Valdepeñas is, above all, a wine town — and the best way to understand it is to visit the bodegas that have shaped the place for centuries. But there is more here than wine: a handsome Gothic church, a lively central square, windmills straight out of Cervantes, and a fine art museum.
The Museo del Vino on Calle Princesa is the natural starting point. From there, the old centre clusters around the Plaza de España and the Iglesia de la Asunción, both within easy walking distance.
For wine, the bodega visits around the edge of town are the main event — underground cellars carved into limestone, some centuries old, with tastings included. The Molinos de Gregorio Prieto windmill park just outside town places you squarely in Don Quixote country. The Fundación Gregorio Prieto rounds out the cultural picture with work by Valdepeñas' most celebrated painter.