In 1986, we launched our family business by opening the Altair café-restaurant in Vitoria-Gasteiz. This was the start of our family’s dream: ensure our enjoyment and that of our customers through gastronomy and cuisine based on the culinary tradition of Luchi Santamaría and, therefore, of our family and our land.
In the early 1990s, Altair Catering and Abadía Catering introduced a new way of expressing culture through food and wine and a different way of sharing memorable experiences while respecting the products and traditions and innovating in the way they are presented.
With the slogan “To know wine is to love it”, the Villa-Lucía Wine Theme Centre was established in the year 2000 to create a unique tourist attraction based on the quality and identity of Rioja Alavesa as a destination and of the region in general. Likewise, the area was provided with the necessary infrastructure to host all kinds of events, congresses and meetings, becoming a centre and forum for wine lovers, where local wines and products could be presented.
We have always been committed to authenticity, with an experiential vocation, through an innovative and surprising centre designed to enjoy, taste and disseminate the culture of wine and that includes a pioneering project worldwide like the 4D Experience titled “In a Dreamland”, which has won 17 international awards.
It was in 2016 when the dream of the Lavín Santamaría family was realised by creating the “Villa-Lucía Gastronomic Space”. This is a commitment to promote the quality culinary tradition of the region with a cuisine linked to the territory, sustainability, creativity and responsibility to local producers and the environment; an effort that has been acknowledged by becoming the first 0 km restaurant of the Rioja PDO that has been certified and approved by the international Slow Food movement.
Dream…. and we shall make your dreams come true.
