Robert Mykle's Wine Wars

HISTORY

LA RIOJA – Wine and History Flow in La Rioja

La Rioja is Spain’s most famous wine-producing region. A small district in the north-central part of the country divided into three areas -- Baja, Alvesa and Alta -- it is home to a quarter of a million people, most of whom live in small cities and farming villages rarely visited by tourists. While there is no denying progress has found Spain, the backwater villages of La Rioja still have a quaint lost-in-time feel – like Napa Valley before agribusiness found it.

Haro, the capital of La Rioja Alta, rises from the cliffs of a strategic outcrop where the Tirón River empties into the River Ebro. This small medieval city of 10,000 is home to many of Spain’s major wineries. Wine makers like La Rioja Alta, Lopez de Heredia, Ramón Bilbao and Muga have their wine bodegas in large buildings across the Tiron, where they extract, ferment and age their precious liquid in huge cavernous cellars.

In this small city, nearly every place of interest in Haro is accessible by foot. A good starting point is the central Plaza de la Paz surrounded by restaurants and bars serving wine and tapas, tasty ordrves. The town hall or ayuntamento is an ornate relatively new 18th century structure. Behind the town hall is the Puerta de San Bernardo, one of the original entrances to the city. The fortified town was built at the turn of the first millennium to safeguard it from Muslims and occasional Christian brigade raids during La Reconquista, the reconquest of Spain. The old city is a maze of narrow streets with sharp turns strategically planned for defense. Every two blocks there is a small plaza, where a sense of the insularity of medieval life comes alive. Sadly, many of the ancient buildings are in various states of disrepair.

With its soaring belfry, Santo Tomas dominates the heart of old Haro. This 16th-Century church took over a hundred years to build. The natural ramparts behind the church offer an expansive view of the La Rioja valley. Immediately below, across the Tirón River, are the red tile roofs of the barrio de las bodegas, the winery section, and beyond, fields of khaki-colored wheat and green grapevines checkerboard the entire valley.

WINE BARON PALACES

Outside the old city are a number of 16th-, 17th- and 18th- century palaces with ornate coats of arms decorating their facades. Most notable are the medieval-looking Palacio de Bendaña on Calle San Martin and the three-story Palacio de Tejada dominating Calle Lucrecia Arana. While these palaces are not the regal mansions of the royal cities constructed later with hundreds of years of plunder from the Americas, they do reflect the wealth generated in Haro built solely on wine production.

A variety of hotels lie within a short distance of the central plaza. The most renowned is the converted monastery of Los Agustinos built in 1373. For part of its existence, it served as a prison, and prisoners’ names can still be found etched in the stone columns. While not one of the famous national Spanish Paradors, it is worth visiting. The hallways and rooms are decorated with antiques, with a spacious sitting room on the first floor taken directly out of the Middle Ages. Other hotels and a few pensiones may lack the pedigree but are more than adequate, and all are within walking distance of most of the important city sights.

If there seems to be an abundance of storks in the city, it is not an illusion. La Rioja is home to the largest colony of white storks or cigüeñas in the world. Their oversized stick nests squat on many chimneys and roofs, a symbol of good luck for the house’s residents.






HISTORY LA RIOJA – Wine and History Flow in La Rioja La Rioja is Spain’s most famous wine-producing region. A small district in the north-central part of the country divided into three areas -- Baja, Alvesa and Alta -- it is home to a quarter of a million people, most of whom live in small cities and farming villages rarely visited by tourists. While there is no denying progress has found Spain, the backwater villages of La Rioja still have a quaint lost-in-time feel – like Napa Valley before agribusiness found it. Haro, the capital of La Rioja Alta, rises from the cliffs of a strategic outcrop where the Tirón River empties into the River Ebro. This small medieval city of 10,000 is home to many of Spain’s major wineries. Wine makers like La Rioja Alta, Lopez de Heredia, Ramón Bilbao and Muga have their wine bodegas in large buildings across the Tiron, where they extract, ferment and age their precious liquid in huge cavernous cellars. In this small city, nearly every place of interest in Haro is accessible by foot. A good starting point is the central Plaza de la Paz surrounded by restaurants and bars serving wine and tapas, tasty ordrves. The town hall or ayuntamento is an ornate relatively new 18th century structure. Behind the town hall is the Puerta de San Bernardo, one of the original entrances to the city. The fortified town was built at the turn of the first millennium to safeguard it from Muslims and occasional Christian brigade raids during La Reconquista, the reconquest of Spain. The old city is a maze of narrow streets with sharp turns strategically planned for defense. Every two blocks there is a small plaza, where a sense of the insularity of medieval life comes alive. Sadly, many of the ancient buildings are in various states of disrepair. With its soaring belfry, Santo Tomas dominates the heart of old Haro. This 16th-Century church took over a hundred years to build. The natural ramparts behind the church offer an expansive view of the La Rioja valley. Immediately below, across the Tirón River, are the red tile roofs of the barrio de las bodegas, the winery section, and beyond, fields of khaki-colored wheat and green grapevines checkerboard the entire valley. *WINE BARON PALACES* Outside the old city are a number of 16th-, 17th- and 18th- century palaces with ornate coats of arms decorating their facades. Most notable are the medieval-looking Palacio de Bendaña on Calle San Martin and the three-story Palacio de Tejada dominating Calle Lucrecia Arana. While these palaces are not the regal mansions of the royal cities constructed later with hundreds of years of plunder from the Americas, they do reflect the wealth generated in Haro built solely on wine production. A variety of hotels lie within a short distance of the central plaza. The most renowned is the converted monastery of Los Agustinos built in 1373. For part of its existence, it served as a prison, and prisoners’ names can still be found etched in the stone columns. While not one of the famous national Spanish Paradors, it is worth visiting. The hallways and rooms are decorated with antiques, with a spacious sitting room on the first floor taken directly out of the Middle Ages. Other hotels and a few pensiones may lack the pedigree but are more than adequate, and all are within walking distance of most of the important city sights. If there seems to be an abundance of storks in the city, it is not an illusion. La Rioja is home to the largest colony of white storks or cigüeñas in the world. Their oversized stick nests squat on many chimneys and roofs, a symbol of good luck for the house’s residents.