World-renowned wines: Best of Rioja

Rioja is the most famous, most traditional and certainly one of the best wine-growing regions in Spain – what grows here enjoys a worldwide reputation. It is also one of the nuclei of Spanish quality viticulture, as the first bottled wines from the Iberian Peninsula were exported from here in the mid-19th century. The region experienced an enormous transfer of know-how when, towards the end of the 19th century, many winegrowers from Bordeaux left their vineyards on the Gironde, which had been devastated by phylloxera, and emigrated to the Ebro region. What remains from this period is the obligatory barrel ageing in small oak barrels for the top qualities, especially for the Reserva and Gran Reserva quality levels. The soils range from alluvial soils to ferruginous clay soils and limestone-clay soils. The focus is on Tempranillo, Graciano and Garnacha Blanca.