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Remirez de Ganuza, a oenological paradise in La Rioja

The vineyards consist of more than eighty hectares of tempranillo, graciano, viura, and malvasía. They are spread across six locations in the Sierra Cantabria: Samaniego, Leza, Elciego, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Laguardia, and Ábalos, in Rioja Alavesa. For their selection, factors such as habitat, microclimate, orientation of the plots, low productivity of the vines, and vine age have been taken into account, with the average age of the vines being fifty years. This extensive land area allows them to be self-sufficient in the highest quality grapes.

Technical Data

Winery: Own Vineyards, at Bodegas Fernando Remírez de Ganuza, Samaniego (Rioja Alavesa). D.O.Ca. La Rioja Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Variety: 80% Viura, 20% Malvasía, Garnacha Blanca

Tasting Notes: Pale yellow and bright color. On the nose: Subtle and fragrant nose, delicate and mineral, with fresh notes of aromatic herbs and menthol, stone and citrus fruits. On the palate: It is tasty, with volume, balanced, and with a fine structure. It has a long and fresh finish, with salty hints, spicy notes, accompanied by fine touches of creamy oak.

Serving Temperature: 7-10ºC

Elaboration: The Vineyards are located in the Sierra Cantabria. The vineyards have an average age of 60 years.

The first grape selection takes place during the harvest. Only the clusters that meet the highest quality standards are used for the winemaking, discarding the rest of the harvest for not meeting the required conditions. Their goal is to only pick ripe and healthy grapes, those that come from vines in perfect leaf conditions.

The manual harvest in 12-kilogram boxes ensures their perfect condition during transport to the winery. Once there, the freshly harvested grapes are stored in refrigeration rooms at a temperature between 4 and 6 degrees, and are selected on tables and processed with the flower must (from unpressed grapes) extracted through a rotor tank. The wine has been aged on its lees for 10 months in new French oak barrels. The "batonage" (lees stirring) is practiced to achieve greater complexity by rotating the barrels.

Pairing: at Made in Spain Gourmet, we recommend it with grilled vegetables, 100% acorn-fed Iberian cold cuts, pickles; and also with meats such as Iberian pork and free-range chicken. Highly recommended with seafood paella, salted fish, and blue fish.

A traditional winery with avant-garde production

You will find Remírez de Ganuza in the center of Samaniego, a beautiful medieval village at the foot of the Sierra de Toloño. Of medieval origin, it still retains its appearance of a fortified village visible in many of its buildings and especially in the 16th-century Church of Ntra. Sra. de la Asunción, built next to one of the four towers that defended the village.

The Remirez de Ganuza winery, as mentioned before, is located in the center of Samaniego, Álava. It is made up of a block of buildings, old houses of the town, composed of modern reinforced concrete structures covered with ancient masonry, thus integrating into traditional local architecture.

Around a large central courtyard crossed by a natural water channel, the different buildings that structure the winery are dedicated to the different phases of wine production, such as the barrel area, the bottle racks, cold rooms, or the selection area.

The traditional architecture of the winery, highlighted by the interior roof formed by centuries-old oak beams, contrasts with one of the most avant-garde and innovative winemaking methods of the moment.

La Rioja Alavesa: the elite of Rioja wines

Rioja Alavesa is classified as a subzone within the Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja. It has 13,500 hectares of vineyards and several hundred wineries, resulting in an annual average of around