OVER the years, I've developed a penchant for white wine, as red had begun to drive me over the edge -- in the form of dainty little staggers and such like.

So it was with some slight element of fear and trepidation that I undertook a recent wine-tasting trip to the Rioja Alvesa region of northern Spain where red wine accounts for 90 per cent of the region's output. Thankfully, I was well able to cope and bury yet another fear, and hopefully I didn't disgrace myself too much.

We flew to Bilbao and travelled for about an hour to the walled town of Laguardia, where we based ourselves for three nights at the typically Spanish Villa de laguardia hotel. A glass of wine in the hotel bar cost €1.50. I'm definitely living in the wrong country. Laguardia is an ideal base for touring the area, and indeed the town itself is gorgeous. Encircled by a 13th-Century wall, it can be entered by five fortified gateways into narrow medieval cobbled streets. Although just 1,500 people live here, it boasts an Irish tavern, which was buzzing while we were there.

No cars, or even bikes, are allowed into the streets of Laguardia, to protect the maze of underground bodegas or wineries. Nearly all the population are involved in wine-making in some shape or form. The Gothic church Iglesia de Santa Maria de los Reyes is well worth a visit, boasting a fabulous portico with carved statues dating from the 14th Century.

You have two choices: you either travel around from winery to winery, drink the many smooth red wines and continue on in a haze, or you sample the wine, spit it out and move on in a state of relative sobriety. A spitter, I'm not -- and I have to admit the days started to roll into one.

In fact, it turned into "De vine comedy". Many of the wineries have a chapel on the grounds where the owners pay homage to the harvest, and one such notable shrine was housed in the very traditional winery of Luis Angel Casado Manzanos, located between Lapuebla de Labarca and Laguardia. Luis and his wife, Christina, showed us around the underground bodegas, and provided us with a wonderful dinner of tapas and some of their renowned Reserva wines.

The village of Labastida was our next port of call. It is a hilly little medieval village, again with a fabulous church at its summit. Exhausted from our little stroll around the village, we repaired to yet another winery, this time Remelluri, close to Labastida, and yet again they forced us to imbibe.

Before my eyes became bleary, I was able to enjoy the beautiful, almost Tuscan-style setting, the ivy-clad walls and, again, the lovely little chapel. We had lunch at the winery, and it is said there's a two-month waiting list for the pleasure. And pleasure it was: potato and chorizo soup followed by the most succulent lamb chops I have ever tasted, cooked to perfection on vine leaves for that extra special flavour.

After another night of falling into bed, we dragged ourselves off to, believe it or not, another winery -- this time a more avant-garde version called Ysios. The shape of the building is based on a wine bottle, and the tasting room is home to a display of seven quirkily shaped glasses based on the seven deadly sins. "Gluttony is a glass for those who like to feast with no shame." Sounds all too familiar. Lunch was at the Palacio de Samaniego hotel in Samaniego, yet another sleepy little village. White table cloths and understated elegance created a charming setting. We had the most wonderful starter, one which I intend to recreate, of sweet peppers with a poached egg over that and bread crumbs fried in garlic on top, all in a ramekin dish. Divine. The main course of monkfish, clams and prawns was to die for.

The capital of the Basque region is Vitoria-Gasteiz, a beautiful medieval city with fabulous architecture and a host of tiny streets full of bars and quirky little shops.

It was a Friday night when we were there, and we went on the Spanish version of a pub crawl. We took in five pubs, Tolono, Tabanco, La Malquerida, Zabala and La Ferreteria, all in the medieval quarter. In four of the bars we had two sizeable pinchos (or tapas) and a glass of wine, cava or beer, and in the last bar we had an enormous brandy or liqueur. All of this for €11 when you buy the vouchers at the tourist office.

All the bars were full of locals -- after-work drinkers and families. It's the first time for a long time that I have felt I was in the real Spain. Although the city's cathedral is under reconstruction "Open for construction work" is the motto and we were given a passionate guided tour while wearing hard hats -- not the most flattering apparel. It's vast, and plays host to many seminars, lectures and exhibitions. Writers Ken Follett and Paulo Coelho have given lectures here. A couple of hundred metres from the cathedral are the recently discovered sections of city wall.

Vitoria is a city that prides itself on its "green" image, with free-of-charge bike hire and many parks, including the most notable La Florida, the training ground of champion long-distance runner Martin Fiz.

There are loads of museums, including the Fournier playing card museum, home to the greatest collection of playing cards in the world. The locals consider Vitoria to be an open-air museum itself, as many sculptures are on display in the city. It's definitely a break with a difference, and certainly brought me from my days of "gutrot" in flat land, many moons ago, to a greater appreciation of the finer wines. Maybe too much of an appreciation.

- Eleanor Goggin

Sunday Independent