Ribera del Duero

Home to Vega Sicilia, Spain’s most prestigious bodega, Ribera del Duero literally means the banks of the River Duero and produces outstanding wines for drinking at all ages thanks to a trinity of landscape, climate and its native grape Tempranillo (also known as Tinto Fino or Tinta del País).


In recent years the introduction of modern wine-making technology and serious investment has transformed Ribera del Duero, although its vinicological roots run deep: by the 17th century the bodegas of Aranda del Duero were producing millions of litres of wine, a tradition first brought to the area by monks repopulating a frontier wasteland between the Moors of the Peninsula and the reconquering Christians from the North.

Located in south-eastern Castilla y León, the River Duero meanders west into Portugal where it becomes the Douro, the fabled port river. The vineyards of Ribera spread out north and south of the river for 115 kilometres of its course, running up the valley sides to the páramos – the meadows traditionally given over to the production of cereal crops but where some enologists are now planting vines.

Altitudes varying between 700 and 850 metres are the key to the Tempranillo grape’s success. Extremes of temperature even during the high summer are guaranteed, with hot days followed by cold nights. The stress in the grapes which this provokes helps them to maintain their acidity, giving them their great capacity for ageing.

The other factor which makes Ribera wines special is their "crianza" or ageing in oak barrel and then bottle. Many spend a minimum of 15 months in barrel and then at least a year in bottle. During the ageing process it is normal for wines to pass through a variety of barrels, including American oak as well as French, Ukrainian and Spanish, giving the concept of a "lenta crianza" carried out with "mucho esmero" a slow ageing process carried out with great care.



This is at odds with the practice common among New World producers to try to force the pace with micro-oxigination techniques and the use of wood chips.
The vast majority of bodegas in Ribera’s 186 million square metres of vineyards produce 100 per cent mono-varietal wines, usually labelled Tempranillo. Some, including Vega Sicilia, do use quantities of the other authorised grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Tinta and Merlot, Malbec and the rare white grape Albilla (although only red and rosado wines are covered by the D.O, established in 1982).

Because of the region’s extremes of climate, its dryness and well-drained soils, the vines are disease-resistant. A lot of the wines are drunk young or just after a few months of ageing, but the most important producers believe that Ribera’s future lies in its Reservas and Gran Reservas. Wines vary from bright, fresh, jewel-bright through elegance and subtle spiciness, improving for up to ten years while retaining their deep black raspberry colouring.

Ribera was established as a D.O. with a handful of bodegas, among them Pesquera, established in 1972 by Alejandro Fernández. Today there are more than 200, including large co-operatives, small family-run bodegas and single estate bodegas.

Rioja

The words Rioja and Spanish wine are practically synonymous. The area is the most famous wine-producing region in the Iberian peninsula and has gained a deserved worldwide reputation for the quality of its red wines.

Located in the north of Spain in and around the historic city of Logroño, La Rioja was once the site of an inland sea. It is sheltered from the more extreme climates of the surrounding areas by the Ebro valley and the mountains that lie to the north and south. The area takes its name from the Río Oja, a tributary of the Ebro and is divided into three sub-regions known as Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja partly because of the different micro-climates and soils to be found in the area.



Rioja Alta, with its more continental climate, has the reputation for producing the best wines, better suited for aging, and accounts for some 42% of the production. Rioja Alavesa is characterised by young vines and relatively small producers, while Rioja Baja, with its more Mediterranean climate, is famed for its strong reds and rosés.

Vine cultivation in the upper Ebro valley dates back to Roman times, while the monasteries scattered across the region and close to the Camino de Santiago helped ensure the preservation and extension of production after the fall of the Empire. It was not until the second half of the 19th century, however, that Rioja really came into its own and developed the reputation that has made it so famous today. With the arrival of phylloxera in France in 1867, the demand for Rioja soared while many enologists relocated south of the Pyrenees bringing with them their extensive knowledge and experience.

One of the new arrivals was the Marqués de Riscal, Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, who returned to Spain after studying in Paris and Bordeaux to set up the first modern French-style bodega in the zone in 1860. Fellow aristocrat the Marqués de Murrieta shared many of his ideas and they became the leading promoters of the new brand of Riojan wines.

Nowadays the annual production has reached 300 million litres, 85% of which is red wine. Together with Catalunya’s Priorat, Rioja is the only region in Spain to receive the DOC (Denominación de Origen Califacada) label which means its wine is subject to more rigorous controls.

The dark, thick-skinned tempranillo grape is the stalwart of Riojan reds, but it is often blended with the garnacha, mazuelo, graciano and viura varieties. The result is a mellow, medium-flavoured, smooth wine that provides an ideal complement to the characteristic red meat dishes that are popular throughout Spain.

A short history of Spanish wine

The Origins
The origins of wine making in Spain go so far back into the dim and distant past that no one is really very sure when vines were first introduced into the Iberian peninsula. Most people lay the credit at the door of the Phoenicians who probably brought them over to the Levantine and Andalucian coast as their trading empire expanded westwards during the first millennium BC. Spanish wines quickly became one of the most frequently traded products in the Mediterranean.

The Romans, who invaded Spain in 218 BC, certainly appreciated the local tipple and quickly became masters of viticulture in the peninsula, bringing with them practices such as the addition of resins and aromatic essences. The trade was so strong that it continued to prosper under Visigoth rule following the collapse of the Empire.

Although the fermentation of alcoholic drinks was prohibited by the Koran, it didn’t mean that wine-making died out during Moorish rule. In fact most of the ruling Caliphs tolerated its production in Christian monasteries.

Consolidation
It was the monastic orders that consolidated production with a corridor of vineyards springing up along the medieval pilgrimage trail, the Camino de Santiago, that ran across the north of the country from France to Compostela. A 12th century monk from Burgundy named Raymond de Citeaux is credited for introducing the variety of grape that eventually became known as tempranillo and his Franciscan colleague Eiximenis did much to popularise wine by writing a book extolling the virtues of moderate drinking and warning of the dangers of drunkenness. He recommended partaking of three to four glasses of wine with each meal!

In the 14th century King Alfonso XI tried to enourage domestic production by introducing the first protectionist measures against foreign wines, while early trading contacts between the Andalucian city of Jerez and England began to develop. Wine-making really took off after the Reconquista ended Moorish rule and by the 15th century Jerez was regularly exporting its produce to the English port of Bristol. Spanish fortified wines or “vinos generosos” became so popular that they get an honourable mention in both Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Expansion
The English soon began to get a taste for the Mediterranean reds known as Tent (or Tinto de Alicante) and for Sack (vinos de “saca”) which hailed from Jerez, the Canary islands and Malaga. But Jerez remained the most sought-after of the Spanish wines. In the 16th century, Sir Francis Drake raided the city of Cadiz and made off with about 3,000 barrels of the stuff as he “singed the king of Spain´s beard”, while Charles I rated it as his favourite beverage.

By the 18th century English, Irish and French merchants such as Osborne, Harvey, Croft, Terry, Garvey and Domeq had set up headquarters in Jerez. Riojan wines grew in popularity too as did those from the vineyards of Catalunya.

The French connection
Rioja began to build its reputation in the 19th century when the region began the production of “Bordeaux-style” fine wines. The onset of the vine-destroying phylloxera epidemic in France also gave it a valuable boost. Many French winemakers fled south of the Pyrennees, bringing with them clean vines to establish new vineyards in Spain. The Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Penedés regions were particularly popular destinations.



With the influx came the introduction of new methods, machinery and grape varieties. The first modern style bodega was set up as an imitation of a Bordeaux chateau by the Marqués de Riscal in 1860 and his wine became the the first Rioja to be bottled. Exports to France soared in the wake of the phylloxera epidemic. Fortunately by the time it finally reached Spain a solution had been found to put an end to the problem by grafting on an American rootstock immune to disease.

The 19th century also witnessed the development of a new variety of wine – cava. After visits to the Champagne region of France, Catalan winemaker Josep Raventos began the production of a Spanish sparkling wine in 1872 and soon after the first bottled cava, Can Cordorniú, came off the production line. The Vega Sicilia bodega, which came to produce Spain’s most prized red, was established just after the turn of the century in 1915.

The Modern era
But it was not all smooth progress. The Spanish winemaking industry was hit by crisis in the 1930s and 1940s, suffering from abandonment and neglect during the Civil War as well as a succession of poor harvests.

After decades in the wilderness, the industry experienced a renaissance shortly after Franco’s death. There was a major technical revolution in the 1980s and over the next decade increasing emphasis was placed on the production of quality wines. Today the country is at the forefront of modern viticulture with its vineyards and bodegas combining the experience and wisdom that come from thousands of years of wine-making together with state-of-the-art methods and technology.