Is Rioja also the name of the grape variety? No.
Tempranillo is the main grape used to make wine in Rioja.
It is important all over Spain, but most experts would agree
that tempranillo reaches its ultimate expression in Rioja.
Other grapes – graciano, mazuelo, garnacha – are often
blended with tempranillo to make red or rosé wine.
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Is all Rioja wine red? No, but mostly red. Some very quaffable
rosés are made here as well as a broad range of whites, from
squeaky clean sippers to barrel-fermented bruisers.
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If tempranillo is so important, why don’t they just label
it “Tempranillo”? As in France and Italy, over time local
Spanish products simply took on the name of the town,
province, or region where they originated. Following the
example set by the regionally governed French A.O.C. laws,
Spain ultimately adopted its own set of laws as a means of
protecting the integrity of these regional treasures. In Spain
these laws are called D.O. laws.
What does Rioja wine taste like? That depends. The
character of tempranillo is largely shaped by the conditions
in which it’s grown — what the French call terroir. As a result,
Rioja wines can be elegant, subtle, and ethereally light,
like a great Burgundy; or have the power, velvet lushness,
and minerality of a Columbia Valley Merlot. Still, across the
board you can generally expect aromas of vibrant summer
fruit (strawberries, raspberries, black cherries, mostly), along
with a toasty spiciness. As the wines age, they start getting
even more interesting, like a person you want to know better.
PURE GENIUS
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Is Rioja a wine or a place? Rioja can refer to the region
or the wine made in that region. The wine region of
Rioja is located along the Ebro River in north central
Spain, an area about the size of Delaware. D.O.Ca. Rioja,
as the winemaking region is officially known, has its own
government that obliges winemakers to abide by a certain
set of guidelines. The Rioja region is about a 1–hour drive
southeast from Bilbao, home of the Frank Gehry designed
Guggenheim Museum, and 1–hour southwest from San
Sebastian, known to many as the best food city in Europe.
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How do you say ‘Rioja?’ Rio + Ha! Okay, now take out
the exclamation point and put the emphasis on the “O,”
as in ree-OH-ha.
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rioja101
VIBRANT
Rioja 101: Spain’s premier winemaking
region at a glance
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I see a lot of wines from Spain in the wine stores these
days. What makes Rioja so special? A unique confluence
of climate; a rich palette of soils unmatched anywhere else
in Spain; topography ideally suited to the cultivation of
the tempranillo grape. Rioja is like its own little kingdom,
where modernity and tradition – whether in architecture or
winemaking – coexist peaceably. It is a cutting-edge region
with deep respect for a patrimony that dates back more than
2,000 years.
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Anything else I should know? You may be interested to
know that Rioja was named Wine Enthusiast magazine’s
Best Wine Region in the World. Try a Rioja today and taste
for yourself, and see if you don’t agree. A vuestra salud!
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What is it like visiting Rioja? Imagine a region of
extraordinary food and wine, with charming inns set in
medieval, walled cities surrounded by some of the most
cutting edge architecture in the world and you’ve got
a picture of Rioja. If you’ve never been to a place like
that, it’s because it’s not easy to find this combination
elsewhere. Rioja’s proximity to Bilbao and San Sebastian
has attracted an unusual combination of creative chefs and
leading architects that makes a trip there one of the most
pleasurable you’ll ever have.
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What do Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva
refer to? These terms refer to the aging process for wines
from Rioja, listed from the traditional terms for youngest
to oldest. Crianza wines require aging in oak barrels at
least 12 months with at least another year in the bottle.
Reserva wines require 36 months aging between barrel
and bottle, with at least 12 months in barrel. Gran Reserva
requires 24 months aging in barrel and a further 36 months
in bottle before release, though many winemakers allow
for additional aging in the bodega. While these three
classifications have strict aging requirements, there are so
many new styles of wine making and aging that have been
developed that the region has added a new class of wine
called Joven. These wines can be released with almost no
aging at all. Each of these categories has its own distinct
taste that has been refined over the two hundred years that
wine has been made in Rioja.
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What should I eat with Rioja? What really makes wines
from Rioja unique are their compatibility with food. For all
of the reasons mentioned above, these wines have the right
levels of acidity and subtle flavor that won’t overwhelm your
food. We love Rioja with Peking duck, chicken satay, BBQ
pork, sautéed wild mushrooms, roasted codfish, and any
kind of hard sheep’s milk cheese we can get our hands on.
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