The Cariñena Designation of Origin (DO) is located in the Ebro Valley and comprises 14 localities. Established in 1932, it is the oldest of the Aragonese Designations of Origin and is renowned for its attractive range of red, white, and rosé wines. The key to Cariñena wines lies in their variety, enhanced by the presence of microclimates. The route features a variety of wine subtypes, including semi-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet; liquor wines; sparkling wines of quality; and late harvest wines.
The Campo de Cariñena wine route offers a journey through various wine-producing towns in Aragon, where visitors can enjoy excellent gastronomy and explore impressive medieval, Renaissance, and Mudéjar architectural and artistic heritage. Located just 35 minutes south of Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, our winery offers easy access to our wines. Tourists can reach us by private car, bus, or train and embark on an adventure that captivates from the first moment due to the diverse natural landscape. Our winery is situated in a unique location that combines the Algairén Sierra, the Huerva riverbank, and the plain.
The route covers a large wine-growing region with over 10 wineries, where visitors can explore one of Spain’s oldest protected wine designations. The region’s most notable grape varieties include cabernet sauvignon, Garnacha tinta, chardonnay, and garnacha blanca, with Roman crops dating back to the 3rd century BC. The intensity of flavor, strong color, and distinctive aroma result from the high concentration of sugars and the large size of the grapes growing in a unique terrain filled with millennia-old stones, which characterize and give the route its name.
To ensure you don’t miss any tastings, take the tourist bus of the ‘Wine Route of the Stones’ from Zaragoza. It offers several day trip options, since visiting all the wineries takes about three days. The tour begins at the Santa Catalina Convent site, where visitors can take a leisurely walk through the vineyards. The next stop is the San Valero Winery where guests can enjoy an introductory wine tasting featuring internationally awarded rosé, white, and red wines. At noon, guests can savor typical Aragonese meats paired with Cariñena wines, such as lamb and oxtail, to conclude an exceptional day. The tour ends with a stroll through the railway interpretation center.
Other wineries worth visiting along the route include:
– Solar de Urbezo: offers a wine tasting of three red Garnacha wines, a Chardonnay, and a Macabeo paired with a typical Aragonese lunch at the Monastery of the Virgin of Lagunas.
– Care: with three historic estates producing the best reds and rosés using Garnacha, Syrah, and Tempranillo grapes, as well as white Chardonnay, Garnacha Blanca, and Muscatel of Alexandria.
– Hacienda Molleda Winery: is a family-owned winery that specializes in young, oak-aged, reserve red, white, and rosé wines made from garnacha, cariñena, tempranillo, and macabeo grapes.
– Ignacio Marín Winery: is a pioneer in the area, offering a wide variety of wines made from garnacha, cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo, and macabeo grapes.
– Gabarda Winery: renowned for quality garnacha wines of various ages.
– Tierra de Cubas: is a chateau dedicated to the production of cavas and signature wines.
– Paniza Winery: showcases young and aged wines made from garnacha, syrah, and cariñena grapes.
– Grandes Vinos: offers tours of their old, renovated winery where visitors can taste over ten varieties of wine from their facilities and vineyards.
– Dominio de Longaz: internationally recognized for their unique and fruity wines, including merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and garnacha.
– Heredad Ansón: a family winery, offers garnacha, merlot-syrah reds, rosés, and macabeo whites.
– San Valero Winery: produces wines using white garnacha, rosé, moscatel, and chardonnay grapes.
– Bodem Winery: cultivates vegan wines using zero environmental impact techniques.
The best time to visit Campo de Cariñena is from May to October. However, in late September, the region hosts its most important celebration: the Grape Harvest Festival. Locals uphold the tradition each year of making wine flow from the Fountain of the Moor in Cariñena during the Act of Wine Exaltation. This is a unique experience for any wine-loving tourist wishing to share in local customs and taste the cuisine.
The typical meals in Cariñena have a long history, originating from the legacy of Fray Juan Altamiras, a visionary of Spanish cuisine who left his recipes in the 18th century. Restaurants along the wine route offer historic dishes such as Pirineo rice, Alcañiz stew, garlic cod, lamb shank, and grape crumbs, all perfectly paired with the best wine to make the visit to Cariñena a unique, culinary, historical, and festive vacation experience.
More Information
Address: Avenida Goya, 23. 50400 Cariñena, Zaragoza
Phone: + 34 976 620817 / + 34 697 674327
Website: www.rutadelvinocampodecarinena.com
How to Get There:
Bus: Agredabus
Tourist Bus: goya@rutadelvinocampodecarinena.com
Train: RENFE
From Zaragoza: 46.8 km
From Calatayud: 55 km
From Madrid: 289 km
From Barcelona: 357 km