From a Simple Wine Bar to a Hidden World Beneath the Streets

Sometimes not knowing anything about the place you’re visiting or what you are going to do brings the most memorable adventures.

We decided to drive a few miles from our hotel in the heart of Ribera del Duero into downtown Aranda de Duero.

After a few wrong turns onto pedestrian paths and streets restricted for work vehicles, we found a parking garage.

A short walk into town of course found us stopping at a wine bar! We were delighted to find that for under $6 we got two glasses of wine and what they call pintxo, a Basque term for a small bar snack. In this case it was a potato omelette, one of my favorite Spanish foods. And, it paired perfectly with the Albariño.

As we were preparing to leave, the bar staff told us to go down and take a look at the wine caves. Unbeknownst to us, Aranda de Duero sits on top of 7 km of hand‑carved medieval wine tunnels, built between the 12th and 18th centuries to ferment, store, and protect wine.

They maintain the perfect temperature, stable humidity, and they also created an environment free from any vibrations that can disturb the fermentation process.

Somehow, we were completely oblivious to this amazing underground wine world that is one of the deep cultural aspects of the Ribera del Duero region

This is the part of travel I love the most — stumbling into the hidden things you weren’t even looking for!