Vendimia in La Rioja

Fall has arrived in La Rioja, one of Spain's most important wine capitals.  La Rioja, home of delicious red crianzas and reservas, is now in its stage of vendimia, or grape harvest.  A drive through the rolling hills of La Rioja opens your eyes to green vines snaking their ways across, dripping with grapes of all shapes and sizes, colors and genres.  Below you will see a myriad of photos of my trip to bodega Valenciso, located just outside of a charming Riojan pueblo called Ollauri, in the Northwest of La Rioja.  The harvesting process begins in La Rioja in the beginning of October, but the higher the altitude, the longer you wait to pick the grapes.  Since Valenciso's vineyards are located at a higher altitude than many other bodegas, I was still in time to see (and taste) some of the grapes. We arrived to the bodega just as the sun was about to set, and were given a tour of the vineyard as well filled in on the history of the vines.  I learned that the oldest vines in La Rioja are 120 years old.  The ones we saw (pictured below) are 80-90 years old. 

These grapes are some of the best I've ever tried.  Imagine being able to pick up a bunch of wine grapes at the grocery store.  It's so normal here. They are so fresh and have a sweet, pure grape flavor.  

After a stroll through the countryside, we drove a short ways to the bodega grounds, where the winemaking process was beginning to take shape.  Below you can see a birds eye view of the tanks filled with grapes, being squished and filtered.

We were then given a tour of the reserve wines, in barrels...as well as a bottle of wine larger than the average female.  Below is Javi's mother and her friend Estrella.

Welcome to the home of over 150 wineries living amongst 123,000 acres of planted vineyards.  Vendimia in La Rioja dates back to the Phoenicians and Celtiberians, with the first written evidence of grapes in the form of a Public Notary document to the Monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla (pictured below).  

View of Monastery de Yuso in San Millán de la Cogolla.

During the medieval times, monks were the main producers of wine in La Rioja.  Wine was mentioned by one of Spain's earliest poets in his works, and in 1102 the King of Navarra and Aragon legally recognized Rioja wine.  From the 17th century onwards, Rioja's society has promoted the cultivation and comercialization of its wine.  In 1991, La Rioja became Spain's first region to be awarded with the nomination deeming its wine "calificada".  It is now required that all Rioja wine's wear a label classifying it under a "Denominación de origen calificada" (a qualified denomination of origin).  

Look for this stamp on Spanish wine to know that it has been nominated of "Denominación de Origen Calficada".  Top left is for wines from 2007, a typical, younger tinto, or red wine.  Top right is for wines from 2005, or crianza wines.  Bottom left is for wines from 2003, or reserva wines.  Bottom right is for wines from 2001, or gran reserva wines.  They are in order of age and usually, price. Stay tuned for more visits to Bodegas in La Rioja!