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Rioja & Navarra — Wine Region Guide

Dajeong Lim M.D.
DipWSET · CMS Advanced Sommelier (Leslie Rudd Award 2024) · FWS · IWS · SWS
Wine educator of PDT Seoul · Editor of YourOwnWineEncyclopedia.com · Last reviewed June 2026

The Rioja & Navarra maps from Your Own Wine Encyclopedia — every name tag opens a study card. Below, the chapter's own geography, climate and geology notes.

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Navarra
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Rioja & Navarra
Rioja by zone. Rioja Alta · Rioja Alavesa · Rioja Oriental, with Navarra and the Riberas alongside.

From the encyclopedia — geography, climate & geology

Overview

  • La Rioja is Spain's second-smallest autonomous community; capital: Logroño (~50% of region's 315,000 inhabitants); major stop on the Camino de Santiago
  • Located within 3 autonomous regions:
    • La Rioja — 69% of vines
    • País Vasco / Álava province — 20%
    • Navarra — 11%
  • DOCa Rioja stretches ~62 mi/100 km NW–SE along the Ebro; ~25 mi/40 km wide
  • Area under vine: 162,697 ac / 65,841 ha
  • Production: ~90% tinto, ~5% blanco, ~5% rosado, <1% espumoso

History

  • 1787: Real Sociedad Económica de Cosecheros de Rioja created to protect La Rioja's reputation
  • Mid-19th century: Two pioneers brought Bordeaux winemaking techniques (barrique aging in barricas, estate bottling in bodegas) to Rioja:
    • Marqués de Murrieta
    • Marqués de Riscal
  • Phylloxera arrived in Rioja: 1899
  • 1930s: Spain's Consejos Reguladores regulatory system established for Rioja, Jerez, and Málaga
  • 1926: Rioja pioneered the first bottle seal guaranteeing wine origin in Spain

On the map