• La Rioja is located in North Central Spain, approximately a 4 hour drive from Madrid.
• The region of Denominacion de Origen Rioja covers an area of 48,444 hectares and is divided into 3 sub regions - Alavesa, Alta and Baja.
• The Rioja produces red, white and rose still wines with the exception of a few wineries that also produce Cava, a wine made using the method champenoise.
• The main grapes used for the red wines are the Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Rioja red wines are blends of the different varieties with the Tempranillo grape accounting for at least 75% of the blend.
• The main grape varieties used for the white wines are the Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha blanca. At least 90% of Rioja white wines are made exclusively from the Viura grape.
• The rose wines from Rioja are made using the Garnacha variety.
• The periods of Ageing for the wines of Rioja vary by category.
  • Red wines aged 12 months in oak barrel and some months in bottle are classified as "Crianza"
  • Red wines with a minimum ageing of 36 months between barrel and bottle, of which a minimun ageing of 12 months must be in oak barrels are classified as "reserva"
  • Red wines that are aged for 24 months in oak barrels and 36 months in bottle are classified as "Gran Reserva".
  • The white and rose wine ageing classification periods are much less than that of the red. White and rose wines that have been aged for 6 months in oak barrels are classified as " Crianza".
  • Wines with a minimum of 6 months on oak and 18 months in bottle are classified as "Reserva".
  • Wines with 6 months in oak and 42 months in bottle are classified as "Gran Reserva".
• Rioja's production varies from year to year, but on average Rioja produces 1,400,000 hectolitres.
• There are at present 258 wineries in Rioja.

Note: D.O. means: "Denominacion de Origen"