Rueda Toro

River Duero starts in the mountains south of Rioja and flows through Spain into Portugal where it is called Douro. Rueda and Toro are two of the Designations of Origin from the Castilla y León region layed on the banks of the River Duero that is home to many other wine regions spread along its full length. Rueda is home to the much-celebrated Spanish white wine while Toro is the home to one of the most full-bodied red wines of Spain. The proximity of these two regions does not stop them from being so different from one another and in thus, ensuring your travel through their vine lands will be full of adventure.

Situated in-between Toro and Ribera del Duero, Rueda differs from these other two DOs as it focuses on white wine production. Rueda is a region of a plain patchwork of vineyards home to a rare indigenous white grape called Verdejo. Over the centuries this land was fought by the kings of Castile and Aragon, and the countryside is scattered with medieval castles.

Toro is an enormously important town as a historic-artistic Site. Its strategic location gave rise to it being a site of conflict between Christians and Muslims, a court of kings and the capital of the province in the 19th century. So entrenched in Spanish culture was the quality of the red wines of Toro that the region was among the first to be awarded DO status, in 1933.

Visiting these regions is the perfect alternative for a weekend of inland tourism, in an area full of history, heritage, culture and gastronomy and with an enormous quality wine tradition.