What type of wine is Rioja?

Answer 1

What and where is Rioja ... Well first of all it’s one of the wine producing regions of Spain…and a famous classic at that. Their wines take the name of their region ... so Rioja is both a wine and a region.

Where is it? ... Well lets unfold the map of Spain ... Its right up in the north of the country ... follow the west coast of France down, until it takes a sharp 90 degrees right at the Pyrenees on the French Spanish border, and then keep going south, inland, for around 100km ... and there you are ... slap bang in the middle of Rioja!

It’s fairly mountainous and there are actually three bits to Rioja ... Rioja Alta ... high Rioja ... Rioja Baja ... Low Rioja and Rioja Alavesa ... Rioja in the province of Alava ... so that’s the geography lesson over with for this morning!

So whats Rioja all about as a wine. Well firstly theres both red and white Rioja ... and that may surprise a lot of people ... though what we're really talking about this morning are the reds ... but bear in mind that there are whites too. So ... just like in many other wine producing countries ... the red Rioja's have to comply with certain rules.

There are only certain grape varieties which can be used ... seven in fact for all Rioja ... and the most used is the Tempranillo grape, which really is viewed as the mainstay of Rioja ... backed up usually by a helping of Garnacha as a minor part in the blend. But it’s the Tempranillo grape which gives Rioja most of its character.

There are also a number of classes of Rioja ... which really depend on the age of the wine and the time it has spent in oak. Young barely oaked Rioja is called Sin Crianza ... the age and oaking then goes up through Crianza and Reserva to Gran Reserva which must be at least 5 years old and have spent at least 2 of those in oak.

So lets get down to the nitty-gritty and see what the attraction is of Rioja. The classic red Rioja taste is of soft strawberry fruit with quite a huge belt of vanilla. The strawberry flavour is very much the signature of the Tempranillo grape ... soft strawberry with some approachable mellow tannins. The vanilla comes from the time that the wine has spent in contact with the oak ... the longer, the more vanilla flavour the oak imparts to the wine. So a Gran Reserva Rioja will have a bigger vanilla flavour than a Crianza Rioja because it has spent more time in oak barrels. And that really is the attraction of red Rioja ... vanilla and strawberries.

So Rioja is only a small part of Spain ... but its important as far as wine goes. Rioja produces both red and white wines, though it’s the reds that are well-known the world over ... a soft strawberry fruit with that belt of vanilla which comes from the oak ... I was going to say that’s Rioja in a nutshell ... but maybe I should say 'that’s Rioja in a barrel!'

Answer 2

Rioja Red Wine

Answer 3

Rioja is a region in Spain with a very old vinicultural history. Rioja wines can come from three subregions: Alta, Alavesa and Baja. Anything from the Rioja region in general is labelled 'Rioja Calificada' and it is based in the Rioja appellation, created by royal decree in 1902. Rioja is the only Spanish wine able to use the term Calificada on its label. It is also labelled for quality depending on the type of aging the wine has gone through. Typical aging marks include:
* Vino de Crianza - one year in a cask, at least three years old
* Reserva - three years old, at least one in oak
* Gran Reserva - two years in oak plus three in the bottle
There are seven types of grapes used in making Rioja. Four are used for the red variety (predominant grape variety: Tempranillo) , which makes up 80% of all production . Three are used for the white variety (predominant grape variety: Viura) , which is another 10%. The final 10% is rose or blush (predominant grape variety: Garnacha)
Red Grapes
# Tempranillo - gentle, berry flavor # Garnacha Tinta - peppery # Graciano - blackberry # Mazuelo - tannin
White Grapes
# Viura - tart # Malvasia - nutty # Garnacha Blanca - heavy

Answer 4

Rioja red wines are classified into four categories. The first, simply labeled "Rioja", is the youngest, spending less than a year in an oak aging barrel. A "crianza" is wine aged for at least two years, at least one of which was in oak. "Rioja Reserva" is aged for at least three years, of which at least one year is in oak. Finally, "Rioja Gran Reserva" wines have been aged at least two years in oak and three years in bottle. Reserva and Gran Reserva wines are not necessarily produced each year. Also produced are wines in a semi-crianza style, those that have had a couple of months oak influence but not enough to be called a full crianza

Rioja is a dry red table wine from the Rioja region of northern Spain

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What type of wine is Rioja?

Answer 6

Rioja is a wine from a region named after the Rio Oja in Spain, a tributary of the Ebro. It is made from grapes grown in the provinces of La Rioja, Southern Álava or Navarre. ... Your continued donations keep Wikipedia running! Rioja From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Answer 7

A full bodied red, Spanish wine.

Answer 8

I think you are asking what grape? Tempranillo is the primary red.

Answer 9

Wanted to ask this question too this morning

Answer 10

why don't you pick a right answer