Rioja

Rioja may be an obvious choice for a wine list, but it is all too easy to be lazy and not so easy to find terroir wines, though thankfully this is at last beginning to change. Briefly, The DOCa is split into Rioja Baja, Rioja Alto and Rioja Alavesa. The Cantabrian Mountains, which flank Rioja to the north and west, provide shelter from the cold, wet influences of the Atlantic Ocean – Tempranillo rules the roost here.

Bárbara Palacios is mostly located in Riscos de Bilibio, is family-owned and enjoys the most fertile terroirs of the Rioja DOC wine region. Biurko Gorri s one of the oldest Organic certified producers in La Rioja.