts. The family gymkhana “The Magic Potion” challenges families to solve clues hidden among thousand-year-old artifacts, barrels, and contemporary art throughout the museum and vineyard.
During special dates and holidays, creative workshops allow children to work with wine-related materials: transforming corks and capsules into art, using wine as pictorial substance, creating projects with barrel staves, and designing bottle labels. These 90-minute workshops cost just €3, perfectly timed to coincide with parents’ tours or tastings.
The museum’s garden displays more than 220 grape varieties from around the world—an outdoor classroom where children can see the diversity of viticulture. The on-site restaurant offers family-friendly dining, and the whole complex is designed with accessibility in mind, including technical floors and Braille information for visually impaired visitors.
A Family Adventure Among the Vines
Bodegas Amador García offers the perfect experience for families: a 9-kilometer hiking route specially designed for children, winding through peaceful vineyard landscapes and scenic viewpoints. Midway through the walk, guests enjoy a traditional countryside-style picnic served right among the vines. After the hike, the experience continues at the winery with a guided tour that reveals its history and the essence of its wines. Recognized with a Jury’s Mention in the Best Of Wine Tourism Awards 2026, the winery adds even more value to this memorable visit. The tour concludes with a farewell toast — a glass of wine for the adults and grape juice for the little ones — the perfect finishing touch to an unforgettable wine tourism adventure.
Pet-Friendly Considerations
Families traveling with pets should note that some Rioja wineries have not yet fully embraced four-legged visitors. When visiting wineries with pets, calling ahead is essential. Production areas typically restrict animal access for health and safety reasons, but outdoor spaces, terraces, and some tasting rooms may accommodate well-behaved dogs.
The trend toward pet-friendly wine tourism is growing and the region’s accommodations show more flexibility—several hotels in Logroño and rural properties throughout La Rioja and Rioja Alavesa welcome pets, making it feasible to base yourself in the region with your dog while planning day trips.
Beyond the Wineries
Family-friendly wine tourism in Bilbao-Rioja extends beyond individual wineries. The city of Bilbao, just 90 minutes from Logroño, offers the Itsasmuseum (Maritime Museum), housed in an old shipyard with interactive exhibits and ships that children can climb. The museum provides enough space for active play while teaching how Bilbao became a major shipping city.
The medieval villages of Rioja Alavesa—Laguardia, Elciego, Labastida—offer car-free historic centers where children can run safely while parents absorb the architectural heritage. Many villages feature playgrounds near central squares, and the compact size means families can explore on foot without exhausting little legs.
Rioja’s landscape itself invites exploration. For example, nearly a quarter of the territory of La Rioja holds biosphere reserve status, offering nature walks suitable for families. The Barranco Perdido park in Enciso brings the region’s paleontological heritage to life—fossilized dinosaur footprints across 110 sites make tangible connections between past and present for young minds.
Practical Tips for Families
Timing: Morning tours work best for younger children. Most wineries offer 11:00 AM starts, which allows time for breakfast and avoids afternoon fatigue.
Reservations: Always book in advance, especially for specialized family experiences. Many wineries require minimum group sizes for certain activities.
Duration: Family tours typically run 60-90 minutes—the sweet spot before children’s attention wanes. Plan buffer time for play areas before or after structured activities.
Food: Villa Lucía, Vivanco, and Valdemar all offer on-site dining. Having a meal option eliminates the stress of finding child-friendly restaurants in unfamiliar villages.
Transportation: Rioja Alavesa villages are small and parking is often tight. Arrive early, especially during harvest season or weekends. Consider staying in one village and exploring on foot when possible.
Weather: Indoor-outdoor combinations work best. The region’s summers can be hot—indoor museum spaces at Villa Lucía and Vivanco provide welcome relief, while gardens and vineyards offer fresh air on moderate days.
Plan your visit during harvest season to see the vineyards in full production, or choose spring when the vines burst with new growth and temperatures remain moderate. Either way, Bilbao and Rioja prove that wine tourism and family travel are no longer mutually exclusive—they’re two glasses from the same bottle, best enjoyed together.
Text by Liz Aldayturriaga
Featured photo credit: Vivanco Cultura de Vino
For more information about Bilbao-Rioja and to plan your family wine tourism adventure, visit Bilbao-Rioja Great Wine Capitals