Private Ronda Wine Tour: Wineries of the Serranía and Tapas

What you'll see

• Walk among the vines with the people who tend them
• See how wine is made and aged in a working cellar
• Taste the reds of the Serranía de Ronda where they are made
• Tapas in Ronda: cured meats, sheep's and goat's cheeses, mountain stews
• A look at the Puente Nuevo between tastings
• Nobody has to drive: your chauffeur takes care of it

Vines grew around Ronda in Roman times, and coins from nearby Acinipo carry bunches of grapes. Phylloxera wiped the vineyards out at the end of the 19th century, and for a hundred years these hills grew cereals and olives instead. Replanting began in the 1990s. Today the Serranía de Ronda is a sub-zone of the Sierras de Málaga designation of origin, with a cluster of small, mostly family-run wineries scattered across the plateau and the valleys that surround the town.

The vineyards are high, many at 600 metres or more, where hot days and cold nights give reds with fresh acidity. Tempranillo grows next to syrah, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot, alongside a few whites and rosés. On this tour you visit two wineries, chosen with you according to your taste and the day of the week, and the people at each winery show you the vines, the cellar and the wines themselves. Then you eat tapas in Ronda before the drive home. Car and driver remain at your disposal throughout, so a longer lunch or an earlier return is simply a matter of telling him.

In pictures

Choose where we pick you up

How the day goes

Optional official guide

There is no official guide on this tour, because there are no monuments to visit. The visits are run by the wineries themselves: a member of the team, sometimes the winemaker, shows you the vineyard and the cellar and leads the tasting, in English or Spanish depending on the winery. Your driver keeps the timings, knows the way to wineries tucked down unmarked farm tracks and suggests tapas bars in town, but he does not guide.

Tickets

We book the winery visits and tastings for you, and you pay them directly at each winery, at the winery's own rates; we add no mark-up. When you book, tell us what you like (big reds, whites, organic producers) and which days suit you, as some wineries only receive visitors by appointment or on certain days. We confirm both wineries and their times before the tour. Lunch is not included either.

Good to know

• Have a proper breakfast: the first tasting comes before lunch.
• Wineries are working farms, so wear flat shoes for gravel paths and uneven cellar floors.
• Late summer and early autumn are harvest time, with the most activity in the cellars; winter is quieter, but bring a warm layer, as cellars and Ronda mornings are cold.
• Children are welcome on the drive and the vineyard walk, but tastings are for adults; tell us in advance so we choose wineries that are happy to receive families.
• Buying wine to take home? There is room in the boot; for the flight, wrap the bottles well in your checked luggage.
• Let us know about allergies or dietary needs so the winery can adapt whatever it serves with the wine.

Price per vehicle

Fixed price for the whole vehicle and the whole day, the same from anywhere between Málaga and Marbella. Includes driver, fuel, tolls, parking and all the waiting time. Entry tickets not included.