Grapes were already growing in Spain millions of years before homo sapiens even appeared on earth but vine production must have started around 3,000 to 4,000 BC.  By the time the Phoenicians founded Cadiz, there were wild vines growing in Spain and all they needed to do was to improve on them. The Carthaginians took over from them and were such successful vintners that they became a threat to Rome and were soon pacified – Rome trounced them, took over the vineyards and started a roaring wine trade.  Even though a few wines, like the Terraconensis, 

were considered to be good, most of it was rubbish and sold in Rome as plonk. Much later on in history, after the Moors were sent packing (who, incidentally, were intelligent and benign rulers that permitted winemaking notwithstanding their own religious beliefs), production improved locally as well as in their American colonies. So much so that  Phillip III, notoriously shortsighted, felt threatened and tried to stop production in the colonies. He wasn’t too terribly successful and in places like Mexico, it continued to thrive. Trading with England became brisk and the English loved the sweeter wines, notably sherry (they called it sack) but unfortunately the English were as greedy as they were short-sighted and increased the duties. This forced the Spaniards to find other markets – which they did. Today Spain has  more land under vine than any other country in the world even though production comes in at only third place.

La Rioja is the most famous wine-producing region in Spain and is divided into three sub-regions. La Rioja Alta produces fine, elegant wines with a medium amount of alcohol; La Rioja Alavesa in the Basque region is known for it’s sweeter wines and in the La Rioja Baja, the deep red grapes are planted that give rise to wines with higher levels of alcohol.  Even though one finds the most modern wineries in Spain in this area,  viticulture is still traditional and largely driven by small family businesses. This province, the smallest region in the Spanish mainland, is situated on the banks of the Rio Oja and is not only home to the best of Spanish wines, it is rich in fruit,vegetables, snails, mushrooms, chilli sausages, goats cheese and mountains of red pepperoni  that dry in the sun during the autumn – all necessary for the interesting and mouth-watering cuisine for which La Rioja has become so famous. The cheeses are legendary and often served at wine tastings. Herewith a list of the most popular

cheeses:

• Manchego is an ewes’ milk cheese – sold in all the stages from fresh to matured – the herringbone pattern on the outer rind will depict the  original esparto wrapping. (DO)
• Camarano Cottage cheese
• Burgos white, fresh, smooth and mild is made from ewes milk.
• Leon is a mild cows’ cheese.
• Oropresa is similar to Manchego.
• Soria White fresh goats’ cheese.
• Suspiro is a pasturized goats milk cheese
• Valdeteja is goat’s milk cheese.
• Villalón is a frehs white sheep’s’ milk cheese
• Romero sheep’s milk cheese is covered with rosemary
• Azul Valderon is a blue cheese and also known as Picos Blue (DO)
• Zamorano is a sheeps’ cheese from Zamora (DO).
• Monte Enebro is a semi cured white goats milk cheese in a penicillin mould

The six major varieties of grapes are:

• Tempranillo – most important variety, red and used to produce powerful, evenly structured wines;
• Garnacha – from La Rioja Baja, used primarily for blending
• Graciano – used for blending, has low yields – adds freshness and acidity
• Mazuelo – also a blending wine with small berries and good acidity
• Viura (aka Macabeo) – most important white variety, used for young, lively, single variety wines
• Malvasí – blended with white wines

The grapes of La Rioja are mainly harvested manually to prevent green grapes from being picked with the already ripe ones.  The grapes are picked in baskets (image above) and are sorted on conveyer belts with all damaged grapes and leaves picked out by hand so that the world famous La Rioja wines not be damaged in any way.

THE CAVE BODEGA

The underground wine cellars date back to the times when the Iberians dug out these places of worship for themselves, long before the Riojanos started to store their wines there during the Middle Ages. Today they are still found on the slopes of the mountains and many communities still socialise there to drink and to eat and guests are most welcome. Calderete is one of the most famous lamb stews to be found in the area.

CALDERETE

Ingredients

• 750 g shoulder of lamb, boned and cut into bite sized pieces
• 250 g lambs liver
• 750 g potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
• 4 artichoke hearts
• 1 large red pepperoni (bell pepper)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 Spanish onions, peeled and chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 fresh red chilli, chopped
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp hot paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 4 allspice berries
• 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 250 ml dry white wine
• Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Method

• Heat some of the olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and seal the lamb liver.
• Place this in a food processor with the paprika and the white wine and blend until a smooth puree is formed.
• Heat the rest of the oil in the pan and sear the lamb until browned at which point the garlic and onions must be added and the heat reduced until they are translucent.
• Add enough boiling water to cover the lamb, season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes.
• Add the carrots, potatoes, pepperoni, artichoke hearts, bay leaf, chilli, allspice, lemon zest  and pureed liver – stir in and bring to the boil to simmer for another half an hour until the meat is tender and the sauce thick.
• Check and correct seasoning and serve hot.

This next dish is so simple and so good that it can never be left out of any discussion on the food of La Rioja. Times are tight for everyone and using potatoes in this way makes entertaining not only fun, but extremely economical.

PATATAS A LA RIOJANA

Ingredients

• 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 green pepperoni (bell peppers), seeded and diced
• 4 dried red pepperoni (bell peppers)
• 2 onions, peeled and sliced
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled & crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 250 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

• Saute the onions and green pepperoni until they are just beginning to brown and then add the potatoes, the dried red peppers, the cayenne pepper, the bay leaf and the wine – top up with water to cover the vegetables completely and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and simmer for half an hour or until the vegetables are tender – then remove the dried peppers (reserving them) and the bay leaf (that you discard).
• Check and correct the seasoning, chop the dried red peppers and sprinkle them over the stew before serving.