Eduardo Hernáiz, Chairman of Bodegas Familiares de Rioja, said, ‘Now we should focus on value and prestige, since continuous growth would require lowering prices and, therefore, making less expensive wines of poorer quality.’ And he added, ‘First and foremost, Rioja belongs to companies and winegrowers from our region. It is us who create jobs, and it is us, along with our families, who animate our towns and villages.’

The association is questioning the compulsory payments demanded by the Spanish Interprofessional Wine Association to finance generic consumption campaigns when in Rioja the wineries are in favour of promoting the origin of the wine and the territory.

From the Conchas de Haro (the Ebro) until well into the province of Burgos, the Obarenes Mountains protect the vineyards of the western Rioja Alta area and, in addition to wineries and farmland, we can find marvellous examples of Romanesque art.