Rioja DOCa

The Rioja, located in northern Spain, is widely recognized as the country’s leading red wine region. The name is derived from the Rio (river) Oja, a tributary of the larger Ebro, which flows from northern Spain to the Mediterranean. Wine has been produced in Rioja since Roman times, and viticulture has flourished since the 15th Century. Rioja’s wine industry grew around the numerous monasteries founded to serve pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela and the region’s first wine laws date back to this period. The Rioja enjoys an enviable position among Spanish wine regions. Sheltered by the saw-toothed Sierra de Cantabria mountains to the north and west, it is protected from the Atlantic rains that drench Spain’s north coast.