Rioja

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Overview

Rioja is, arguably, the most internationally renowned area of Spain. The area leapt to prominence in the late 1800s when phylloxera laid waste the vineyards of southern France and makers found Rioja an easily accessible source across the border in Spain. But phylloxera visited Spain not long later and the area re-defined itself with its indigenous varieties – Tempranillo, Garnacha, and to a much lesser extent Graciano, Marzuelo, and Maturana Tinto.Read More >

Overview

Rioja is blessed with large, well-funded estates that flew the flag since the nineteenth century. Indeed, two of the Marques – de Murrieta and de Riscal – vie for who has the longest history. But many other extant high-profile wineries can claim an unbroken line to the late 1800s when the boom to ship wines to France was in full swing. Rioja is today more exciting than ever with both modern and traditional approaches to winemaking, and also with single vineyard Riojas becoming more common. A serious region for fine wine.

Key Grape Varieties

Tempranillo is the main grape variety of red Rioja, and can be accessorized with Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo (Carignan), and Maturana Tinto. For white Rioja, Viura (Macabeo) is the main grape.

Food Pairing

Red Rioja tends to complement any type of pork or lamb dish, whether roasted or grilled, and with a variety or accessories and sauces. They are also surprisingly great companions for spicy and strong-tasting foods such as some Asian or Moroccan cuisines, barbecue, paella, game and fish stews. Hard sheep cheeses such as Pecorino and Manchego also work well with red Rioja.

The super-premium and barrel aged styles of fine white Rioja, which we list, tends to go well with meaty fish and shellfish dishes with strong tasting sauces or accessories such as for example aioli, saffron, and garlic in general; another great accompaniment is poultry or pork dishes with creamy sauces.

Key Sub Regions

Rioja is 100 kilometres from west to east and is divided into three sub-regions or zones. These sub regions follow the Ebro River as it winds its way from the Atlantic towards the Mediterranean. While Tempranillo dominates the vineyard make-up, the variation in altitude and aspect makes some areas more suited to Garnacha. While many of the finest wines come from long-established wineries, Rioja is part of the new-Old World history with monumental wines only appearing in recent decades, and historical wines reaching new stratospheric levels of quality. These sub-regions are:

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