Is telling something about its terroirs:
Almost a little lurking
Rioja Denomination de Origen Calificada
Denomination de Origen stands for wines with a controlled designation of origin. The addition Calificada means "qualified". Spain has only designated three areas as top areas with this additional designation, also abbreviated as D.O.Ca: Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorato.
The wine-growing region of Rioja with around 150,000 acres (about double the size of Burgundy) is not congruent with the province of Rioja and stretches south-west of the Pyrenees along the Ebro around the city of Logroño as its centre. It is divided into the regions of Rioja Alte, - Alavesa and - Baja.
Crianza
Called crianza (from Spanish criar = to mature, to raise) are Spanish wines with a minimum age of two years, which matured for some time in oak barrels. The minimum time of barrel maturation depends on the territory rules.
The Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España (CVNE)
Cune is a brand of the CVNE wineries, which were founded in 1879 by the Real de Asúa brothers and are still owned by the family today. The Cune estate in Haro on the Ebro in the Rioja region was the first. Today, they are running a total of eight wine estates with wineries, including Imperial, Viña Real and Viñedos del Contino, and so the CVNE is one of the market leaders in Spain.
Text: Dieter Simon, publisher bonvinitas; Photos: Rosado: Jesus E.Cano, Crianza: Wilfried Adam, other photos PR or as indicated