On this route, geography decides the wine list. Each border the train crosses swaps the glass in your hand — a running tasting that Palace Tours guests consistently rank among the trip's best surprises.
Basque Country: txakoli
Pale, brisk, faintly fizzy, and poured from arm's length to wake it up. In Bilbao's old town it accompanies pintxos the way rhythm accompanies music — inseparably.
Asturias: cider with choreography
Asturian natural cider is flat until the escanciador throws it — a long pour from above the head that crashes the cider awake against the glass. You drink the small splash immediately, and you will absolutely try the pour yourself before the week ends. (Nobody succeeds the first time. That is part of it.)
Galicia: Albariño and Ribeiro
Albariño tastes of peaches that grew up next to the sea — the perfect echo of the shellfish in our culinary map. Inland Ribeiro, the quiet local secret, rewards the curious.
Aboard the train
Regional pours accompany meals and the bar car keeps them coming, all within the fare (see inclusions). The rain that grows all of this is explained in why the north is green.
