Rioja, Spain

Rioja is a wine region in North Central Spain. There are 63,593 hectares of vineyards divided between three provinces on the Upper Ebro – La Rioja (43,885 ha), Alava (12,934 ha) and Navarre (6,774 ha). The wine region produces 280 to 300m litres of wine annually, of which 90% is red and the rest a mixture of white and rosé. Many wines have traditionally blended fruit from all three areas, though there is a slow growth in single-zone wines. The local key grapes are Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuela(Carignan), Maturana, Viura (Macabeo), Garnacha Blanca, Malvasía, Chardonnay and Maturana Blanca. Rioja wines are also the most famous Spanish wine on the American market, known for its structure and tannins, similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, but it also has a fruity characteristic.