Wine tours in Cantabria

Legends of mermaids and giants, pots made with love and infinite wine.

• In Cantabria we can find 3 wineries to visit.
• 3 towns here have wineries.

In Cantabria there are two clearly differentiated wine areas:

1) Cantabria Coast Land Wine:
Reds: Ondarribi Belza.
Whites: Albariño, Chardonnay, Godello, Ondarribi Zuri, Riesling and Gewürtztraminer.

2) Wine from the land of Liébana:
Reds: Mencía, Tempranillo, Garnacha tinta, Graciano, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Whites: Palomino, Godello, Chardonnay and Gewürtztraminer.

In the coastal area, new varieties such as Treixadura and Torrontes have been introduced. While in the Liébana region, experiments are being carried out with the Neruca, Parduca and Carrasquín grapes.

The first references to wine date back to the 9th century and have been located in the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, to whose abbot a vine of wine was donated. It is also known that almost a century later, King Sancho IV granted privileges to the town of Potes to be in charge of taking care of the vines and seeds, and thus protect the wine of the area.

As in the Basque Country and Galicia, Cantabria also keeps a great tradition of legends about fantastic beings, giants and half-man half-animal creatures, such as the famous sirenuca. This tradition can be perceived in the atmosphere and culture of the area, especially in the villages of stone and wood houses surrounded by an intense green.

On the other hand, no one can question that Cantabria is a gastronomic power. The meat of Cantabria has a protected designation of origin, and everyone who comes to visit, especially if they go to rural areas, is dying to try its traditional pots, village stews, among which the olla ferroviaria stands out. The desserts, cakes and sweets are really fine, varied and exquisite and, as a sample, we recommend the famous Palucos de Cabezón de la Sal.

At the end of May, Santander celebrates a gastronomy and music festival, called Santander a Bocados, which we encourage you to attend.