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Rioja is famous for Tempranillo, oak barrels, and the familiar classifications Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva. But behind those words lies a remarkably diverse region shaped by the Ebro River, mountain ranges, changing elevations, and the meeting of Atlantic and Mediterranean climates.

In this episode of The Wine Lab, Andreea explores Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental; the influence of Bordeaux winemaking; the role of American oak; and the grapes that contribute to Rioja’s classic blends. She also looks beyond the cellar to discover Rioja wine in medieval poetry, traditional jotas, harvest celebrations, modern music, and the art collection of the Vivanco Museum.

From fresh, fruit-driven wines to bottles transformed by decades of ageing, Rioja offers an enduring conversation between place, blending, oak, tradition, and change.

Rioja DOCa
The protected wine appellation extending along the Ebro River in northern Spain. Rioja became a Denominación de Origen in 1925 and received the higher Denominación de Origen Calificada status in 1991.

Rioja Alta
The western zone of Rioja, with a relatively strong Atlantic influence. It’s generally associated with cooler conditions, freshness, acidity, and age-worthy Tempranillo-based wines.

Rioja Alavesa
The northern Rioja zone located in Álava, within the Basque Country. Its vineyards often lie on calcareous clay soils beneath the Sierra de Cantabria.

Rioja Oriental
The warmer, more Mediterranean-influenced eastern zone of Rioja, formerly known as Rioja Baja. It has a long history of Garnacha cultivation.

Tempranillo
Rioja’s principal red grape. Its name is connected to the Spanish word temprano, meaning early, referring to its relatively early ripening.

Garnacha
A red variety that can add ripe red fruit, body, warmth, and generosity to Rioja blends. It has particular historical importance in Rioja Oriental.

Graciano
A traditional Rioja variety valued for its acidity, colour, aromatic intensity, and ageing potential.

Mazuelo
The Rioja name for Carignan. It can contribute acidity, tannin, colour, and structure to a blend.

Viura
Rioja’s principal traditional white grape, also known as Macabeo. It’s used for both youthful wines and distinctive barrel-aged whites capable of long development.

Tempranillo Blanco
A white grape that developed through a natural colour mutation discovered on a red Tempranillo vine in 1988.

Generic
Rioja’s broadest and most flexible wine category. It includes many young wines, as well as wines that don’t follow the prescribed maturation requirements for Crianza, Reserva, or Gran Reserva.

Crianza
For red Rioja, a category requiring at least two years of ageing, including a minimum of one year in a 225-litre oak barrel.

Reserva
For red Rioja, a category requiring at least three years of maturation, including a minimum of one year in oak and six months in bottle.

Gran Reserva
For red Rioja, a category requiring at least five years of maturation, including a minimum of two years in 225-litre oak barrels and two years in bottle.

American oak
Oak sourced principally from Quercus alba. It can contribute aromas associated with vanilla, coconut, sweet wood, dill, and spice.

Oak lactones
A group of oak-derived aroma compounds, sometimes called whisky lactones. They’re strongly associated with coconut and woody aromas.

Vino de Zona
A Rioja wine identified as originating from one of the three main production zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, or Rioja Oriental.

Vino de Municipio
A wine produced from grapes associated with a named Rioja municipality or village, according to the appellation’s geographical requirements.

Viñedo Singular
A certified wine from an individual vineyard or defined group of parcels meeting additional rules for vine age, yields, hand harvesting, traceability, and quality evaluation.

Jota riojana
A traditional regional style of song and dance whose verses may address rural life, local communities, humour, courtship, agricultural work, and seasonal celebrations.

Gonzalo de Berceo
A 13th-century poet from the region of present-day La Rioja, generally regarded as the earliest Castilian poet known by name. His writing includes the phrase un vaso de bon vino—a glass of good wine.

Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture
A museum in Briones devoted to the history, technology, archaeology, and artistic culture of wine.

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