Welcome to Ribera y Rueda
Buen Provecho!
Spain’s most prestigious regions for red and white wines.
Welcome to Spain!
Winemaking for Spain’s most prestigious wine regions for red and white wines began almost 2,000 years ago. It’s a wonder anyone would have thought to plant grapes in these regions of extreme temperatures, blisteringly hot summers, bitterly cold winters, rocky terrain, and high altitudes.
The flag of Castilla y León bears images of castles and lions – the coat of arms commissioned by leaders centuries ago. But the presence of the many castles scattered throughout the region and the symbolic watchful eye of the lion has persisted. This symbolism represents the name of an expansive region and a sense of purpose and prestige.
Castilla y León in Northwest Spain
A Place of History, Strength, Grace and Grandeur
Ribera del Duero and Rueda are set in the larger region of Castilla y León. Just as the name implies, Castilla y León is the land of castles and lions, a place where history, strength, grace, majesty, and grandeur combine to create a region with gravity and meaning, camaraderie, and vibrant tables.
The landscape in these two regions, located just two hours north of Madrid, represents a bit of a paradox. It is at once harsh, extreme, and ostensibly inhospitable to anything that grows. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll find vines that have been producing Spain’s number one selling white wine (Verdejo) and noble red wine (Tempranillo) for over a century.
Castles Amongst the Vines
Tempranillo is the King of Spanish Grapes
The Ribera and Rueda regions are defined by the Duero River and thousands of years of religion, survival, transformation, and winemaking. The castles in the Ribera del Duero are the physical representations of this. Today, these stately edifices play host to visitors and call to mind the region’s history, strength, power, and determination.
Aging wines in tunnels under castles and in caves is synonymous with Spain. Keeping with this is the desire for fruit-balanced wines combined with distinctive earthy flavors that emerge from these natural aging environments. In the glass, wines from Ribera are a reflection of the earth, climate, and soil in which the grapes grow. So too the barrel and bottle aging that brings complexity and ultimately a path to successful food pairings.
Verdejo: Strength and Grace
The spirit of the lioness, the heart of a lion.
Rueda’s Verdejo is a sleek white wine that, with its grace and light-footedness, calls to mind its animal spirit. Because it is made in three distinct styles – joven or young, lees-aged (to bring creaminess and texture to the wine), and oak-aged (to add structure and cellar-worthy qualities) – it is at once unpredictable and exciting, graceful, and balanced.
When choosing a style of Verdejo and the foods to go with it, one need only invoke the stately image of the lion at different ages to help make those choices. For example, a joven-style Verdejo (bright, fresh, crisp) and a lion cub share common characteristics – light on their feet, playful, sly, and lively. The adolescent lion, its power still waiting to be unleashed, will signify a slightly richer wine style. Once fully matured, the adult lioness reaches its strength and brings forth complexity during aging just as an oak-aged, world-class Verdejo will do.
Winemaking dates back 2,000+ years and boasts a culture rich history.
Extreme growing conditions have made this the premier wine region for red and whites.
World-class winemakers moved to Rueda and Ribera del Duero to make the best red and white wines in Spain.
First appellation in Spain to receive the Designation of Origin for white wine.
Your Next Wine Country Destination
Castles dominate the landscape in these regions, a nod to the days of territorial control and protection, and they also serve as symbolic guards over the centuries-old vines along with the “newer” ones – 40 years old or more. So too the more recently planted ones.
The old vines wear the signs of age with their thick burly trunks, stalky vines, and orderly separation from their vineyard brethren. They are not to be trained and trestled. Instead, each stands alone, reaching deep for the water and nutrients below…
Land of Lions & Castles
Get to Know Rueda
Winemaking began in Rueda around 1,000 years ago
The Yeast & Aging Movement in Rueda
Sobre Lias is “On the Lees”
You’ve seen it on the bottle and maybe you’ve heard it in your wine wanderings, but do you really know what the phrase “on the lees” means? Written as sobre lías in Spanish, it is an integral part of winemaking for some winemakers in the Spanish region of Rueda, where the Verdejo grape reigns supreme. We set out to find out why.
Nothing short of a miracle
Tempranillo: From Vineyard to Glass
Ribera del Duero Tempranillo – Tinta del País as it’s known locally – may still be the best kept secret in all of Spain. But for those in the know, they know it as the wine that brings intensity, richness, complexity, skill, and history like none other. It’s also the reason we celebrate International Tempranillo Day every November. A grape and region this worthy deserves its own day of celebration.
