LARIOJAALTA

RIOJA ALTAWINE ROUTE

The Rioja Alta Wine Route starts in the northwest of La Rioja, thepart of the region where wine and culture achieve their maximumexpression. This is the territory where the winemaking tradition ismost deeply rooted. From the Obarenes mountains to the foothillsof the Najerilla valley and from the river Ebro, frontier and union,to the Saint James Pilgrims' Way, Rioja Alta shows off its townsand districts, where wine is an ever-present feature which appearsat every turn along its paths and on every corner in its towns andvillages.

It is precisely in the area surrounding these towns that we can enjoya unique natural environment, that of wine and its historical andartistic heritage, the result of a history marked by frontiers whichunited. The scenery of the Rioja Alta is marked by its vineyardswhich stretch far into the distance, as far as the eye can see. Fromthe towns and villages, some of them quite literally hilltop lookoutswhich stand out on the horizon, for example Briones, San Vicentede la Sonsierra and Haro itself, you can look across seas of vines.However, the natural environment of the Rioja Alta is much morediverse than it may seem at first sight: the Sierra de Cantabria andToloño, the Montes Obarenes range and the banks of the Ebroand lower reaches of the Oja - Tirón and Najerilla hide other riches.

Wine is everywhere in the Rioja Alta. Not just in the territory and thelandscape, but also in every other aspect of life in the region. Inthe bodegas, many of which are over a hundred years old, youcan find a combination of tradition and modern technology appliedto winemaking. Practically all the villages have their own “BodegaQuarter”, as in San Asensio, for example, not to mention the historic“Station Quarter” in Haro. Ventilation chimneys, known as “tuferas”and the vineyard shelters or “guardaviñas” are a familar part of thelandscape all along the Route. What's more, the world of wineleaves its mark on the traditions and culture of the towns andvillages, with festivals connected to wine, from the famous “WineBattles” of Haro and San Asensio, the latter using the local “clarete”wine, to more recent cellar open days which quite a number oftowns arrange.

Finally, history has left its mark on the Rioja Alta. A “crossroads”and “border country”, this forms part of the History of La Rioja. TheEbro served as a frontier for the various tribes, empires andkingdoms which passed through the region. The fortresses andcastles remind us of the middle ages, particularly those of Davalilloin San Asensio, Briones, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Sajazarra,among others. Romanesque shrines, Gothic churches andRenaissance and Baroque followed one after another leaving suchgems as the Monastery of the Piedad in Casalarreina.

In a nutshell, these are the Rioja Alta's letter of introduction, alongwith the hospitality of the locals and the charm of its communities.

Rioja Alta wine route

To speak about the Rioja Alta is to speakabout wine and the landscape ischaracterised by the vines. In some placesthese occupy a major part of the municipalland. In many other cases, the vineyardsextend, one after another, crossing localboundaries. From east to west and fromnorth to south, the vine is king and istransformed into a common element in allits towns and villages.

It is a land in which the hand of man,through his connection with vine growing,has created a particular, clearly identifiable,landscape. Vines have been grown in thedistrict for centuries, with roots which arelost in the mists of time. The vineyardshave continued to spread more and morewidely with the passing generations, takingover the space which was formerly usedfor cultivating other crops such as cereals.

But the lands of the Rioja Alta hide otherattractions, as well as its vineyards. To thenorth, crossing the Ebro, we find theSonsierra, dominated by the Sierra deCantabria and Toloño mountains. Ábalos,Briñas and San Vicente are the only townsin La Rioja situated on the right bank of

the Ebro and behind them, these peaksof over 1,000 metres in height are coveredwith beech and pine and represent anunbeatable place for looking out over thewhole of the Ebro valley and the mountainranges to the south of La Rioja. Continuingwest, after passing through the cliffs of theConchas de Haro, the Montes Obarenes,which separate La Rioja from Castilla yLeón, appear, and in their foothills you canfind some charming small communities.

We cannot overlook the presence of theriver Ebro, which runs through the wholeof La Rioja. A frontier and a point of union,the Ebro forms part of the landscape ofthe Rioja Alta. The main communicationroutes by road or rail run parallel to it. Itnever goes out of view or at least you arealways conscious that it is nearby. Itsbanks, thickets of vegetation and tall poplartrees are a complement to the nearbyvines. But in the Rioja Alta, the part of theEbro which really stands out are themeanders. The river snakes its way fromHaro to San Asensio, disappearing andreappearing. The meanders of Haro, SanAsensio and Briones are visible fromvarious observation points.

Also, along the Ebro are the lower reachesand outlets of three of the seven tributariesof the river in La Rioja, the Oja and theTirón, which end together in Haro, afterpassing through Casalarreina andCuzcurrita, and the Najerilla, whichcontinues through the vineyards as far asTorremontalbo.

The Rioja Alta reveals its secrets to usthrough numerous hiking routes, pathsand byways. These are the Senderos delVino, dozens of kilometres which allowyou to enjoy at close quarters not just thevines but also the rest of the landscape,the views towards the north and the southof La Rioja, with the Sierra de la Demanda,as well as the villages you will find alongthe way. Towns and villages with a historywhich seems to jump out at you with everystep.

A Land to be Enjoyed

You cannot understand the Rioja Altawithout the world of wine. As well as alandscape, wine is a culture, a tradition,an identity. Although the involvement inwine growing is recorded since the timeof the Roman occupation, the real turningpoint was in the second half of the 19thcentury. The introduction of the Bordeauxsystem for making and ageing wines inoak casks meant a leap in quality for Riojawines. This was when Rioja winesachieved wider recognition and prestige.Their cradle was the Rioja Alta.

Haro became the epicentre of thewinemaking world, as is witnessed by thecentury-old bodegas and the “StationQuarter” which still remain, their originalarchitecture largely intact, a uniquephenomenon and home to some of theregions most important cellars. Other

towns such as Briones, Cenicero, SanAsensio and San Vicente de la Sonsierrahave also preserved their old wine cellars.

The “Bodega Quarters” of the towns andvillages of the Rioja Alta are anothersignificant example of the district's closeties to the world of wine. Some of thesesmall, family cellars carved into the rockcontain wine caves over three centuriesold. This is the case of San Asensio, wherethe cellar quarter has over three hundredbodegas. Other towns, such as Ceniceroand Rodezno, hide their cellars beneaththeir houses and streets, with the typicalventilation chimneys or tuferas poppingout of the ground, in the case of Briñasmaking whole forests.

A world of Wine

Abandoning the towns, in among the vinesyou will find the shelters or guardaviñas.These pretty, conically-shaped buildings,some of them preserved since the 19thcentury, sprout up all over the fields andserved as shelters from inclement weatherfor growers and labourers.

As well as the bodegas dotted along theRioja Alta Wine Route you can also visitmuseums which explain aspects related towinegrowing. The Dinastía Vivanco Museumof the Culture of Wine has become the mostimportant of its kind in the whole of Europewith regard to the world of wine. In SanAsensio there is the Centro Sensorial delVino. La Vista, which shows us thelandscape, vines and wine itself from theperspective of the sense of sight. And inHaro you can visit the hundred-year oldEstación Enológica de Haro wine laboratory,which was created just at the time whenRioja wine began to flourish.

A world of Wine

La Rioja was always frontier land, a territorydisputed by the different groups who inturn arrived in the Iberian Peninsula. In thisrespect, the Rioja Alta, as it borders on theriver Ebro, suffered these vicissitudes muchmore directly. The remains of the earliestsettlers of the region have been found inpoints such as Peciña, where La Cascajadolmen resists the passage of time. Afterthe tribes of the Berones and PelendonesRomanisation took hold, and a Romanroad was built parallel to the Ebro, as ameans of penetration into the IberianPeninsula.

Following the Fall of the Roman Empire,the Rioja Alta, like the rest of La Rioja,found itself enmeshed in the territorialdisputes between Visigoth and Cantabriankings. But these were also times ofspirituality and hermits. San Felices receivedSan Millán in the caves of the Bilibio cragsand the whole of the Sonsierra was full ofhermit cells where monks and anchoriteswithdrew in prayer and meditation.

In the Middle Ages the border conflictsblew up again in the Rioja Alta. First the

Moors, who abandoned the territory in the10th century, and then the strugglesbetween the Christian kingdoms of Navarreand Castile marked the territory. Thesewere five centuries of confrontationsbetween the two thrones and internalconflicts which affected La Rioja. The leftbank ended up in the hands of Castile andthe right went to Navarre, including theSonsierra. It was not until late in the 15thcentury that the modern day Riojan territorywholly came under the Castilian crown.

As well as the castles and fortresses whichserved as defensive bastions, numerousshrines and churches have come down tous. The Romanesque shrine of SantaMaría de la Piscina or the Gothic churchof Santa María de la Mayor in San Vicentede la Sonsierra represent only a small partof the rich heritage of the district. TheMonastery of the Piedad in Casalarreina,dating from the 16th century, is the mostsuccessful example of the Plateresquestyle in the whole of La Rioja. Renaissanceand Baroque churches such as NuestraSeñora de la Asunción in Briones, havetowers and spires which stand out above

the towns and can be seen from afar. Thechurches of the Rioja Alta are full of smalldetails, such as the characteristic Baroquefaçade of San Miguel Arcángel in Cuzcurritade Río Tirón, with a top to its spire whichhas a style of its own.

Indeed, in all the towns and villages wecannot help but admire the noblemen'shouses, palaces and mansions whichcreate impressive old quarters. Losingyourself in the labyrinth streets of Ábalos,Briñas, Briones, Casalarreina, Cuzcurritadel Río, Haro, etc., is to admire thesebuildings and the very fabric that makesup these communities, a mixture of history,wine and hospitality.

The mark of History