How 3 Rioja Wineries are Fearlessly Facing the Future with Innovation

Editor’s note: If you want to take a deep dive into Rioja’s terroir, regions and classifications check out our Rioja 101 guide.

A Rioja landscape

Winemakers have many challenges ahead of them. There’s an endless stream of headlines touting studies predicting that the area suitable for viticulture will decrease by up to 73% by 2050 due to climate change. Meanwhile wine consumption keeps decreasing while the age of the average wine drinker keeps going up. It may seem like a tall order for the wine business to embrace innovation as a way to combat those issues without losing market share or respect, but it can be done: just look at Rioja.

Rioja, one of the most staunchly traditional and strict wine regions in the world—and one of the ones most under threat by climate change—is using innovation to underline its dedication to tradition, combat climate and stay relevant to new audiences. That sounds like a complete contradiction and perhaps it is: but in Rioja, land of delicious contrasts, populated by masters of cognitive dissonance, it makes perfect sense. 

Doubling Down on Oak

Bodegas Muga barrel room. Photo credit Kathleen Willcox.

The “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” philosophy may be a fairly standard—and successful— approach to maintaining the status quo, but it can also be a dangerous route to stasis.

And yet constant evolution is also risky when your business is as entrenched in tradition as wine. The family-run Bodegas Muga seems to balance the risk by remaining devoted to Rioja’s most traditional winemaking methods, but also focusing on honing and elevating them through cutting-edge technology and communicating its philosophy to wine lovers thirsty for truly novel experiences. Muga has spent the past decade transforming its public image through innovative eno-tourism programs—from guided tours of the cellar, to riding in hot air balloons, to riding a Segway through the vineyards, there’s something for everyone. But its distinct barrel program offers an ultimately more significant, if far more subtle, effect on its own wines, and the image of Rioja around the world.

“We are devoted to oak at Muga, but we are always finding new ways to perfect our process,” says Ana López-Cano, Muga’s director of communications. 

Calling Muga “devoted” to oak is an understatement. This year, Muga spent $2 million on oak alone, and they are the only cellar in Spain with a master cooper and three in-house barrel-makers on staff, including one focused on big barrels.

Muga was founded in 1932, and it established its cooperage in 1968 when they opened their winery. Everything at Muga revolves around oak—French, American and Central European. There’s nary a stainless-steel tank on-site: not a single one of the 2 million bottles they produce each year doesn’t see wood every step of the way.

“Primary fermentation happens in wood, often in big casks that are 50 or more years old,” says López-Cano. The casks range in size from 6,000-22,500 liters. “In a typical year, we’ll make 14,000 barrels. We use them for six years, and then they go to distilleries or furniture makers.”

While the main ingredients—wood and grapes—remains the same at Muga, the recipe changes.

“We recently changed the blend of woods in our Rioja Blanco,” López-Cano says. “Instead of just using new American oak, we ferment it half in new oak, and half in large barriques.” 

In part, the image change was cosmetic. Wines made in 100% new American oak have fallen out of fashion—but it’s also about the subtler effect of the barriques, which allow the citric notes of the Viura, Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia de Rioja to shine through. Wood + grapes = simple on paper. But in reality, with three types of wood, three types of toast (light, medium or medium plus), the size of the vessel, and the blend of grapes to play with—the options are endlessly complex. And, as Muga has demonstrated for decades, this tension between constraint and freedom makes it possible to maintain tradition while staying relevant. 

Taste Muga’s Philosophy in the Glass: Prado Enea Gran Reserva 2015, a blend of Tempranillo, Grenache, Mazuelo and Graciano, grown in clay-limestone and alluvial soils 550 meters above sea level. The grapes are fermented in oak vats, with no yeast or temperature control. Maceration period is 16 days, then aged for 36 months in 80% French oak and 20% American oak. Aged a further 36 months in bottle. Seven years is a long time to wait for a wine, but patience pays off. Black fruits, spice, gingerbread, vanilla, bright, and ready to drink now, but will age for (seriously) 50+ years. Pair this with roasted lamb, or aged Manchego cheese. 

Becoming Energy Efficient

Bodegas Beronia's LEED certified building. Photo credit Kathleen Willcox.

Ignoring the weather in Rioja is impossible—this past summer was Spain’s hottest on record, with temperatures reaching 2.2 degrees Celsius above average. The harvest has inched forward in Rioja by 2.4 days per decade; the ABV of wines has spiked 1.3% per decade since the 1990s, according to a study conducted by geographer Raquel Aransay.

Rioja’s economy, of course, runs on wine, and while winemakers can’t control the weather, producers like Bodegas Beronia are going above and beyond “just” going organic in the vineyard. The winery consulted with industrial engineers, hydrologists, architects and ecologists to build a naturally energy-efficient winery that takes advantage of the landscape of Rioja. 

Beronia set out to create a completely energy-efficient winery, and in the process, it became the first winery in the world to receive a sustainable construction certification that not only recognized eco-friendly building practices, but also rewards Beronia for its long-term low environmental impact. The LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design) certified building, erected in 2017, is built like a boomerang around two large program blocks, explains Raquel Rupérez, Beronia’s head of tourism.  

“We built the main production part of the building into the ground, so that it is integrated into the landscape of Rioja Alta,” says Rupérez. “The roof is seeded with native plants which require little maintenance to survive, and provides natural insulation against extreme weather. Large windows were also installed in the social and wine tasting area that will benefit from natural light, while smaller windows with shades were installed in production areas that require temperature control.”

The bottling room is windowless, to eliminate light exposure and maintain complete temperature control. The production zone also utilizes gravity to eliminate machines whenever possible, all of the material was locally sourced and even the architects, Borja Gómez and Gonzalo Tello of IDOM, is based in nearby Bilbao.  

“To reduce our energy consumption, we utilize geothermal energy,” says Rupérez. “We try to work with nature whenever possible.”

But Beronia is also very tech-forward in its approach. The winery invested in Cleanwood technology, which reduces amount of water and electricity needed to safely disinfect barrels. Cleanwood essentially uses high-frequency waves to completely disinfect and regenerate wood in four minutes, resulting, Rupérez explains, in better wine and barrels that last years longer than waters simply cleaned with hot water. 

Beronia III a.C. 2019

Taste Beronia’s Philosophy in the Glass: Beronia III a.C. 2019’s Tempranillo grapes hail from pre-phylloxera vines that are at least 70 years old. The grapes are cold macerated for several days, with regular pump overs. Following post-fermentation maceration, the wine ages for eight months in new French oak barrels, then for another six months in 3,500-liter French oak foudres. This wine is deeply colored, with flavors of blackberries, plums, cherries and rose petals. A core of minerality, with cocoa and subtle mint linger. Pair with jamon, olives or rare beef.

Creating New Experiences

Bodegas Javier San Pedro Ortega bottles. Photo credit Kathleen Willcox.

How many times have you braced yourself for disappointment when promised a “new take” on a classic? From Beatles songs, to the little black dress, to wine tastings, it seems that some things are just better in their original form. Except, when they’re not. 

When fifth-generation winemaker Javier San Pedro Ortega decided to open his own winery in 2014, he wanted to do things differently, from the flavor he delivers in the glass, to the tasting room. 

“We like fruity and young wines, as opposed to classic, super-aged Riojas,” says Ortega. “And then when we opened the winery itself here in 2018, we knew we wanted everything to be completely different.”

One glance around the tasting room—bristling with over-stuffed purple and turquoise velvet vintage easy chairs, wolf-faced mannequins, beautifully festooned skulls, a selection of Bodegas Javier San Pedro Ortega’s 18 wines, vermouth, gin and a coffee bar with snacks—instantly feels like it’s a galaxy away from Rioja. 

But that’s just the beginning. 

“Our motto here is ‘think less, feel more,’” Ortega says. “And we wanted to help our visitors do that with a unique hospitality experience that helps guests focus completely on their senses.”

The current program—they change every March—entails a sense-scrambling, surrealistic wine and food pairing experience at stations placed around the winery and vineyard. It would be churlish to reveal the answers to the puzzle the experience poses here, but sans spoilers, it can be revealed that it entails several multi-media stations with delicious seasonal snacks from chefs Iñaki Murua and Carolina Sánchez, whose Ikaro restaurant in Logroño has 1 Michelin Star and 2 Repsol Soles.

There’s ice, fire, smoke, video—and a clever conceptual trick that leaves visitors questioning the way they’ve been tasting, smelling and seeing wine. 

Javier San Pedro’s Philosophy in the Glass: The Anahi Rosado 2021

Taste Javier San Pedro’s Philosophy in the Glass: The Anahi Rosado 2021

No, rosé isn’t the norm in Rioja, but Javier San Pedro Ortega likes to do things differently. This is a blend of Tempranillo, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia. This is opulent, with tropical flavors, hot-house floral elements, and candied peach notes. Serve this with salted, dark chocolate truffles.   

Rioja has shown us how to keep our traditions while embracing our future. Let’s all try to be more like Rioja.