don’t overlook the tasty white wines of rioja BY ROBERT CALVERT
The red wines of Spain’s Rioja region lope along from strength to strength, gaining steadily in repute as the years pass. The blancos—whites—are not yet as well known as their carmine cousins. In fact, as one writer observes, Rioja is so famous
for its reds that “many people remain completely unaware that the region also produces white wines.” What a shame. Extending along the Ebro river in north central Spain, Rioja comprises three subregions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja
Alavesa. The principal white grape in Rioja is Viura, which makes up the largest part of the blend in virtually all Rioja white wines. As Ana Fabiano writes in The Wine Region of Rioja, “Viura contributes acidity and structure to wines, and barrel
fermentation seems to extract complexity from the grape.” You may be familiar with Viura under another name—Macabeo— which is what it is called else- where in Spain, particularly in Catalonia, where it is used to make Cava.
