Reserva time for Rioja

THE FLIGHT from Dublin to Bilbao in Spain’s Basque region was surprisingly full for a Tuesday morning in April and it was buzzing with anticipation and goodwill.

It transpired that most of the passengers were bound for the Camino de Santiago, the legendary pilgrims’ route through northern Spain.

My pilgrimage was of a somewhat more decadent and less arduous nature — I was heading to Rioja in north-central Spain to see how one of the world’s most famous wines is produced.