León Ruta del Vino is a cross-cutting tourism project involving various sectors in a comprehensive socioeconomic development strategy for the south of the province

After more than three years of administrative processing, León Ruta del Vino, a project promoted by the León Designation of Origin and the major town councils of the south of the province, has obtained certification from the Spanish Association of Wine Cities (Acevin) and has joined the select Wine Routes of Spain club, which manages forty wine-growing areas across the country.

León Ruta del Vino began as a project at a general assembly held in Valencia de Don Juan on 10 January 2023, and on 1 February the association promoting it applied for registration in the Wine Routes of Spain Tourism Product Club. Geographically, it is based on the territory defined in the regulations of the León Designation of Origin Regulatory Council, which covers an area of 3,317 square kilometres in the south and southeast of León and the north of Valladolid.

Open to all sectors and stakeholders directly or indirectly involved in the wine tourism development of the territory, León Ruta del Vino currently brings together around fifty members, including the three local action groups that have been operating very actively in the province —Poeda, Adescas and Montañas del Teleno—, major town councils, a association of municipalities, municipal tourist offices, hospitality businesses (both restaurants and accommodation), wineries, other agri-food producers, service companies, tour operators, and more.

The basic objectives, as defined in its statutes, are to promote its territory for tourism by linking its image to wine through the activity of the member wineries, to promote and drive coordinated wine tourism and wine-and-food policies with the sectors involved, and to coordinate the tourism representatives of the local action groups, the organisations, companies and member municipalities in order to establish a consensus-based policy for all actions.

If wine, very closely associated with gastronomy, is the excuse that moves the tourist, the reasons for the success of the wine tourism proposal lie above all in visitors’ interest in exploring new settings and enjoying their historical and natural heritage, their culture and traditions, the opportunities for active leisure and the hospitality of their people. Wine tourism has recorded the strongest sectoral growth in recent years, and its influence on the territory grows more important every day. In fact, the average spend of visitors to the Wine Routes of Spain reaches €345.87 per person per day, and €878.50 over the course of an average stay of 2.54 days, according to
the recently published Wine Tourism Demand Analysis Report produced by Acevin.

Wine Routes of Spain, which has the support of two ministries related to the activity, is a tourism product designed to help travellers discover different territories and attractions. The routes are located in forty wine-growing areas operating under the guidance of the state administration and Acevin to create memorable experiences for travellers seeking a new concept of tourism based on wine culture. In short, it is a complex tourism product which, through a network of business and public-private cooperation, brings together companies from specifically sector-related fields, and above all hospitality businesses, as well as others from sectors that traditionally were far removed from the activity (wineries, wine shops, specialist stores, etc.). It also incorporates local authorities as managers of a large part of each territory’s assets and resources.

Backed by the Secretariat of State for Tourism and Turespaña, Wine Routes of Spain is based on the integration of the tourism resources and services of interest in wine-growing areas, approached from a standpoint of authenticity and experiential appeal, and rests on a strategy of comprehensive socioeconomic development of the territory and of enhancing the value of the wine-growing identity and culture of the destination