What is more, it has a long wine culture: documents from 1650 show that the quality of the Rioja wines was already strictly controlled.
Here are also to be found some of Spain most iconic bodegas, some in activity for more than 150 years. This is the first Spanish wine region where wine has been bottled and shipped from the estate.
The region is divided into 3 subzones:
-Rioja Baja, in the east – warmer and lower, it is the realm of the Grenache.
-Rioja Alta, in the west, where the best soils are to be found, and where the great classic bodegas have their base.
-Rioja Alavesa, in the north, part of the Basque country, but also one of the most interesting terroirs of the D.O.C. Rioja. Here Tempranillo reigns supreme, for it enjoys a perfect combination of climate, poor soils and altitude.
Rioja has a continental climate with Mediterranean influences via the Ebro River.
In total, 65% of the 60,000 hectares in the D.O.C. are planted with Tempranillo.
Rioja used to have a very good reputation for quality wine, but it was almost lost in the 70’s and 80’s when the estates took the industrial path and began using lower quality grapes. What is more, the wines were aged in oak barrels, that often caused more harm than good: wines smelled of mold and oxidation – what was seen as divine by a lot of Spaniards, but was not accepted at all on export markets with a higher wine culture.
Fortunately, a revolution was launched and on the spur of some innovative bodegas, Rioja produces again some savoury and fruity wines, thanks to a more balanced ageing process.