16 Jun The EGTC Rio Minho promotes the ‘Minho Wine Experience’ mixing wine and bicycle routes

The project includes two 80-kilometer bike rides that end with tastings in cross-border wineries on June 17 and 24

The EGTC Rio Minho will celebrate this Saturday 17 and next June 24 the ‘Minho Wine Experience’, an experience that mixes sport, tourism and oenology in the territory of the cross-border Rio Minho. The wine-cycling project includes two 80-kilometer bike rides through Galician and Portuguese municipalities on the border that end with tasting experiences in local wine cellars.

About 45 cyclists will cycle by road every Saturday through natural and historical landscapes, passing through several Galician and Portuguese municipalities and crossing the various international bridges of the Rio Minho. On the first day, the departure will be from the Museum of Science and Wine of Salvaterra do Miño, then continue through Monçao, Valença, Tui, As Neves, Arbo, Melgaço, and return to the museum of Salvaterra. The stops will be in Fillaboa and Soalheiro, having the oenological ‘experience’ (a tasting menu harmonized with wines and the presence of Portuguese and Galician production companies) in Salvaterra, with wines from Pazo do Pegullal and Soalheiro.

On June 24, the departure will be from Club Ínsua de Moledo (Caminha). It will pass through Vila Nova de Cerveira, Tomiño, O Rosal, A Guarda and again through O Rosal until returning to Caminha, with stops at Terras Gauda and the Aquamuseu do Rio Minho. The ‘wine’ breakfast will be at the Insua Clube.

The duration of each of the routes will be approximately five hours and the program is free, with registration required. The intention is that professional cyclists, public figures who practice cycling, journalists and influential people linked to cycling or the wine world and anyone who practices road cycling will participate in the project. You must have your own bicycle.

The programs of the ‘Minho Wine Experience – Vive o Rio Minho’ project aim to promote the region and all its potential for active, sustainable and nature tourism, as well as promoting cross-border gastronomy and oenology, following the example of other similar proposals in wine regions of many countries. Within the Iberian Peninsula, those of Rioja, Catalonia, Andalusia and La Mancha stand out, in addition to the Ribeira do Douro in Portugal.

The initiative of the route and wine-cycling experience along the Rio Minho is promoted by the EGTC Rio Minho, within the scope of the VIVE_RIO_MINHO project, co-financed by the Interreg V-A Spain Portugal Program (POCTEP).