Thank you to Fermín, one of my amazing intercambios, and all of his
wonderful connections in Logroño, we were able to take a private tour of a
palace in the center of town that was recently renovated with the idea of turning
it into the ‘Cultural Center of the Rioja’ (CCR) with a very urban feel. As
most of you know, if you have ever looked at where the wine you drink is made,
Rioja is a very well known region for wine making and a definite part of the
culture here. For this, the architect, Jesús Merino Pascual, designed the
outside of the building to look like a ‘botellero’, the place in the winery
where the already bottled wine is positioned horizontally, one bottle staked on
top of the other, to finish the fermentation process. Can you see the
resemblance?
As we walked into the building, the changes
that have been made were overwhelming. The whole inside has been transformed
into a modern urban site, while still respecting the heritage of the building.
Our guide pointed out many of the original pieces of the building that the
architect kept and restored to integrate the past with the present; the
original entrance with the crest of the family that owned the palace, the
original ceilings complete with wooden vegas, and even one of the storage nooks
at the entrance where they would first store the grapes when they were brought
in from the fields.
As we toured the whole building, I could
really see the potential that this building has. Everything was very well
thought out. There are smaller rooms where art exhibitions could be held,
bigger rooms where classes could be held about the history of the wine here in
the Rioja, and even a large event space in the middle that would be great for a
big gathering to feature a new artist or recently released wine. But my
favorite part was in the basement, once the storage room for the wine as it
fermented so many years ago, was transformed into little wine tasting rooms.
The picture helps to explain how it is set up. Each ‘student’ or taster is given
their own sink and light, the light to check the color and consistency of the
wine, and the sink to dispose of any extra wine and to clean their glass in
between tastings. Supposedly, the true wine taster, just has a taste and gives
their remarks, but anyone I know, wouldn’t be pouring any down the drain! Haha!
Sadly, after spending three million euros in
renovations on this magnificent building, because of the crisis here in Spain,
the building, as beautiful as it has been transformed, is standing empty
waiting for the next step, actually opening its doors to the public. But for
this, sponsors must be found.
After our tour, Fermín treated our lovely
tour guide to a coffee in a small jazz café to show our thanks and appreciation
for giving his time to show us all around and teach us the history as well as
the plans for the future of this awesome building. Hopefully when I come back
to visit in a few years, I will be able to enter and see the Riojan art,
culture, and wine featured here, just as the architect had once imagined! 
Gracias a Fermín,
uno de mis intercambios fabulosos, y sus buenas conexiones con la gente de
Logroño, nosotros tuvimos el privilegio de visitar un palacio en el centro de
la ciudad que recientemente fue reformado con la idea de transformarlo al nuevo
Centro Cultural del Rioja (CCR) con un diseño muy urbano. Como muchos de
vosotros sabéis, si notáis de dónde viene el vino que bebéis, Rioja es una
región muy conocida por su vino y es una gran parte de su cultura. Por eso, el
arquitecto, Jesús Merino Pascual, diseñó las paredes del exterior para que parezca un
‘botellero’, el lugar en la bodega donde almacena el vino que ya está
embotellado. ¿Qué piensas tú? ¿Están parecidos?
Cuando entramos el
edificio, las reformas que han hecho me agobian un poco. Todo dentro había sido
transformado a un sitio totalmente moderno, pero al mismo tiempo el arquitecto
preservó alguna de la historia también. Nuestro guía nos enseñó muchas de las
partes originales del edificio que el arquitecto decidió restaurar para combinar
el pasado con el presente. Por ejemplo, las portadas originales todavía están
con el escudo de armas de la familia que tenía el palacio antes, también
algunos de los techos son los originales con rayas de vigas de madera. 
Siguiendo nuestro
tour, podía ver todo el potencial que tenga este edificio. Es obvio que el
arquitecto pensó bien en cada cosa que construyó. Hay algunas salas mas
pequeñas donde podría haber exhibiciones de arte, salones más grandes donde
podría tener clases que enseñara la historia del vino de Rioja, y también
un patio muy grande con mucho espacio donde podría invitar a mucha gente para
presentar a un artista nuevo o un vino riojano recientemente premiado.
Desafortunadamente, después de gastar
tres millones de euros para hacer las reformas en este edificio magnífico,
debido a la crisis aquí en España, el edificio, tan bello como es, está vacío
esperando el próximo paso.
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