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The board of directors of the Spanish DOCa Rioja has so far defined unclear terms on the label. This is reported by the "Weinwirtschaft". For example, those responsible have divided the term "old vines" into different categories: "Viña viejas" may only appear on the label if the vines are between 35 and 100 years old. "Viña centenarias" means that the vines are older than 100 years and "Viña prefiloxéricas" if they were planted before 1900. Bottles with one of these designations must contain 90 per cent wine of the specified category.
If "Viñedos en propiedad" is written on the label, the wine must now consist of at least 90 percent grapes from vineyards cultivated by the producer himself. The producer or producer group must have cultivated these vineyards for at least ten years.
In addition, the Rioja Board of Directors has reduced the period of ageing for white wine and rosé ("Rosado") in the "Crianza" category to at least 18 months. Previously it was 24 months. The wines must be aged for at least six months in barriques and then matured in the bottle.
Furthermore, the DOCa Rioja Die Rioja has for the first time applied to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture for the designation of single vineyards ("Viñedos singulares"). This is intended to make the geographical origin of a wine visible, for example, by means of districts, villages and vineyards.
(uka / Photo: Wikipedia)