Learning about wine: third lesson - Types of grapes
For producing wine the Rioja geography situation in the Valley of Ebro Rive is ideal, its climatic conditions and the constitution of ours soils make my land a privileged place for vine cultivation. Also, provide our wines an inimitable quality. Rioja´s culture can´t understand it without wine, it is the center or our culture. As an example there is an annual Wine Festival, in the town of Haro, that we know as Batalla del Vino where participants conduct a fight with wine. Wine is becoming a differentiator of Rioja´s region and makes its population specialists in this difficult art of wine cultivation. There are different varieties of grape of Rioja wine:
Tempranillo: It is considered to be autochthonous to La Rioja and its Spanish origin is internationally recognized. 31,046 hectares of vineyards are dedicated to growing the Tempranillo varietal.
Garnacha red: It is progressively decreasing in favour of the Tempranillo. Because of the product obtained depends on the circumstances environmental and cultivation.
Mazuelo: Its French origin is internationally recognised under the Carignan Noir designation. Its wines are rich in tannins and rough on the palate.
Graciano: It is considered to be autochthonous variety and minority; it is the most aromatic of all our varietals.
Viura: It is the primary white variety grown in La Rioja. Its wine is considered to be adequate for ageing in wood, which is the traditional way for making white wines in La Rioja.
Malvasía: It produces an interesting must, offering unctuousness and special aroma. Its possibilities in La Rioja are not well known due to the small surface area under cultivation.
Garnacha white: Its Spanish origin is recognised and it may be the result of a mutation of Red Garnacha.