Learn About Rioja Wine: Grapes, Characteristics, and Styles

Rioja is a Denominación de Origen Calificada (D.O.Ca) wine named after the La Rioja province in northeast Spain, where the wine is made. The majority of Rioja wine is red (tinto), but it can also be white (blanco) or pink (rosado), and sometimes even sparkling, although this is uncommon. The main grape of Rioja tinto is tempranillo, which is usually blended with a number of other grapes. The name Rioja comes from the Oja River (Rio Oja), a tributary of the Ebro River that defines the region.

Wine has been made in Spain’s Ebro River valley since Roman times. Winemaking slowed during the Moorish occupation of the area but was reestablished by Christian monks by the turn of the sixteenth century. Most wine produced in Rioja was consumed locally, as the region was isolated and trade was difficult.

Commercial winemaking began in the mid-1800s, when the Marqués de Murrieta built the first bodega (wine cellar) in Logroño, the capital of La Rioja. Phylloxera, the vineyard-destroying aphid, began sweeping through France at the same time, but had not yet reached Spain. Spanish winemakers took advantage of that fact and began exporting Spanish wine to Europe and New York in large quantities. The tide shifted in 1901, when phylloxera, driven out of France, began devastating Spanish vineyards.

After phylloxera and the disruption of the First World War, the Spainsh wine business began rebuilding. A Consejo Regulador, a regulating body for the Spanish wine industry, was started in Rioja in 1926 and set rules for what would become Spain’s Denominación de Origen (DO) system.

• Rioja is Spain’s top-quality wine. It was the first wine to gain DO status when the appellation system was introduced in Spain in 1933, and one of only two wines to be promoted to DOCa status (the highest quality classification) in 1991.
• Rioja is an oak-aged wine. Historically, American oak predominated, but many producers now use a blend of American and French oak barrels. American oak gives the wine flavors of coconut, vanilla, dill, and caramel.
• Rioja is defined by its age. Rioja’s historical classification system is based on how long the wines are aged in barrels as well as in bottle. Many bodegas, including Muga and Marqués de Riscal, age their reserva wines even longer than the minimum requirements.

Rioja tinto is usually a blended wine made from the Spanish grape tempranillo with smaller quantities of other grapes, although single varietal wines are becoming more popular. Red grapes permitted in Rioja wine include: tempranillo, garnacha tinta, graciano, mazuela, and maturana tinta.

White wines account for only 7-8% of Rioja production. White Rioja must be made from at least 51% viura (also called macabeo) grapes, which are blended with other white grape varieties including malvasia, garnacha blanco, verdejo, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc. Top wines are often varietal wines made from 100% viura grapes, which when aged take on nutty, creamy, and dried fruit aromas.

All Rioja wine comes from the Rioja DOCa area, which covers parts of the autonomous communities of La Rioja, the Basque Country, and Navarra in northern Spain. This area is particularly suited to growing wine grapes, as it is sheltered by the Cantabrian mountains, making the climate warmer and drier than regions further west, like Ribera del Duero.

The Rioja wine region is split into three distinct subzones:

• La Rioja Alta, the westernmost area near the town of Haro. Two thirds of Rioja comes from this area.
• Rioja Alavesa, near the town of Laguardia in Álava in the Basque Country. 20 percent of Rioja is made here.
• Rioja Oriental (formerly known as Rioja Baja), the easternmost area, is in Navarra, closer to the Mediterranean. The remaining ten percent of Rioja is made in this area.

The province of La Rioja, just south of Bilbao, is a great destination for wine lovers, as many bodegas are located within a short drive. An annual grape harvest festival, wine tours and wine tasting opportunities are numerous, giving tourists a chance to taste the region’s best wines from the source.

Rioja is made in red, white, rosé, and sparkling styles, but red wines dominate production. A Rioja’s character is mainly defined by the length of time and way it has been aged. For red wines, the aging requirements are:

• Vino Joven: no oak aging
• Crianza: at least two years aging, one year of which must be in oak barrel
• Reserva: at least three years aging, one year of which must be in oak barrel
• Gran Reserva: at least five years aging, two years of which must be in oak barrel

Aging requirements for white and rosé wines are slightly shorter than for red wines. Sparkling wines must be aged for at least 15 months on their lees.

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