Celebrating 100 years: Rioja’s promise for the next century

DOCa Rioja showcases the appellation’s best wineries and personalities with new and old offerings to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its Designation of Origin establishment. A centenary is always a fete-worthy milestone. Yet Íñigo Tapiador Larrañaga is not just celebrating. The director of marketing and communications for the Regulatory Council of the Qualified Designation of Origin (DOCa) Rioja is on a mission to show that the appellation has the best of both old and new wine styles. Activations in Spain have been intensive: in February, DOCa Rioja mounted a special booth at Barcelona Wine Week following sponsorship of the Goya Awards—aka the Spanish Oscars—with film stars signing select bottles. Spanish king Felipe VI will officiate the date of the centenary on 6 June. In between, Tapiador is circumventing the globe with a diverse group of Rioja-based winemakers to showcase what makes the region unique in the world of wines. Activations in Asia included roadshows and wine dinners in Hong Kong and Shanghai on 7 and 9 May, respectively. Rioja winemakers including Mayte Calvo from Bodegas Bilbaínas, Ana Fernández from Bodega Paco García, Rafael Usoz from Bodegas Sonsierra and Iñigo Rubio from Bodega Manuel Quintano shared tribulations and triumphs to potential new distributors and markets. The atmosphere was lively and the opportunities were ripe. While Rioja, like other corners in Europe, has made wine for more than two millennia, the celebrations of this centenary allow Tapiador to change public perception that the appellation is all about full-bodied reds. “We need to tell the world we are here,” he states. “It is a great opportunity to reclaim our relevance—to tell an international audience we are the leading Spanish wine region and the first to have a designation of origin.” With approximately 600 wineries, Tapiador wants to showcase Rioja’s terroir-oriented choices. “We offer interesting whites, rosés and sparklings,” he says. “Our geography is so diverse with different microclimates for experimentation. Eastern Rioja has some outstanding Viura whites; we are not just about Tempranillo.” Tapiador encourages Rioja winemakers to reconnect with local trades and distributors after the long Covid years to emphasise what the next 100 years will bring. “People know us in Hong Kong for our reds that age well,” he shrugs. “We are about so much more than that. The trend is towards lighter, fruitier, fresher wines—which we have in abundance. We want to showcase our single origin Vino de Pueblo (Village wine) and Singular Vineyard. We opened the door to sparkling in 2017 and about a dozen wineries have joined this trend.” At Celestial Court in Hong Kong, eight wines from four Rioja wineries were available for tasting with dishes including scallop, lobster, cod and abalone prepared Cantonese style. The freshness of Tempranillo Blanco’s lemon notes in Paco García’s el Yergo 2023 paired well with the light seafood dishes, while reds such as Perfume de Sonsierra 2016 captivated both on the palate and with its distinctive square bottle. Tapiador hopes that Rioja winemakers will continue the momentum and get Asian sommeliers excited about what’s next for the appellation. “This event is a start,” he admits. “It is really up to our wineries to work more closely with their Asian distributors, to arrange wine dinners, tastings and other activations. I hope people take away that Rioja is a broad region with a wide array of styles that pair well with Chinese dishes. This was a good platform.”