The Rise of Rioja Wines
by Fraser Neilson
For many people Spanish wine either means
cava - their excellent local sparkling wine made by the same traditional method
as the finest champagnes – or Rioja, the famous red full of ripe fruit
flavours and delicious creamy vanilla.
The name itself refers to wines grown in the
Rioja region of North Eastern Spain which is near the River (or Rio) Oja, hence
the name. Few other wines get the same exposure as the Riojas so it is easy to
forget the number of other great Spanish wines that there are available, which
is not surprising really as Spain has the highest acreage under vine in the
world and cobnsequently a number of very different and very interesting wine
regions.
One of the main selling points of Rioja
wines are their consistent high quality. It
is probably a testament to the Rioja Regulatory Council that the quality control
is generally so good that people know if they spend $13 or $14 on a bottle that
they are pretty much guaranteed a good one.
Rioja wines are made from the Tempranillo
grape, which is sometimes supplemented with Garnacha, Graciano, or Mazuelo and
the actual wine is divided into four main categories based on whole long the
wine is aged for.
After the most basic version of the wine,
simply called Rioja, the categories are as follows :
- Crianza
: Spends at least one year in oak and several months in the bottle.
- Reserva
: These wines are aged for a minimum total of three years which includes at
least one year in oak.
- Gran
Reserva : Aged for at least five years with a minimum of two years in oak and three in the bottle.
And despite these old classifications of the wine, Rioja
is adapting to the impact and competition of New World wines from places such as
Chile and Australia. The vineyards
are aware of the demands of the younger customer - newer wine drinkers who
prefer more fruit driven wines with less oak anf higher levels of alcohol.
The other main competition to Rioja wines
are from vineyards in other parts of Spain itself.
Areas such as La Mancha, Toro and Jumilla are fast making reputations for
themselves for wines in the Rioja style but without the price tag.
La Mancha
however has a little bit of an image problem to address due to in the past
churning out high volumes of lower quality wine which spoiled its reputation.
Nowadays however you can pick up some excellent Rioja quality wines from
the region for under $13 and even blind taste tests cannot pick out the true
Rioja from some of the newer Spanish vineyards.
One of the best qualities of Rioja wines is
that they tend to taste just as good at home as they do when drunk in Spain in
summertime with tapas on a terrace, so drinking often leads to pleasurable
associations and memories. Indeed
Rioja goes brilliantly with all types of food, while also tasting just as good
on its own as a treat in the early evening.
If you like your wine smooth and fruity with
creamy vanilla oak flavours then Rioja could be the wine you are looking for.
Give it a try instead of your usual wine this month – you will not be
disappointed.
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Fraser Neilson is webmaster at www.FairWine.com
and a graduate of the Wines and Spirits Education Trust.
You can find some great wine resources and special offers to help improve your
enjoyment over at www.FairWine.com/resources.html.
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