Your hosts
We are your hosts on your Rioja Wine Tour
Inma Bezunartea Pinilla
I am a Riojan in love with wine
Inma is usually told she goes above and beyond with people. But…isn’t that what you would expect from a good host?
As a local with a wealth of experience in the area, from high-end Barcelona hospitality to marketing Rioja wines and leading tours, Inma is a born host.
She brings more than twenty years of experience helping foreign visitors to feel and taste what goes on. She has done the PR for Torre de Oña, a picturesque Rioja boutique winery for several years and received excellent reviews from visitors.
She is multilingual (English and German) and adapts easily to other cultures. Good listener, she always makes herself available. She has a soft spot for flamenco, black olives and short silly jokes!
As a traveller herself, she can understand your expectations and take you to the must-sees and the off-the-beaten-track spots. She loves entertaining and sharing her knowledge with people, that is why she is suited to ensuring visitors enjoy a truly authentic holiday.
Other than her extensive experience, she holds a Master’s Degree in Translation and Interpretation -English and German- from the University of Barcelona, has furthered her education in the Export and Trade sector of the wine industry and has expanded her expertise by taking the Sensory Analysis of Wine Certificate with professor Antonio Palacios at the University of La Rioja.
However, more than her qualifications or experience, what really makes her the natural choice for your wine tour in La Rioja is that she loves what she does, and she can’t hide it.
Mel Evelyn
I am a British wine lover living in La Rioja
My love for travelling led me to live and teach in France and Venezuela. In 2010 I was looking for a new sunny mountainous place to ride my road bike and teach and Rioja was the place for me. My love for cycling has enabled me to know the region like the palm of my hand. I am an outdoors person that will provide key insights into exploring the culture of my adopted homeland.
I hold a degree in Business and Leisure which I put to good use in the Technology and Marketing fields for a decade in the UK.
I was also a certified English teacher for many years, which allows me to educate and entertain people in a laid-back way. Therefore on the day I will happily tweak the itinerary to meet your needs and cater the tour to your knowledge level. The idea is to make the tour informative yet fun!
Those that know me well will tell you I’m definitely a people’s person with a good sense of humour ( I also love playing guitar so if you are a fan of Jimi Hendrix you’ll get an extra glass of wine!).
Authentic Experiences
When we travel we all want to get a real taste of the place, but let’s be honest, that is usually reserved for locals. The real soul of a place is only experienced with the help of a knowledgeable, local host to guide us. We don’t believe in outsourcing our trips, we like to conduct them ourselves.
We have the contacts.
We know the places.
Are you ready?
Our Rioja wine tours are:
- AUTHENTIC: non-touristy experiences for curious travelers.
- OFF -THE-BEATEN-TRACK: we take you where guidebooks never reach so that you can enjoy Rioja like a local.
- EDUCATIONAL: you learn when you have fun, that’s why we combine education with hands-on experiences
- PRIVATE or in VERY SMALL GROUPS: you can choose the pace and indulge in the freedom of your own private wine tour or join a very small group tour (4 up to 7 people maximum) and mingle with other like-minded wine lovers
- TAILOR MADE: you can design your own bespoke experience and see exactly what you desire
We feel grateful to all the charming hosts we have come across who have been kind enough to take us down the back streets.
That same motivation was the genesis of Rioja Wine Trips and that is how we carefully select the experiences we offer.
We create the tours we would love to experience as visitors.
Take a bit out of DOCa Rioja with us!
These are profiles made by ourselves. However, we think our customers are more likely to be unbiased and give you a realistic understanding of what you can expect from us. So we decided to let them do the talking Tripadvisor reviews Rioja Wine Trips
