Southern Spain Wine Tour in Andalusia: Seville, Jerez, Cádiz, Ronda

Bienvenidos! Arrive at Madrid airport and meet your driver for a private transfer to Madrid Atocha train station. Your Southern Spain wine tour includes first class train tickets to Seville, in Andalusia, where a driver will be waiting to transfer you from the train station to your beautiful accommodation at the 5-star Casa Palacio Don Ramón in the heart of Seville.

The rest of your afternoon is free to relax after the journey or to explore Seville on your own. We will provide you with suggestions for what to see, where to eat, and can make dinner reservations for you.

Enjoy breakfast in Seville with a wide selection of fresh homemade Andalusian products and hot dishes made to order. Your expert local guide will meet you at the hotel for a private guided walking tour of Seville’s most impressive UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Royal Alcázar and Seville Cathedral with its bell tower, La Giralda. 

Begin your private guided tour of Seville in the Alcázar, a massive complex of royal palaces and decorative gardens from various historical eras. Seville’s Alcázar is one of best examples of Mudéjar architecture, Spain’s distinctive combination of Islamic and Christian elements that is particularly prominent in Andalusia. Seville’s Alcázar is also the location of the former House of Trade, the Casa de la Contratación de las Indias, which regulated commerce in all of Spain’s colonies in the New World.

From the Alcázar, continue to Seville Cathedral, the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, where Christopher Columbus and numerous Spanish monarchs are buried. Completed in the 16th century on the site of a 12th century mosque, Seville Cathedral supplanted the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as the then largest cathedral in the world. Architecture lovers will appreciate Seville Cathedral’s unique mix of styles and periods—Hispano-Muslim, Gothic, Renaissance, Neoclassical, and Baroque. Your guided tour of Seville Cathedral includes a visit to the top of its famous bell tower, La Giralda, where you can admire beautiful views of the entire city. 

Following your morning private Seville city tour, take free time for lunch, shopping, or relaxing by the rooftop pool at Casa Palacio Don Ramón. 

In the late afternoon, meet your local guide at reception and set out together towards one of Seville’s traditional Flamenco venues. Learn about the origins of Flamenco in Andalusia and its evolution over the centuries to contextualize tonight’s show at a small, intimate venue where the performance will feature one singer, one guitarist, and two dancers. 

After the Flamenco show, continue with your guide on a private tapas tasting tour in Seville. Visit several local tapas bars, at each one tasting a selection of authentic Andalusian tapas with Spanish wine, beer, and other refreshments. This private Seville food tour will give you a good overview of Andalusian gastronomy, and how it compares to other regions in Spain. 

Your guide will escort you back to the hotel following your tapas tour, stopping along the way for a final taste of local Andalusian sweets.

Start the day in Seville with another delicious breakfast at your hotel, then meet your expert local guide for a day exploring Andalusia’s Parque Natural Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche. The park’s unique Mediterranean forest habitat is ideal for raising Iberian pigs. The Jamón Ibérico produced in the Aracena area is considered some of the best in Spain. As you make your way to Aracena, your guide will explain how geography, landscape, and agriculture shape Andalusia’s culture and economy.

Your expert local guide will lead you on a walk to understand how Iberian Pigs and other grazing animals are raised in Andalusia using a sustainable agroforestry system in a unique Mediterranean forest ecosystem called a dehesa. You’ll learn about the habitat of free-range Iberian pigs, how they live, and why this traditional system for raising animals produces such high-quality Jamón Ibérico.

After seeing how free roaming Iberian pigs live in their natural habitat, visit a local Iberian ham producer to learn about the curing and aging process that gives Jamón Ibérico its rich, intense flavor. End your visit with a private Jamón Ibérico tasting session.

Following your Jamón Ibérico tasting, transfer to the village of Aracena for lunch in a farm-to-table restaurant specializing in traditional Andalusian dishes using local ingredients from the natural park. Enjoy free time after lunch to visit Aracena. Stroll the picturesque streets with their typical Andalusian whitewashed houses, sampling the local sweets for dessert. 

Return to Seville in the late afternoon, where the rest of the day is yours to explore the city on your own. We will be happy to provide you with dinner recommendations and make reservations.

Today, your Southern Spain wine tour in Andalusia features two private experiences of Seville’s culinary culture and artisan creativity. After breakfast, meet your personal cooking instructor at the hotel and set off to the local market together. With your local culinary expert, select seasonal produce and learn about Andalusian ingredients for your private Spanish cooking class. The experience begins with a welcome drink at the culinary studio, and further investigation into the origin and quality of Andalusian ingredients, through tastings. Then, learn to prepare a comprehensive selection of regional recipes, cooking a complete Andalusian meal. Enjoy your culinary creations for lunch in the studio’s dining room, with local Spanish wines. An authentic homemade Spanish feast!

Take free time after your Spanish cooking class before meeting up with your local guide to explore Seville’s southern Triana district. On the southern side of the Guadalquivir River, Triana is the historic home in Seville for Andalusia’s cultural artforms of bullfighting, Flamenco, and ceramics making. Your local expert guide will lead you on a private walking tour of Triana as you make your way to a ceramics studio for a hands-on experience with Andalusian tile making and pottery. 

During your private Spanish ceramics workshop, you’ll learn about the different techniques for tile making used in Seville since the Moorish times. Try your hand at painting your own Andalusian tile under the guidance of an expert ceramicist, who will also help you to make your own piece of pottery on the wheel. After firing, the hand-painted tile and pottery are yours to bring home as mementos of this creative experience in Andalusian cultural arts. 

After your ceramics workshop, your guide will escort you back to your hotel or you can continue exploring Triana’s shops and eateries on your own.

Savor a final breakfast in Seville before meeting your private driver to transfer to the ancient port city of Cádiz. Along the way, your private Spanish wine tour in Andalusia will visit Jerez de la Frontera, capital of Sherry production in Andalusia, to discover the secrets of Spain’s most original wine. In Jerez, your local guide and Sherry expert will lead you on a private walking tour in the old town to reveal the city’s Hispano-Muslim origins and the major transformation Jerez experienced at the height of Sherry’s popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries when it was one of the most fashionable wines in the world. 

Your private tour of Jerez will also include a visit to the local market to explore the local produce that influences Jerez’s gastronomy. Finish the morning in Jerez with a private wine tour in a Sherry bodega. Meet the owner, who will lead you on a private visit to learn about the different aging methods for producing Sherry’s different styles, followed by a private Sherry tasting.

After your private wine tour and Sherry tasting in Jerez, transfer to a vineyard in the countryside for a special food and wine experience. The vineyard’s owner will lead you on a private visit focused on Jerez’s terroir and viticulture specific to Sherry production. Finish your walk in the vineyards at the owner’s bodega, where he makes and ages sherries only for personal consumption. Your private wine tasting of his artisanal sherries will be accompanied by a selection of local tapas. 

Then be welcomed into the family home on the vineyard, where the owner’s wife will prepare a homemade traditional Andalusian lunch that you will all enjoy together, paired with more Sherry from their private stock. End this memorable afternoon in the Jerez countryside with a farewell Sherry cocktail, then transfer to your accommodations in Cádiz.

Check in to the 4-star Áurea Casa Palacio Sagasta in the historic heart of Cádiz. Once an embassy, this 18th-century mansion blends baroque elegance with modern luxury. Its 38 refined rooms, spa, and wellness area offer a sophisticated retreat near La Caleta Beach. Tonight is free for you to explore Cádiz on your own. We will provide you with suggested restaurants and reservations.

After breakfast, meet your personal local host at the hotel to begin a day discovering the long history, rich culture, and gastronomic traditions of Cádiz. Start your adventure with a private guided tour of Cádiz’s old town, where you will see evidence of the city’s foundation by the Phoenicians, an ancient maritime and trading civilization from the area of the Mediterranean that is present day Lebanon. Understand why they chose the location of Cádiz for their colony on the Iberian Peninsula 3000 years ago, and the impact their arrival had on present day culture, gastronomy, and the wines of Southern Spain. 

The second part of your private guided tour traces the evolution of Cádiz from its ancient founding to its relatively recent history during the heights of Spain’s colonial empire, when Cádiz replaced Seville as the center of all Spanish trade with the Americas. The colonial period transformed Cádiz into a wealthy, cosmopolitan city, and left an architectural legacy that is still visible today. 

Finish your walking tour inside the Cádiz market, with food tastings of local produce and culinary specialties that reflect the different eras and civilizations that have shaped Cádiz over centuries. From the food market, continue to a local tavern for a wine tasting with a historical theme. This private wine tasting focuses on Spanish wines that traveled from Cádiz to the New World.

Following your private wine tasting, sit down to lunch at a small family-owned tapas bar where you’ll enjoy a diverse selection of local Cádiz tapas paired with southern Spanish wines. Finish this classic Andalusian lunch with coffee and a special local dessert at a historic grand café, where the city’s bourgeoisie used to gather when transatlantic trade thrived in Cádiz.

The rest of the afternoon and the evening are free for you to experience more of Cádiz on your own. Maybe relax with private spa access at Áurea Casa Palacio Sagasta, or visit La Caleta beach not far from the hotel.

Today, your private Southern Spain wine tour in Andalusia is dedicated to the excellent Sherries produced from the chalky soils around the coastal city of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Chalky soil increases acidity in grapes. Higher acidity means freshness, and longer aging potential, which is crucial for making the best Sherry. After breakfast, depart from your hotel in Cádiz with your private driver and your private Sherry expert to discover the coastal vineyards of the Sherry Triangle. Sherries from Sanlúcar de Barrameda carry a hint of salinity from Atlantic Ocean breezes.

Arrive mid-morning to an unusual producer near Sanlúcar with both their own vineyards and their own ageing facilities, an uncommon production model for Sherry. You’ll have a private visit to both their vineyards and their cellars, followed by a private wine tasting of selected Sherries right in the vineyard.

After your first wine tasting of the day, transfer to the historic center of Sanlúcar de Barrameda at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River to learn more about the marine influence on aging Manzanilla Sherry in the bodegas of Sanlúcar. Visit one of our selected bodegas in the city for a private wine tasting of special Manzanilla Sherries, straight from the cask, as well as very old, oxidized Sherries also straight from the casks. 

This special private wine tour will be your second wine tasting today in the Sherry Triangle, after which you’ll sit down to lunch at a local seafood restaurant near the fishing port in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Enjoy a relaxing lunch near the water, served with local Sanlúcar Manzanilla which pairs especially nicely with seafood. 

In the late afternoon, return to Áurea Casa Palacio Sagasta in Cádiz and take the rest of the day to enjoy the hotel’s wellness facilities or see more of the city on your own.

Savor a final breakfast in Cádiz before embarking on a day exploring wild Andalusia and food artisans in Grazalema Natural Park. Depart from your hotel with your private driver and your private local guide to make your way into the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema to visit an artisanal cheesemaker. The Sierra de Grazalema is known for its exceptional cheeses, primarily made from the milk of Cabra Payoya goats and Oveja Merina Grazalemeña sheep. These breeds are native to the area and have adapted to the rugged terrain, producing rich, high-quality milk.

Upon arrival, meet the cheesemaker himself and learn about life as an artisanal food producer in the middle of a natural park in Southern Spain. Your private visit will include a tasting of the different goat and sheep’s milk cheeses he makes in his quesería.

After your cheese tasting, your Southern Spain wine tour in Andalusia visits a nearby winery for your first private wine tasting outside of the Sherry Triangle. The owner will welcome you for a private tour of their production, followed by a private wine tasting of their red, white, and rosé table wines.

Reconnect with your driver after the wine tasting and continue along one of the most scenic mountain roads in Southern Spain to an olive oil producer near the village of Zahara de la Sierra. Here you’ll learn about Andalusian oil during a private tour of the pressing facilities to see how extra virgin olive oil is produced in Southern Spain. Enjoy an olive oil tasting afterwards, along with lunch of local tapas starring their own EVOO. 

Following your olive oil experience and lunch, transfer to the picturesque village of Zahara de la Sierra for a private guided tour of the old town. Zahara de la Sierra was originally a Moorish outpost built for its strategic position between Seville and Ronda. It is one of Andalusia’s emblematic pueblos blancos (white villages), with beautiful views of nearby lake Zahara. 

End your day in Andalusia with arrival in Ronda and check in to your 4-star hotel accommodation at the Parador de Ronda. The evening is free for you to start exploring Ronda on your own, where we will provide you with restaurant recommendations and reservations.

This morning after breakfast, your expert local guide will meet you at the hotel to begin a private guided tour of historic Ronda. Start with a visit to the oldest and most iconic bullring in Spain, the Plaza de Toros de Ronda, built in 1785. The tradition of bullfighting dates back at least as far as the 5th century AD during the Visigothic era, and probably ever earlier, to the Celtiberians who populated Spain prior to the Roman conquest, but Ronda is considered the birthplace of modern Spanish bullfighting.

With your expert local guide, see the different sections of the bullring, from the pens where the bulls are kept before the fight, to the arena where the actual fight takes place, from the chapel where the matadors say their prayers before the fight, to the areas where the audience and the bullring authorities sit. This tour will allow you to learn about the origins and evolution of bullfighting in Spain but does not include an actual bullfight.

After visiting the Plaza de Toros, continue your private tour of Ronda through the old town, learning about the city’s transition from Moorish to Christian in the 15th century; the peak of its wealth in the 18th century; and because of its beauty, Ronda’s place in the 19th century as one of Andalusia’s main tourist destinations during the European Grand Tour. 

In the afternoon, your private Southern Spain wine tour in Andalusia explores the bourgeoning winemaking scene around Ronda. Archaeological evidence shows that winemaking in Ronda dates to the Roman era, but it mostly disappeared during the Moorish period and did not return until the 1980s and 1990s. Arrive at a celebrated family winery in the countryside where the owners will welcome you for a private guided visit of their production and a private wine tasting. This winery was a pioneer in Ronda’s winemaking resurgence and has become emblematic of its appeal to international winemakers. After your private tour of the vineyards, cellars, and a private wine tasting, enjoy a homemade lunch at the winery with wine pairings. 

Return to your hotel in the late afternoon for free time to relax and visit more of Ronda on your own.

Enjoy your last breakfast in Andalusia today before checking out of your hotel in Ronda and taking a private transfer to Antequera for the high-speed train to Madrid. We will provide you with first class tickets for the train journey of three hours. 

When you arrive in Madrid, meet your private driver in the arrivals hall at Atocha station and transfer to your 5-star boutique hotel accommodation at the Gran Hotel Inglés in the Barrio de las Letras neighborhood. 

The afternoon and evening are free to explore Madrid on your own. We will provide you with suggested activities and restaurant recommendations, as well as assistance with dinner reservations. 

Enjoy your final morning in Spain before bidding a reluctant farewell.

Private transfer to Madrid airport and departure.