Focus on Varietals: Rioja
I always say it’s easy to find a great bottle of $150+ wine. It’s rare to cross this price point and be truly disappointed by what’s in your glass.
With Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon selling at an average of $8,000 a ton, and one ton producing about 720 bottles, you quickly see how much of the cost of your bottle of Napa Cabernet is just fruit cost.
Then you add bottling cost, labor, cellaring, and shipping and well, there you go with the recent increase in pricing.
Add to this regions like Burgundy getting hit by frost, or CA AVA’s getting hit by fires and even earthquakes and you have a global wine inflation phenomenon.
So where can one find value from an old world region with strict DOCG standards, proven quality and the ability to pair across a wide spectrum of proteins and dishes … Enter – Rioja!
If you love the structure of Cabernet Sauvignon but could use a bit less tannins and fruit expression up front, if you enjoy the acidity of profile of a Chianti but could use a longer finish, and if you enjoy Grenache but could use less alcohol and ripeness, well, I’m pretty sure you’ll love Tempranillo! This being the main varietal used in Rioja red wines. Yes, the main, not the only, because the first thing to know about Riojas is that they are a blend of areas and grapes.
Tempranillo is a big wine with high tannin that buddies up to any piece of rich meat. This grape is hugely popular around the world but the grapes’ true homeland is on the Iberian Peninsula.
Rioja is in North Central Spain in a valley along the Ebro River. The entire valley is surrounded by the Sierra Cantabria, a small but jagged mountain range that stops clouds and protects from storms hitting the Rioja valley.
The Rioja region is rich with history. Archeological finds show that Romans produced wine in this region and used the Ebro River to transport the wine to Rome and the rest of the empire.
Fast forward to the modern era where Europe gets hit by Phyloxerra (this is another one of those future blog entries that will be dedicated solely to the subject), a nasty bug that destroys grape vines from the root and, by some estimates, nearly wiped out as much as 60% of all European vineyards in the 1880’s.
As this bug spread from France to Italy and wineries saw rows and rows of vines die in a matter of weeks, French winemakers were desperate to move production and find non-infected land.
Rioja benefitted from being relatively isolated up north and it wasn’t until the late 1880’s when the bug finally reached the region. By then however, we in the United States had provided the solution to save European vines (sadly, we were also kind of the problem to start with) and new plantings in Rioja were grafted unto American root stock. As it turned out, America rootstock was significantly more resilient to the bug! Eventually, the French went back to Bordeaux and re-grafted vines and waited for those to produce wine-quality fruit. The French influence, technology, oak barrels and capital remained in Rioja though, giving birth to the region in the global wine trade.
It wasn’t until nearly a century later though, partially due to the Spanish civil war, other wars in Europe and the lack of investment in the region, that Rioja really took off.
Early 1900’s drawing
Infected vine with eggs on leaf
The 1970 vintage is considered by many to be “the vintage” of the century which placed Riojas as some of the best wines in the world. It took another 20 years, however, for the government to intervene and grant Rioja DOC status. This not only protected the region but also elevated the quality standards even more.
In 1991, Rioja wines were the first DOC in Spain and back then only a handful in Europe. Ever since, the “Consejo” of Rioja has successfully placed production and aging requirements that, to this date, make Rioja one of the strictest DOC’s in Europe.
So, now on to what it means to be a Rioja wine.
The area is split into 3 sections: Rioja Baja, Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa.
As shown in the map below.
White Rioja is typically made using Viura, Garnacha Blance and Malvasia.
Rose can be a blend of both white and red varietals. Below are the main varietals with current production rates as per the Rioja DOC council.
Rioja is also categorized into 4 quality levels.
Where most DOC/DOCG’s have some form of quality assurance and rankings, Rioja goes beyond this with their own classification system. Below is a great illustration by Wine Folly which I think will do a good job explaining this classification system.
I always like to highlight the fact that pretty much ANY Rioja wine you find in the market was already pre-checked for quality AND cellared for you.
When we find new world red wines being released one year after harvest (I won’t name names but certain South American red varietals grown near the Andes and we know who they are…) the fact that Rioja wines can sell for $10-15 and have THIS level of quality standard, aging and overall delicious taste is what really makes this region a gem in the wine world!
Next time you’re at Café Escadrille, be sure to find me – we have an ever-growing selection of these beautiful wines and I would love to share them with you!