“It was the Romans who first established La Rioja as a winemaking region. They planted vineyards along the banks of the Ebro river and used it to transport the wine they made here to their colonies all over Europe. That’s why the region is shaped the way it is – it follows the Ebro for 120 kilometers.”
“Rioja as a winemaking brand came about towards the end of the 19th Century. The phylloxera epidemic that wiped out the French vineyards drove winemakers from Bordeaux to La Rioja to find an alternative location to make their style of wine. They brought with them the Bordeaux winemaking tradition that still influences how Rioja is made today.”
“In the 1920s, winemakers from the region came together to establish Spain’s first Denominación de Origen – similar to a French appellation. They founded D.O.C. Rioja to ensure the quality of the wine in the region – so nobody could make bad wine and market it off the back of the name Rioja.”