Samaniego, Municipality in Arabako Errioxa / Rioja Alavesa, Álava, Spain
Samaniego is a small town in the Arabako Errioxa / Rioja Alavesa wine region of Álava, in the Basque Country of Spain. Its streets are lined with old stone houses, many with wooden balconies and terracotta roofs, set among rolling hills covered with vineyards.
Samaniego is a settlement with a long history in the Rioja Alavesa wine region, where grape growing has been rooted since Roman times. By the 16th century, the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was built in the town center, where it still stands today.
Samaniego has a district called the Barrio de las Bodegas, where old caves were dug into the ground to store wine over the centuries. Some of these caves are still open to visitors, and walking through them gives a direct sense of how winemaking has shaped daily life here.
Samaniego is easy to explore on foot since the center is small and straightforward to navigate. The town is best reached by car, and parking is available nearby.
Every September, Samaniego holds a festival honoring the Virgin of the Valley, during which a cardboard donkey is carried up a small ladder and placed at the church tower until the end of the celebrations. This unusual ritual has been part of village life for generations.
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