The Rioja

The Rioja

La Rioja is a region in northern Spain , landlocked , crossed by the Ebro and Oja , limited by the Basque Country in the north, through Navarre north and east , by Aragon to the east by Castile and León to the south and west .
The highlight of the province is the San Lorenzo 2271 meters ( Sierra de la Demanda ) .

A region is famous for its wines (DOC Rioja) .

Traces of the oldest known settlements of Neolithic date Rioja . Megalithic monuments are not uncommon .
The region was overrun as throughout Europe by the Celts . The berons founded the city of Varea , close to the current Logroño .
Logroño, it was founded by the Romans in the second century . After the fall of Rome , the Visigoths dominate the whole of Spain .

She was on the pilgrimage way of St. Jacques de Compostela , the Camino Francés . The pilgrims who crossed were at the origin of its economic development.

The Basque language is used in La Rioja

Rioja

The vine was introduced in the region , as Hispania, by the Phoenicians (and their colony of Carthage ) and Romans and even Celtibères also cider drinkers . The earliest documents referring to the vine planted in the region date back to the ninth century AD .

The region and the wine takes its name from the Oja , this small river that flows into the Ebro near the town of Haro
Rioja is arguably Spain 's most famous red wines from the mid-nineteenth siècle.Parmi designations of origin ( Denominacion Origen , DO) in Spain , she is the only one with the priory , to enjoy the DOC distinction

Its scope beyond the limits of La Rioja, and also covers portions of the regions of Navarre , the Basque Country and Castilla y Leon.
The Rioja are fine , aromatic and balanced wines .

There are three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa .

The wine region is located south of the Cantabrian Mountains , in the valley of the Ebro and the Oja ( Rio Oja ) in valleys at a certain altitude and marked by a continental climate. More specifically, the vineyards are typically planted on trays located about 400 m above sea level

The Cantabrian mountains isolate vineyards and protect some weather that would otherwise descend and North Atlantic .

The Roja alta

Covering the west of the appellation, south of Alava, Burgos toward this sub-region is also higher in altitude ( 400-500 m ) the Rioja Baja, and therefore less marked by a hot season shorter , which gives a more conventional , say even closer to the French model non- southern , its wines , lighter . The dominant grape variety is Tempranillo . Temprano word means "early" in Spanish : it matures two weeks before the Grenache.

Rioja Alvesa

This section of the label is located north of the River Ebro in the Basque province of Alava . The climate is similar to the Rioja Alta , yet the wines are rounder and denser but still finesse. The density of vines per hectare is lower due to rocky soil , grape practice that promotes this wealth. As in the Rioja Alta region specializes in tempranillo .