Rioja - Spain's Great Wine

By Mike McDougall

Rioja – without a doubt Spain’s most celebrated wine and the region itself has fast become one of the best known and most prestigious in the world. The wine producing area itself is located in central northern Spain and includes the la Rioja region as well as the neighbouring provinces of Alava and Navarre. The growing region can also be classified in another way into Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja. It is the Alta region that is famous for creating the best wines. A lot of the wines produced have traditionally been blends of grapes from all three areas but demand has increased for more “single zone” wines in recent years.

A hint at the pedigree of the region can be seen by the fact that it was assigned DO (designation of origin) status as long ago as 1925, and, in 1991 received the coveted DOCa (Qualified designation of origin), a higher category reserved for wines that have maintained a high level of consistent quality over a long period of time. Not many wine regions have this status and Rioja is indeed in illustrious company on this exclusive list.

The growing region itself is centred around the 40km (25 miles) wide Ebro Valley with 62,000 hectares of vineyards packed into the area. The grapes are planted on terraces that can reach as high as 700 metres in altitude. The soil is perfect for viticulture – a blend of sand, limestone and clay, slightly alkaline and with the necessary supply of water needed for the nurture of the vines throughout the summer months. The climate is also ideal with protection coming from the north and south from the Sierra de Cantabria and the Sierra de la Demanda respectively. Mild temperatures and a high annual rainfall help to provide the perfect grape growing conditions.

There are seven main grape varieties recognised by the DOCa Rioja – tempranillo, garnacha, graziano and mezuela take care of the red wines and viura, malvaisa and garnacha blanca formulate the white whine line up. Tempranillo is the most famous of these varieties and one of the most celebrated in the world – its complexity and versatility of flavour forms the basis of Rioja’s reputation and it also grows and develops with aging. Some “bodegas” (wine houses) have begun experimenting with Shiraz and Cabernet vines and although they’re not allowed to be added to Rioja’s as yet it is this willingness to adapt and develop that places the region in such a strong position.

Rioja has certainly felt the challenge from the new world wines over the last decade or so with vast vineyards and equally vast marketing budgets attempting to topple the old guard from France and Spain from the top of the perch. Public demand for more robust and fruity wines has meant that the producers from Rioja have had to adapt. Traditionally a more subtle and delicate wine, Rioja producers have changed the grape blends in some of their wines to meet the ever changing market and these changes have been met with success. Sales of Rioja have doubled in the UK in the last four years and the Brits are now the biggest consumers of the wine outside of Spain.

The future is looking bright for Spain’s most famous wine, investment in technology and resources in the region is high and the producers are all looking to the future to make sure that Rioja maintains its place at the forefront of the red wine world – this blend of innovation mixed with the tradition that is inherent within the region should stand the producers in good stead.

Mike McDougall has five years experience working as a travel writer and marketeer. He is currenlty working to provide additional content for Babylon-idiomas, a Spanish language school with an excellent presence in Spain and Latin America.

This work is covered by a creative commons licence.