Riojatrek is a Riojan company that provides services and tourist guides that specialise in wine tourism. Our aim is to introduce tourists to the world of wine and to help them enjoy La Rioja to the maximum.
The project and its objectives
In La Rioja, wine is in our blood. After spending many years working in the vineyards, showing tourists around our wineries and visiting wineries in La Rioja, the rest of Spain, France and Germany, we realised that we needed to do something different. To make the people who visit us feel they form a part of viticulture and wine, to let them experiment and help them understand that wine is not only a drink, but a way of life.
But La Rioja is not just wine and our objectives also include its other treasures: landscapes, monuments, towns, cities and villages. This is why we count on qualified official guides so we can squeeze out every minute of our trip to La Rioja.
The team
Marina Grijalba
Marina is the fifth generation of a family of vine growers and wine-producers in Fuenmayor (La Rioja). Ever since she was a small child she can remember going to the vineyard to help with the harvesting, first to take water to the older members of the family and the friends who were giving the family a hand, and then to cut bunches of grapes by herself.
She obtained a degree in Translation and Interpretation from the University of Salamanca and she obtained her qualifications as a Specialised Technician in Wine-Making from the I.E.S. Dúques de Nájera. She also worked for eight years as the public relations officer in Bodegas Muga, in Haro, one of the most famous wineries of the D.O.C. Rioja.
In the summer of 2007, she and Héctor decided to embark on the creation of a touristic project which would allow people to not only learn how wine is made, but to also give them the chance to participate in the process of viticulture and wine-making. In the spring of 2008, Riojatrek began offering its innovating activities which would soon be recognised by winning the award for the Best Entrepreneurial Business of 2008, awarded by the Entrepreneurial professorship of the University of La Rioja and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of La Rioja.
Marina also holds the title of Official Tourist Guide of La Rioja, in English, German and French, and she is the co-founder and current president of the Professional Association of Tourist Informers of La Rioja (Asociación Profesional de Informadores Turísticos de La Rioja).
Héctor Palacios
Héctor was born and bred in Logroño and he admits he loves his land and its natural resources. Being very keen on trekking and mountain biking, thanks to Marina and her family, he entered into the world of wine. He soon discovered that he found everything fascinating, from the treading of the grapes to the pruning of the vines, and his enthusiasm about wanting to learn about all the ins and outs related to viticulture were key factors for the idea of participative tourism that would lead to the birth of Riojatrek.
His passion for wine is so great that in 2007, he was elected the Major Grape Harvester (Vendimiador Mayor) of the Festival of San Mateo of Logroño, to represent his city in the celebration of the grape harvest.
He is a Technical Engineer in Electronics, a degree he obtained from the University of La Rioja, and he is responsible for the expansion of the business in both national and international territories: company image and design, website, social networks, photography, fairs and expositions… although no excuses are allowed when another couple of hands are needed in the vineyard or the winery.
Rodrigo Javier Ravera
Rodrigo also comes from a great land of wine: Argentina. He obtained a degree in Tourism from the University of the Salvador (Buenos Aires, Argentina), he also holds a Diploma in Tourist Planning and Sustainable Development, awarded by the Universities of the Caribbean (Cancun, Mexico) and Antonio de Nebrija (Madrid) and a Master’s Degree in Oenology, awarded by the University of La Rioja. He has worked as a public relations officer in Bodegas López de Heredia, in Haro, one of the centenary wineries in La Rioja.
His organisational capacities and his desire to excel have brought him to Riojatrek, where he has a whale of a time explaining everything about our land to our guests.
Javier and Antonio Grijalba
Javier and Toño provide Riojatrek in Fuenmayor with the “logistics support”. They are the real craftsmen that ensure our vineyards have a fresh, healthy aspect when our guests come to visit.
In the Riojatrek activities, we work on three rows of vines on one of our estates in the area of Valdegún. We leave Javier and Toño with the responsibility of taking care of the rest of the vines, as well as looking after those that grow in the other estates of Llanillo, La Plana, Las Veras, Bustillo…
Grandma Tere
Grandma Tere adds the final touch to the Wine Tourism Experience: she is in charge of making the homemade chorizo that we eat in the vineyard, the “mostillo” (a sweet dish made from grapes before they invented chocolate spread) and to have the grape juice (mosto) ready for the activities with children.
