The last moon of August has passed, mother and lady of wine both for popular wisdom and for modern biodynamic agriculture. That means harvest time is drawing near. It is time to choose the most propitious date for the harvest, the peak moment of the year in the Rioja towns dedicated to the cultivation of the vine and the production of wine since time immemorial. That is the case of Briones.
There were already vineyards and wine vats around here at the time of the Reconquest, when Briones and a large part of La Rioja Alta were the subject of dispute between the kings of Navarra and Castilla. It is not surprising that the most powerful lordships in the area wanted to appropriate these fertile lands bathed by the Ebro River. The sections of wall that still protect part of the population evoke that turbulent time.
However, over the centuries, those skirmishes and threats typical of the Middle Ages were transformed into peace and prosperity, almost always protected by the wealth of wine. So today those walls are very partially preserved and only two of its six gates remain standing. They are the Media Luna and Villa arches, in the upper part of which the town's coat of arms can still be seen.
The imposing castle that was at the top of Briones has not withstood the passing of the centuries either. Its power can only be sensed thanks to the ruins of the keep, converted into a fabulous viewpoint over the surroundings. Although it is not the only panoramic point. In reality, when Briones settles on a hillock, it is all a kind of balcony over the wandering bed of the Ebro, nearby towns such as San Vicente de la Sonsierra and the Sierras de la Demanda, Cantabria or Toloño that rise before the eyes of the brioneros
A magnificent environment for the development of the vineyard. The source of wealth now and also in the past. This is appreciated as soon as you walk through the small streets of Briones. Any house has the appearance of a mansion, while the ancestral mansions become palaces, with examples as striking as the elegant stone façades of the Gadea palace or the Quincoces palace.
At the end of the same street where the Quincoces palace is located, there is a much more austere construction, but perhaps with more charm and uniqueness. It is known simply as the "casona" and its construction date is somewhat uncertain, although for many historians it is the oldest civil work in La Rioja. A sober house made of stone, brick and wood that unfortunately cannot be visited, although it is a stupendous example of how the humblest brioneros and those close to the cultivation of the vine would have lived centuries ago.
Fortunately, it is possible to get an idea of these ways of life inside the Town Hall, located a short distance away. In the monumental Casa Consistorial, the eighteenth-century architecture of the palace of the Marqués de San Nicolás has been used not only to enable the dependencies for the municipal government. A complete ethnographic museum called the Haunted House has also been created. A must and free visit to discover what life was like in the past.
Both the "casona" and the Town Hall form one of the vertices of the most emblematic urban space of Briones, its Plaza de España. An area that maintains, and even multiplies, the monumental tone of the Riojan population. On one side is the old abbey, in whose arches today several bars open to drink local wines. And in the background rises the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, which blends styles and periods including the Elizabethan Gothic of its origins, the Renaissance for its main doorway or the Baroque in its slender bell tower, visible from kilometers to the round.
It is the largest temple and epicenter of the population. However, it is not the only one of interest. There are several hermitages surrounded by vines and scattered throughout the municipal area. And there's even one inside the old core. It is the hermitage of San Juan or Santo Cristo de los Remedios, built in the 18th century with a curious circular shape. And the temple has more singularities, because it is unexpected to discover inside the furniture and tools of an old 19th century apothecary.
This surprise is one more reason for Briones to be part of the select list of the Most Beautiful Towns in Spain. One of the most visited in La Rioja, both to admire its interesting heritage and to taste its wines in different wineries. Some have been established for generations in Briones, such as Zurbal, Daniel Puras or Bodegas Castillo Alonso. And others that are more recent, such as the Miguel Merino winery, and even with such new additions as the carbonic maceration wines from Erre que Erre or the Argentine touches provided by the Merlot in the Barbarot wines.
And of course, in Briones the wineries are not only producers of wine. They have become outstanding wine tourism proposals. This is the case with the Betolaza Winery, which is not satisfied with showing visitors its facilities, it also invites you to tour its vineyards by bike or quad. While the Enbrión Winery allows you to taste its bottles in the historic American cave located in the heart of the winery neighborhood. Or in the lower part of the town, the headquarters of the Vivanco Dynasty is displayed, whose Museum of Wine Culture has been classified as the best in the world of its kind. Any of these visits is appetizing, but it must always have a finishing touch: a toast with a good Rioja.
