When the wine tourism of Valladolid is mentioned, it is referred to not only Valladolid, but also the five “Denominations of Origin” that coexist in this province. The title Denominación de Origen, or “Denomination of Origin”, is given by a system of classification that guarantees that a certain product is originated in a determinate area, assuring its quality and exclusive characteristics are from that region. In this case, each one of the Denominations corresponds to a diversity of environments, a culture mixture, and a differentiation in the elaboration processes of the wine.
If you have the opportunity of enjoying the wine-related routes prepared in Valladolid, you will appreciate the wide plain of Castile, the fields of wheat, and the great amount of vineyards that exist in the province; at the same time that you will savour one of the best wines worldwide.
Rueda’s white wine, Cigales’ rosy wine, and Ribera de Duero, Tierras de León, or Toro’s red wine make Valladolid one of the greatest wine paradises in the world.
O. Cigales
O. Toro
The culture of “tapas” has the same importance in Valladolid’s province as the aforementioned viniculture. For all those people that do not know what a «tapa» is, it is a word that designates a portion of food, generally of small or medium volume, that accompanies the drinks served in bars.
In November, Valladolid celebrates the World Tapas Championship, considered the greater live cooking show in Spain. Chefs with a “Michelín Star” (a hallmark of restaurants or chefs’ fine quality) participate in this competition every year with the mission of designating the best tapa of Spain. Some instances of the awarded “tapas” are:
Lechazo Taj Mahal (Taj Mahal Lamb): served in the restaurant Don Bacalao, located in Las Brigadas.
Bocata de calamares envuelto en obulato (a squid sandwich wrapped in obulato), “Tigretostón”, and Copa y Puro: served in Los Zagales, bar that can be found in La Pasión Street.
La plata al ceviche de sardinas, alga kombu (kombu seaweed), and ajo negro (black garlic): in the restaurant Villaparamesa, in Calixto Fernández de la Torre Street.
There are several “tapeo” areas in Valladolid. The surroundings of squares Matrí Monsó, San Martín, and Universidad or Portugalete are areas with numerous sites where an excellent combination of this region’s wine and gastronomy can be enjoyed.
El Mercado del Val can be added to the aforementioned areas. This is a 19th century building, renovated in 2017, and compossed by “gastrobars” and by a great liveliness every weekend.
Next to the train station of Valladolid, we can find the Gourmet Station, an old railway warehouse renovated and converted into a space equipped with a playroom, where adults can enjoy fifteen stands of both Spanish and international cuisine.
However, there is no need to wait for the weekend to go to all the aforementioned places. On the denominated “jueves de tapas” (Tapas’ Thursday), you can enjoy of a combination of a “pincho” and one drink for only 2,50€ in approximately one hundred bars and restaurants of Valladolid.
