Where is Rioja wine from?

Those searching for high quality wines to gift to prospective clients, business partners, or loved ones are likely to have come across the name Rioja. This Spanish winemaking region lives up to its reputation, producing some of the finest red wines and white wines found anywhere in the world. The traditional techniques used allow the growing climate and history of these wines to shine through with every sip. Continue reading for more information on Rioja wine and the region itself.

What is a Rioja wine?

At the time of writing, it has been almost a century since wine laws were established in Rioja. These regulations still exist today to control production techniques and specify rules around ageing. The classifications for Rioja wines include:

• Joven: wine that hasn’t been oak aged at all.
• Crianza: wine aged for a minimum of one year in oak barrels and one year in the bottle before public release.
• Reserva: wine that has spent one year in oak barrels, followed by two in the bottle.
• Gran Reserva: wine usually made in the best vintage periods, where the fruit quality is rich enough to support two years in oak barrels and up to three in bottles.

Some examples of quality include El Puntido and Sierra Cantabria Privada Colleccion, both Tempranillo red wine. While the two aforementioned wines are both reds, drinkers can also find delicious white wines from this region such as Sierra Cantabria Blanco. Any of these wines could be a great fit for our wooden wine gift boxes.

Origin of Rioja wines

Rioja fine wines get their name from the Rioja region in Spain. Rather confusingly, this does not lie in the same geography as the La Rioja administrative region. Instead, it is a roughly 54,000 hectare area that stretches across a small portion to the north of the country just west of Barcelona. It can be broken down into three distinct sections – the Rioja Alta in the west, the Rioja Alavesa to the east, and the Rioja Oriental to the south.

This area is responsible for producing many of the country’s most famous wines, in large part due to the abundance of Tempranillo and Garnacha grape varieties. That being said, the terroir of Rioja allows a great range of grapes to be harvested throughout the year. The notable inclusions are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Turruntés.

Fine wine gifts for clients and employees

Jean Juviniere are here to help you get the most out of your wine gifting efforts. We have a range of corporate gifts for clients which can incorporate the exquisite fine wines we are proud to stock. This includes unique branded cases and boxes of wines from premier winemaking regions such as Rioja, Burgundy, and more. If you have your heart set on a particular production region, simply tell us when you book your personal wine tasting.