A visit to Dinastia Vivanco with the EWBC

The town of Briones overlooking the vineyard

The second day of the EWBC was held at the Dinastia Vivanco winery in Briones, Rioja. Dinastia Vivanco was founded in 1915 but despite that, they have a state of the art facility, opened by the King of Spain in 2006. More importantly, they have an awesome museum of wine. You'll have to visit the museum website to see the inside as no pictures were allowed but here are some photos from the outside collection.

examples from the outside collection

The museum was the dream of Pedro Vivanco, the father of the current winemakers and owners of the vineyard. Pedro spent a good part of his life collecting everything connected to the vine. From ancient jugs to giant 18th century screwpresses, one of the largest corkscrew collections in the world (over 3,000 at last count) as well as decanters and an impressive collection of wine related art. There are even a couple of Picasso lithographs in the collection. There is also an ampelographic ( the study of grape varieties) collection on the grounds of the vineyard showcasing over 222 different varieties, including both foreign and spanish grapes.

The collection is divided into sections, each devoted to a particular aspect of the wine world. There are some excellent video presentations of the Riojan seasons in the vineyard, barrel making, glass blowing and even wine fermenting. I would highly recommend this museum if you're in the Rioja region, it's definitely a must see.