What a Spanish City of Wine title actually is
The title is young. ACEVIN created Ciudad Española del Vino in 2023[4], and it goes to one member municipality for a single year; for 2027 the deadline for bids was 7 September 2026[5]. In ACEVIN's founding statement the idea is to complement the national Rutas del Vino de España network by putting the focus on one city at a time[6]. It is a spotlight rather than a classification, so the town's wines and cellars are exactly what they were last month.
Why Montilla won over Jerez
The bid came from the town's tourism department under the slogan Montilla, del reino de la Pedro Ximénez al mundo, with the wider Montilla-Moriles denomination built into its territorial pitch[8]. ACEVIN's own reasoning, as reported, points to the lagares of the Sierra de Montilla and to generous wines made almost entirely from a single grape, Pedro Ximénez[9].
Mayor Rafael Llamas thanked ACEVIN for judging that Montilla, set against Jerez's candidacy, deserved the recognition[10]; the number of bids, the scores and the reasons behind the result have not been published. Beating Jerez stings differently for a region that cannot print amontillado on its own labels, and I suspect the town knows it. Jerez is the bigger name and the easier story to tell. Montilla's pitch is the opposite: one grape, one town, hillside lagares, and a cellar door you can walk through without a brand manager in the room.
Montilla also arrived with homework done. A tourism sustainability plan called Amontíllate has just closed after mobilising 2.73 million euros[11] across ten actions on visitor experience, mobility and digitalisation[31], among them the recovery of the old Parador building as a tourism space[32] and a communication plan with key messages, target audiences and priority channels[33]. The call for bids asked for actions that outlast the title year and a direct link to wine tourism[12], which is exactly the kind of staying power a finished plan demonstrates.
The mayor insists the title is a beginning, not a finish line[13]. That is the right instinct, and the one to hold the council to when the cameras leave in 2028.
What is confirmed for 2027, and what is not
The official frame is short. The programme runs from January to December 2027 with an opening gala and a closing gala[3], alongside initiatives from the Spanish wine-cities network. The detail is a blank: the council is only now contacting institutions, associations and businesses to design the calendar[14].
The Museo del Vino is the item readers will ask about. The council says the building works are finished and the fit-out of the rooms is under way[15], and it ties the opening to the title year[16]. There is no date, so do not build a trip around it.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Title and year | Confirmed: Ciudad Española del Vino 2027 |
| Programme frame | Confirmed: January to December, opening and closing galas |
| Detailed calendar | Not yet published |
| Museo del Vino opening | Tied to the title year, no date announced |
Book your Córdoba flights or train as you like, but hold the Montilla leg loose and check the council's own announcements before paying for a non-refundable room. The town does not need a gala to justify the drive.
What to do in Montilla before the programme lands
You do not need a title to taste. The denomination's five main styles are Joven, Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez[17], and the cellars and lagares on the wine route will set up a tasting made to measure[18]. My advice is to skip the sample flight at a tourist-facing restaurant and book a cellar visit instead.
The town lays out its own trails too: the wine route, the Ruta de los Lagares, a monumental route and a mural trail, among others[19]. Mix one of each and the day stops being a bodega crawl.
Things to do · Activity
Montilla-Moriles Wine Tasting
Visit Córdoba's legendary bodegas and taste fino, amontillado and 100-point Pedro Ximénez. Guided tour of century-old cellars, 40 km from the city. From €8.
I would plan a full day rather than a lunch stop. A morning in a cellar, a walk through the old town, and a late table with a glass of fino is a better use of Montilla than three tastings back to back. Pedro Ximénez rewards slow drinking, and the town rewards slow walking.
In the cellar and the vineyards
Pedro Ximénez drives the sweet end of the range, made from raisined grapes[20], and the landscape invites walks between the vines, bike rides and horseback excursions[21]. Bodegas Lagar El Monte, in Moriles, is one of the cellars on the route[22].
The council's 2026 wine-tourism leaflet lists bodegas, lagares and cooperages that offer visits, tastings and experiences[34]:
- Urban bodegas: Alvear, Pérez Barquero, Robles, Cruz Conde, Navarro, and the La Aurora and La Unión cooperatives
- Sierra lagares: Lagar Blanco, Cabriñana, Cañada Navarro, La Primilla, Los Raigones and Saavedra (Bodegas Maillo)
Start with the town tourism office on Calle Iglesia (tel. +34 957 652 354, WhatsApp +34 672 780 521)[35]. Bodegas Alvear's own page lists visits with three- or five-wine tastings[36]; in the council's 2024 wine-tourism programme its choose-your-own-wines tasting cost 20 € a head for a minimum of two[37]. That is a 2024 price and may have changed, so confirm it and the visit length when you book.
Back in Córdoba, the city also stages a Montilla wine tasting event; check its page for current dates before you plan around it.
Beyond the cellar
The clearest stop between tastings is the Castillo-Alhorí, birthplace of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the Gran Capitán[23]. The town's monumental route, mural trail and historic fountains route are the way to take in the rest on foot[19].
Between sights, order a glass of Montilla-Moriles fino and a plate of alcachofas a la montillana. The artichokes carry the town's name for a reason, and the pairing is the point.
Getting from Córdoba to Montilla
Montilla sits beside the A-45 Córdoba-Málaga motorway[24], and Montilla's tourism office puts the drive from Córdoba at about 25 minutes[38], while the estimate for most route towns is closer to forty[25]. Plan on 25 to 40 minutes by road. The town also has a bus station with regular connections to southern Córdoba province and the main Andalusian capitals[38][39]. That makes it a half-day trip rather than an expedition; the Montilla-Moriles wine route guide holds the bodega list.
Arriving in Córdoba by rail is easy, since the high-speed station has direct connections with Madrid, Sevilla, Málaga, Zaragoza and Barcelona[26]. For the last leg take a car, or the bus if you plan to taste, because cellar-hopping and driving do not mix. Campervans are catered for, with parking and services in Montilla[27].
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Wait for the published calendar only if a specific event is the point of your trip. If the wine is the point, the cellars are already there.