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Rioja is a wine region in Northern Spain, located between both banks of the Ebro River. The Pyrenees and Cantabrian Mountains provide a rainshadow effect, protecting the region from heavy ocean breezes. This region was declared Spain’s first Denominación de Origen Calificada or DOCa and, to date, is only one of two, the second being Priorat.
- Geography
- The Grapes
- Winemaking – The Different Styles of Rioja
- Rioja Wine Law & Age Statements on Labels
Rioja is divided into three zones: 1. Rioja Altais located in the western, higher part of the region, and includes the winemaking town of Haro which is home to many of the best Bodegas (Muga, CVNE, La Rioja Alta, Roda). The vineyards lie high on the slopes of the Sierra Cantabria (up to 800 metres) resulting in grapes that ripen late yet retain liv...
Tempranillo is the most important grape and is at the heart of Rioja's best wines. It makes abundantly fruity, light wines and has a special affinity with oak-ageing, becoming graceful, silky and perfumed with time. A typical crianza will be a blend of mostly tempranillo with some garnachato add body. Graciano (a fine Rioja speciality, prized for i...
The best way to choose Rioja is to find a bodega that makes the style of wine you like as modern-day Rioja offers such a range, varying from the very traditional to the overtly international. Interestingly it was Bordeaux negociants who influenced winemaking in Rioja, showing the locals how to age wine in oak barrels. Today, Rioja's wine styles are...
In 1926 Rioja established the first consejo regulador and so was the first Spanish wine to obtain Denominación de Origen status. The regulations govern many aspects of wine production but of most significance to wine drinkers are the rules specifying oak ageing: Joven:wines that have had no oak ageing. Crianza:wines must spend a minimum of one year...
Nov 27, 2023 · Located in Northern Spain, this region stretches out 75 miles along both banks of the Ebro River and is largely shielded from the rough Atlantic breeze thanks to the small mountain ranges and outlying reaches of the Cantabrian Mountains.
La Rioja, located in the northern part of Spain, not to be confused with La Rioja in Argentina, is a renowned wine-producing region that offers a signature flavor spectrum.
- Location. Located in north-eastern Spain, Rioja DOCa covers most of the autonomous region of La Rioja but also extends to neighbouring Basque Country, Navarra and Castilla Y León.
- Climate. Rioja sits on a plateau with an altitude of between 300 and 800 metres, sheltered from the Atlantic by the Sierra Cantabria to the north and west, and from the Mediterranean by the Sierras de la Demanda and de Cameros, to the south.
- History. Viticulture in Rioja goes back more than 2000 years, thanks both to Iberian tribes and Roman settlers. Rioja played an important role in the development of Spanish language, culture and historiography: the first Castilian words were written in the 11th century A.D.
- French influence. The fast development of Rioja’s modern winemaking era began when, in the second half of the 19th century, France sought alternatives to domestic wine after seeing its vineyards devastated by phylloxera.
Rioja is the infamous wine named after the region of La Rioja in Northern Spain. La Rioja is most famous for its wines made with Tempranillo grapes that grow well in the region’s dry climate. La Rioja is in the Ebro River Valley and its 7 small tributaries create the valleys of Rioja.
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Sep 23, 2024 · Rioja in Northern Spain is best known for berry-scented, barrel-aged red wines made from Tempranillo and Garnacha. It is arguably Spain's top wine region, and certainly the most famous, rivaled only by Jerez. The vineyards trace the course of the Ebro River for roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles) between the towns of Haro and Alfaro.
