Excellent wine tasting - We had a great evening and learned a lot about wines. This was a really nice experience, thank you very much to Gastronomia Bilbao and the other guests.

A perfect tasting! - We had already experienced the amazing cooking class with Chef Mikel, and we heard about the wine tasting class with co-owner/sommelier of Gastronomia - Irina Urbina, so we showed up and enjoyed a couple of lovely wines at the bar. Ales, the bartender was extremely knowledgeable about not just the local wines, but wines in general. His level of service was impeccable, and his English was on point - we didn't have to fumble for words in Basque or Spanish! He also explained the intricate history of Txakolina - fascinating! The tasting with Irina was so fun - we started with some lovely Cava from Seguras Vida, and she carefully explained the history of Cava, and where it can or cannot be made, and then we moved into a flight of truly lovely wines, all carefully matched with exquisite cheeses. There were just six of us: another couple from Minnesota, and a couple from Sweden. As a sommelier myself, I was very impressed with her knowledge, and how she presented the flight overall. I have always felt a little lost when it came to knowing my Spanish wines. Just as with Chef Mikel the prior day, I never felt that we were being spoken down to, which is so refreshing. We all enjoyed great conversations about wines, and we all learned new things from each other. I felt the selection of wines was absolutely on point, and there were very healthy portions served - not just small splashes! We went quite a bit over the allotted 2 hours, which was fine with Irina - and we never felt rushed to leave. In fact, we went to the bar for another glass of wine, and she came to join us and chatted more, as did David, her partner in the venture. All in all, I cannot imagine a better way to learn about Spanish wines than here at Gastronomia Bilbao - every detail was taken care of, and it could not have been more professional. Thank you Irina - and the entire staff for making us feel so welcome! Toby and Amalia

Excellence unparelleled - Fantastic session! Really enjoyable. Highly recommend this. Other fantic cooking courses avsilable too. Simply a must if you’re visiting Bilbao

Exceptional Wine Experience - Our group of 5 made the experience intimate and personalized. Irene has a warm, engaging and welcoming style that insures a comfortable and lively time. She is passionate and knowledgeable about the wines of Rioja and guides you through sharpening your awareness of the wine qualities. Each wine was excellent but distinct from the others. And the paired local cheeses were quite good. My love of wine and cheese was completely satisfied! Irene also shared snippets about local customs and food that enhanced our experience. Highly recommended; I’ve been to many wineries around the world but prefer this event to those winery visits.

Must do activity! - We had a wonderful evening with our host sommelier Irene. The wine and cheese pairings we all amazing and Irene was very knowledgeable, friendly and engaging. We were a group of nine and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the evening, learnt a lot and this was a highlight of our trip to Bilbao ! 10/10 experience would defo go again and would love to try out the cooking class on our next visit.