Rioja

Rioja refers to a wine region in northern Spain, the country's most celebrated for structured reds made chiefly from tempranillo, often blended with garnacha and graciano. Its wines are classified by ageing duration, from joven to gran reserva. In 1991 Rioja became the first Spanish region elevated to Denominación de Origen Calificada, the highest tier of the national quality system, a status shared only later by Priorat.