Sevilla, Ronda & Jamón Ibérico Wine Tour

Trip At A Glance

5 Days / 4 nights

Sevilla – 4 days  with day trips to Ronda and Aracena

Day 1 – Sevilla

Arrive in Sevilla and dive into the history of the city before a wine tasting and dinner.

Day 2 – Ronda Vineyards

Visit and taste at two Ronda wineries before lunch at two Michelin star Bardal.

Day 3 – Aracena & Jabugo Ham

The world’s best ham is Spanish acorn fed ham from Iberian native pigs. So good!

Day 4 – Sevilla

Check out some hidden corners of Sevilla, and believe me there are many of them, before lunch at Cañabota.

Day 1 - Sevilla: Andalusian Grandeur  

• Arrive in Sevilla

• Sevilla walking tour

• Private wine tasting and dinner at El Rinconcillo

• Overnight Hotel Corral del Rey, Sevilla

 Sevilla

Andalusia’s capital breathes vitality and energy: groups of people spilling out of bars and restaurants onto the streets, loud and passionate conversations and strains of flamenco floating out of windows, narrow streets and beautiful plazas stoked with orange trees ablaze in the southern sun. It’s a city of grand monuments, the riches of the Americas converted into churches and palaces and statues, but also of tiny atmospheric holes in the wall hidden away from time. To arrive in Sevilla from another Spanish city is to be transported immediately and powerfully into Andalusia. The feeling that accompanies that immersion is so strong that many find they never want to leave.

Sevilla has three World Heritage Sites: the Cathedral (the largest Gothic temple in the world), the Real Alcázar (Moorish palace which features a stunning combination of Mudéjar and Baroque architectural styles) and the Santa Cruz district (the former Jewish Quarter) with narrow streets, hidden patios and countless quaint corners.

Sevilla Walking Tour

Meet your guide and embark on a guided walking tour through historic Sevilla visiting World Heritage Sites and other monuments. Explore the Santa Cruz district with its traditional architecture, narrow alleyways and countless quaint corners and the former Jewish Quarter's winding streets and hidden patios. Tour the Alcázar, a fortified palace that is one of Spain’s greatest examples of Mudéjar architecture. The Mudéjar style brings together designs and craftsmanship of Moors who remained in Spain after the reconquest, and subsequent expulsion, with Christian symbols and architecture. The courtyards and galleries of the Alcázar are enchanting, strongly evoking the city’s Moorish past. The palace was a residence of the kings of Spain, and they still travel to Sevilla from time to time to occupy their rooms on the upper floor. Then step inside one of Sevilla’s palaces, with sprawling gardens and ornately decorated rooms hidden away from the bustle of the city. Option to visit the Cathedral, the largest Gothic temple in the world and where Christopher Columbus is buried.

Private Wine Tasting and Dinner at El Rinconcillo

Join a local wine expert at Sevilla’s oldest tavern for a wine tasting paired with tapas. El Rinconcillo is the most classic of all of Sevilla’s tapas bars, conserving the atmosphere from its founding over three centuries ago. You’ll find all sorts of classic Sevilla dishes on the menu, from excellent hand-cut Iberian ham to salmorejo to stews with deep Andalusian flavor. You’ll head upstairs, away from the noise of the crowds that fill the bar, where you’ll have a private table and the space to enjoy and discuss the wines you’ll taste. Our wine expert will guide you through a tasting that can focus on anything from sherry wines from nearby Jerez to great bottles from around Spain to a masterclass in a single region. The wines will be accompanied by a selection of plates with which to try pairing each wine. This experience perfectly combines traditional Sevillano food with excellent wine.

Sevilla Uncovered

Tapas are part of the culinary landscape all over Spain, but nowhere do they occupy such an important place as in Sevilla. nearly every corner, street or plaza is home to bustling places where people stand, lean, and occasionally sit while washing down all sorts of small creations with glasses of ice cold Cruzcampo beer or sherry from down the road in Jerez. You’ll find traditional tapas bars unchanged for decades and centuries where the most traditional cuisine is on offer, but also truly creative places where young chefs use the tapas format to showcase imaginative dishes. It can be hard to think of good restaurants in Sevilla that aren’t fundamentally tapas places, and it’s best to accept this and abandon yourself to the city and its ways, hopping from bar to bar trying specialties and joining the river of joyful people that stream through the streets at every meal time.

Day 2 – Ronda Vineyards

• Private transfer to Ronda

• Kieninger winery visit

• Cortijo de los Aguilares winery visit

• Lunch at Bardal Restaurant

• Transfer back to Sevilla

Ronda

Ronda is the jewel in the crown of the so-called white villages, those picturesque hilltop towns that dot the mountainous areas of Andalusia. Perched on two sides of a plunging gorge where birds nest, Ronda offers stunning views over the surrounding countryside. The 17th-century Puente Nueva, an impossible looking stone bridge, crosses the gorge and leads to the old town, where narrow streets give way to enchanting plazas and hidden palaces.

In addition to its beauty and history, Ronda is one of Andalusia's most exciting and surprising wine-producing areas. Though there is a long history of wine production around Ronda, it was only in the 1980s that the current generation of wineries set up in the area. Since there were almost no vineyards left in the area the new wineries planted Spanish, French and Austrian grapes. Four decades on, the most successful grapes in Ronda have turned out to be Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt.

The vineyards of Ronda lie primarily in the hills surrounding the town. The high elevation brings cool nights that allow the northern grapes to thrive in the Mediterranean climate, while the plentiful sunshine ensures that the grapes ripen fully. The variety of elevations, slopes and soils enable Ronda wineries to make diverse styles. Bordeaux blends and wines made from Spanish grapes like Garnacha and Tempranillo can be full-bodied and rich, while the Pinot Noirs from the highest vineyards are stunningly fresh. The quality of the diverse styles have led Ronda to be regarded as Andalusia's premier red wine region.

There are numerous wineries to visit just outside the town of Ronda, offering idyllic countryside locations with views over the hills and valleys around the town. In addition, thanks to the efforts of local sommeliers and wine enthusiasts, there are many great places to drink Ronda wine in town. Bars and restaurants have embraced their local wine, with many offering dozens of Ronda wines to try.

Kieninger Winery Visit

Kieninger was among the first wineries of the new generation in the area. Austrian founder Martin Kieninger trained as an architect and first came to the area near Ronda in that capacity. He fell in love with the landscape and the potential of the mountains around Ronda for wine production. Kieninger brought his Austrian heritage with him, planting Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt alongside French grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Spanish varieties like Tintilla de Rota and Garnacha. Today, his winemaking dream is fully realized. The winery building and house are surrounded by vineyards grown without any pesticides or other artificial chemicals. Bees and other insects fly through the air, and aromatic plants and trees dot the property. The winemaking is traditional, seeking to express the vineyards rather than obscure them. The result is a line of delicious and surprising wines. The Austrian grape varieties work surprisingly well in Ronda’s high elevation Mediterranean climate, bringing vibrant acidity and fruit to reds and a rosé. You’ll find more concentration in the reds made from French and Spanish grapes, but with plenty of finesse and drinkability. Kieninger is one of the great success stories of Ronda wine and continues to set the standard of the region.

Cortijo de los Aguilares Winery Visit

Cortijo de los Aguilares is the star of Ronda’s wine scene, producing cult wines that are sought after around the world. The winery is a luxurious whitewashed estate outside of Ronda, where the land starts to slope up towards the surrounding mountains. The property includes not just vineyards, but hundreds of acres of holm oak forest where Iberian pigs roam. The vineyards are among Ronda's highest, offering panoramic views over the countryside. There are a variety of grapes planted on the property, including Spanish grapes Garnacha, Tempranillo, and Graciano alongside French varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Pinot Noir. Cortijo de los Aguilares produces delicious blends from these vineyards, but it’s the single-vineyard varietal wines that have established the winery’s reputation. The Pinot Noir and Petit Verdot wines produced here have helped prove the viability of these unlikely grapes in Ronda. Careful vineyard work and winemaking techniques mean that they remain among the best varietal wines produced not just in Ronda but in all of Spain.

Lunch at Bardal Restaurant

After working in some of Spain’s top kitchens and running the excellent casual restaurant Tragatá in Ronda, chef Benito Gómez decided to dive back into haute cuisine with Bardal in the heart of Ronda. In just a few years Bardal has become one of Andalusia’s most acclaimed restaurants and accumulated two Michelin stars along the way. Dining at Bardal is comfortable and relaxing, for the space, the cuisine, and the staff transmit Gómez’s philosophy that a restaurant should be about eating and enjoyment, not pretention. The cuisine at Bardal has traditional Andalusian dishes and local ingredients at its heart, but Gómez also uses ingredients and flavors from other parts of Spain, especially his native Catalonia. Expect seasonal dishes that combine flavors and techniques in surprising ways to highlight the essence of star products. The selection of Andalusian cheeses and the desserts made in house are unmissable. The wine cellar is carefully selected, highlighting Andalusian wines from around Ronda and exciting regions like Jerez alongside terroir-focused wines from Spain and around the world. Bardal is a friendly but exceptional leader of new Andalusian cuisine. 

Day 3 – The Best Ham in the World: Iberian Jamón

• Private Iberian ham day tour in Aracena

• Overnight Hotel Corral del Rey, Sevilla

Jamón Ibérico Day Trip

Your guide will pick you up for a full-day Iberian ham tour. You will travel through the unique Holm oak-studded countryside called dehesa, where the acorn-fed Iberian pigs are raised. The production of Iberian ham, or jamón ibérico, is an example of the ultimate traditional, sustainable, and low-impact agricultural system as the pigs graze on the plants and in the fall, on the fallen acorns from the oaks. You and your guide will accompany a local expert on a visit to a farm to see how the native pigs are reared, ranging free, feeding on acorns.  After sampling the mouth-watering ham at the farm, continue on to the town of Aracena to enjoy a lunch that truly highlights what “eating local” should be: savor the finest local ham, cheese, mushrooms, pork, and produce. Return to Sevilla in the late afternoon.

Day 4 - Sevilla

• Free day in Sevilla

• Dinner at Cañabota restaurant

• Overnight Hotel Corral del Rey, Sevilla

On Your Own In Sevilla

EME Catedral Mercer Panoramic Rooftop Bar

Head up to the rooftop of the five star EME Catedral Mercer Hotel for a drink and the best views of the Sevilla cathedral in the city. The bar directly faces the length of the cathedral, showcasing the Giralda bell tower and the main door with its elaborate facade and flying buttresses. There’s a wide selection of craft cocktails available to sip while you relax above the bustle of the city. The cathedral is lit up after dark, so the view is stunning during the day or at night.

Arab Baths - Hammam

There’s no better way to recover from the weariness of travel than to step into this palace in the center of Sevilla. Here you’ll find Arab baths with different water temperatures restored to modern standards, massages and other spa services. When you’re done with your experiences you’ll be able to relax on the small rooftop pool with views of the Sevilla cathedral.

Cruise on the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla

See Sevilla from the river on a private cruise on an electric boat. You’ll have amazing views of the Triana neighborhood, the famous Torre de Oro, and the beautiful buildings from the Ibero-American Expo of 1929.

Dinner at Cañabota Restaurant

Sevilla’s newest Michelin star restaurant, Cañabota is a temple to superb fish and seafood sourced from the Spanish coast. In just a few years, the local team behind this small restaurant in the center of Sevilla has made it the premier destination in Sevilla for seafood. The brightly lit dining room features an open kitchen and a case displaying the products available that day. Every morning, one of the restaurant partners makes his way through the markets of the coast of Cádiz using his many years of experience with local fish to source the best and most seasonal pieces for Cañabota. Unlike many Michelin star restaurants, Cañabota offers the chance to order à la carte, with a menu that changes based on what products are available featuring creative plates alongside delicious fish and seafood sold by weight. There’s also the option to order a tasting menu, a journey through the best creations of the chefs and the best products found in the market. The wine cellar, enclosed in glass and visible in the back of the dining room, features an extensive selection from Spain and other countries, with particular focus on sherry wines from nearby Cádiz province and sparkling wines. If you feel like a taste of Cañabota in an even more relaxed environment, La Barra de Cañabota is located next door and offers the same quality in a true tapas bar environment.

Day 5 – Departure

• Private transfer to the Sevilla airport or train station for departure.

Hotel

Sevilla - 4 nights

Corral del Rey – Tucked away in the narrow streets of Sevilla’s Barrio de Santa Cruz, Corral del Rey occupies three beautifully restored palaces dating back to the 17th century and offers a perfect bolthole from which to explore the old town of Sevilla. Inside the property you’ll find common areas and rooms tastefully arranged with luxurious furniture and fine art and antiquities from the owners’ private collections and world travels. The rooms feature the best of everything, from the linens and upholstery to the stunning bathrooms. The service here goes above and beyond, with expert staff there to help with anything you might need. Corral del Rey features a small restaurant for tapas in the evening if you’re so enchanted you want to stay in, but you’ll likely want to take advantage of the perfect location just a few minutes from the Cathedral, the Alcázar, and the tapas bars and restaurants of the center.

Trip Includes

• 4 nights hotel, double occupancy

• breakfast daily in the hotels

• expert private guides

• private premium tours and tastings at wineries

• private driver-guide for wine tour days

• 1 lunch with wine

• 1 dinner with wine

• restaurant reservations and recommendations

• full trip planning

• in-country trip assistance and on-the-ground support

• Epicurean Ways expertise

Not Included

• flights to/from Spain and flights within Spain

• tips to guides and drivers (optional but appreciated)

• travel insurance (recommended)

• extra charges in hotels (minibar, room service, etc)

A note on winery visits, restaurant selections and hotels

All tours, experiences and hotels are subject to availability and will be confirmed upon booking the trip.

You will be accompanied by a driver-guide during your wine touring. Your visits and tastings will be private and with the winemaker, a family member or an expert who knows the winery and the wines well. We work with the wineries to make sure that you taste the best and most representative wines during each visit. It is sometimes possible to arrange extended tastings that include old vintages or rare wines. We have an extensive group of wineries whose owners we know and with whom we work regularly, so we can guarantee high-level visits even if a winery has to be substituted. If you have an interest in visiting a particular producer please let us know.

We include restaurant concierge service as part of your trip. Note that our restaurant suggestions are just that–suggestions. Places we love, places to go back to time after time. We recommend these places after years of experience eating in Spain and Portugal together with frequent research and input from our local partners. We aspire to guide your choices with information on the styles of cuisine and restaurants; the choice on where to eat is yours based on your preferences and desires.

We have included hotel options ranging from 5-star luxury properties to small boutique hotels. Let us know your preferences and we will tailor the hotel choices for you.

Trip Prices

Note that we can customize this trip for you. Add days in your arrival or departure city or in other locations or make changes to the experiences, winery visits, restaurants, or hotels included in the trip. Whatever it is, we’re here to work with you. Once you’re happy with the trip plan and have some idea of your dates we will calculate and send you the price.

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