Rioja and the ever-changing landscape of Terroir: Vinegrowing in Rioja Alta, Alavesa and Oriental. Blessings, challenges and infinite new possibilities

The subject of this talk says it all: we´ll be discussing terroir and viticulture with three winemakers born and raised in Rioja. Each of them has developed their career in a specific subregion and all three of them consider the vineyard to be the cornerstone of their work. We´ll talk about their concept of terroir and what it means in each of Rioja´s subregions.

Speakers: Javier Arizcuren (Arizcuren Bodega y Viñedos), Mayte Calvo (Bodegas Bilbainas) and Roberto Vicente (Bodega Izadi).

Javier Arizcuren. Arizcuren Bodega y Viñedos.

Javier is a what we call a wine entrepreneur. An architect by trade, he combines his career with a very much admired winemaking project at his family winery in Sierra de Yerga (Rioja Oriental), one of Spain´s hottest winemaking spots at the moment. He also runs one of the few urban wineries in Spain, right in the centre of Logroño.

Rioja Alta: Mayte Calvo. Technical Director at Bodegas Bilbainas. Rioja Alta.

Mayte was born in Ezcaray, one of the most beautiful villages in La Rioja. She has made wines for Barón de Ley and is in charge of Bodegas Bilbainas since 2019. She has also lectured at the University of La Rioja. She believes that wine can only be understood from the vineyard. You need to understand the varieties and get to know your terrain in order to bring out everything that is naturally present in the vineyard.

Rioja Alavesa: Roberto Vicente.Technical Director at Bodegas Izadi and Young Winemaker of the Year 2020 in Tim Atkin´s Rioja Report.

Roberto has been Head Winemaker at Campo Viejo and Bodegas Ysios. We can say he knows his way around Rioja Alavesa. He´s travelled quite a bit, having made wines in New Zealand and Australia and feels that Rioja is a privileged region for winemaking.