Rioja Alta

On July 10, 1890, five Basque and La Rioja viticulturists illuminated, in what is known as the Haro Station neighborhood, the “Rioja Alta Wine Society”.

Thus began an exciting business adventure in which those founders had as their sole enthusiasm the production and aging of high quality wines. For this purpose they hired the French oenologist Alfonso Vigier, who took over the technical direction.

In 1941 the company acquired its definitive name: La Rioja Alta, S.A. A year later, the most renowned brand of this house was registered: “Viña Ardanza”. Since then, La Rioja Alta has always defended the creative spirit of the entrepreneurs who started the history of this winery.

The wines of La Rioja Alta are made in two complementary wineries. One is in the Haro Station neighborhood. It is a century-old winery whose walls keep all the tradition of La Rioja winemakers; an ideal place for rest and parenting. The other winery is located in Labastida and is modern and perfect to ensure a perfect fermentation process.

The company manages farms with a total area of ​​473 hectares, of which 360 correspond to vineyards mostly located in the best payments of the subregion of La Rioja Alta. The vineyards are planted mainly in several calcareous soils of the Rioja Alta: Rodezno, Labastida, Briones, etc … But in order to have the Grenache variety, the company also has 63 hectares in the municipality of Tudelilla, (Rioja Baixa).

The average production of the vineyards is 5,000 kilograms per hectare (34.4 hl / ha), slightly lower than that authorized by the D.O.Ca. Rioja (45.5 hl / ha), which only increases the quality of its grapes. 80% of these vineyards are planted on trellis and the remaining 20% ​​in glass.

Tempranillo dominates the plantations, but in recent years Graciano has also been cultivated, with which it is hoped to give a special personality to the wines. Of course, Grenache is still used to make Viña Ardanza with the usual claw and elegance. This production is joined by old suppliers, magnificent viticulturists who provide the quality of the fruit required by the wines of this house.

In 2015, La Rioja Alta, S.A. celebrated its 125th harvest. On the occasion of this anniversary, the house undertook improvements to the facilities with the incorporation of two lines of access of the grapes to the winery, new optical selection tables and a laboratory of R + State-of-the-art D + i. The investment was completed with the acquisition of 62 new hectares of vineyards for an average of 23 years in the town of La Rioja de Cenicero.