Rioja (wine)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rioja is a wine, with Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja (Protected designation of origin), from a region named after the Rio Oja in Spain, a tributary of the Ebro. Rioja is made from grapes grown in the autonomous communities of La Rioja and Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. La Rioja is further subdivided into three zones (in rising order of warmth) Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja. Rioja Alta is the highest of these zones and is said to produce the best wine. Many wines have traditionally blended fruit from all three regions though there is a slow growth in single zone wines.
Contents |
[edit] History
The harvesting of wine in the Rioja has an ancient lineage, its origins dating back to the Phoenicians and the Celtiberians. The earliest written evidence of the existence of the grape in Rioja dates to 873, in the form of a document from the Public Notary of San Millán dealing with with a donation to the San Andrés de Trepeana (Treviana) Monastery. As was the case in many Mediterranean lands in mediaeval times, monks were the main practitioners of winemaking in the Rioja and great advocates of its virtues. In the thirteenth century, Gonzalo de Berceo, clergyman of the Suso Monastery in San Millán de la Cogolla ( Rioja) and Spain's earliest known poet, mentions the wine in some of his works.
In the year 1063, the first testimony of Rioja viticulture appears in the "Carta de población de Longares" (Letter to the Settlers of Longares). The King of Navarra and Aragon gave the first legal recognition of Rioja wine in 1102. In 1560, harvesters from Longares chose a symbol to represent the quality of the wines. In 1635, the major of Logroño prohibited the passing of carts through streets near wine cellars, in case the vibrations caused a deterioration of the quality of the wine. Several years later, in 1650, the first document to protect the quality of the Rioja wines was drawn up..[1] In 1790, at the inaugral meeting of the Real Sociedad Económica de Cosecheros de Rioja (Royal Economic Society of Rioja Winegrowers), many initiatives as to how to construct, fix, and maintain the roads and other forms of access for transportation of wine were discussed. The Society was established to promote the cultivation and commercialization of Rioja wines and 52 Rioja localities participated.
In 1852, Luciano Murrieta created the first fine wine of the Duque de la Victoria area, having learned the process in Bordeaux. In 1892, the Viticulture and Enology Station of Haro was founded for quality-control purposes. In 1902, a Royal Decree determining the origin of Rioja wines is promulgated. The Consejo Regulador (Regulating Council) was created in 1926 with the objective of limiting the zones of production, expanding the warranty of the wine and controlling the use of the name "Rioja". This Council became legally structured in 1945 and was finally inaugurated in 1953. In 1970 the Regulations for Denominación de Origen were approved as well as Regulations for the Regulating Council. In 1991, the prestigious "Calificada" (Qualified) nomination was awarded to the Rioja, making it Spain's first Denomincación de Origin Calificada (DOCa).
[edit] Viticulture
Rioja wines are normally a blend of various grape varieties, and can be either red (tinto), white (blanco) or rosé (rosado). La Rioja has a total of 57,000 hectares cultivated, yielding 250 million litres of wine annually, of which 85% is red.
Among the Tintos, the best-known and most widely-used variety is Tempranillo. Other grapes used include Garnacha Tinta, Graciano, and Mazuelo. Whereas one wine maker, Marques de Riscal, is permitted to grow and use Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot by special dispensation and other wineries also have experimental plantings of these varietals, a more typical blend will consist of approximately 60% Tempranillo and upto 20% Grenache, with much smaller proportions of Mazuelo and Graciano. With Rioja Blanco, Viura is the prominent grape (also known as Macabeo) and is normally blended with some Malvasía and Garnacha Blanca. Rosados are mostly derived from Grenache grapes.[2]
Rioja red wines are classified into four categories. The first, simply labeled "Rioja," is the youngest, spending less than a year in an oak aging barrel. A "crianza" is wine aged for at least two years, at least one of which was in oak. "Rioja Reserva" is aged for at least three years, of which at least one year is in oak.
Finally, "Rioja Gran Reserva" wines have been aged at least two years in oak and three years in bottle. Reserva and Gran Reserva wines are not necessarily produced each year. Also produced are wines in a semi-crianza style, those that have had a couple of months oak influence but not enough to be called a full crianza. According to the official classification, recent excellent vintages were 1982, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2004 and 2005. [3]
[edit] Production
- Red wines. There are two methods of production for Red wines: carbonic maceration (traditional of the harvesters, for its early commercial release) and another one in which the (raspón) of the cluster is eliminated before the fermentation (used by the companies owners of a wine cellar, for aging).
- White wines. The grape passes whole to the colander, and the (raspones) and peels are removed, what is obtained is fermentated.
- Rose wines. The grape is stripped before going to the colander and it is slightly squeezed. It then goes to maceration of the liquid with the peels. The product of this is decanted before fermentation.
[edit] Aging
Harvesting is made in oak barrels of 225 liters for one to three years. The wine is later aged in the bottle for a period ranging from six months to six years.
