Rioja, global epicenter of wine at the close of its Centennial Celebration

• Rioja brings together 70 top international prescribers at the “Centennial Celebration”, the last milestone in the official programme for its 100th anniversary
  
• Two memorable master tastings, a unique gala dinner prepared by 5 Michelin-starred chefs from the region and a careful selection of more than 300 QDO wines won over the prescribers, auguring a promising future for Rioja

The Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin (DOCa) has become a world reference point for wine these days with the celebration of the “Rioja, Centennial Celebration” meeting, which brought together 70 top prescribers from 20 countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, Singapore, Switzerland and Germany. The event was held from February 15 to 17, and brings to an end the official program of acts and events for the Centenary that the Appellation has been celebrating throughout 2025.

Combining the different main events of this meeting, the participants were able to taste more than 300 wine references from the Appellation in total and learn first-hand about the vineyards, wineries and landscapes that make up the Appellation.

Two memorable tastings to match up to Rioja

The first day began on Monday with one of the main points of the program of this meeting: two master tastings that were a sensory journey through the past, present and future of the DOCa Rioja for the 70 international prescribers participating, as well as winemakers and other representatives of the sector.

In total, 120 guests filled the Centro de la Cultura del Rioja (CCR, located in Logroño) to explore Rioja’s 100 kilometers of diversity and excellence, as well as its 100 years of history through 25 wines divided into two themes: a first tasting, called “Vision for the Future”, with 13 references, to explore the diversity and excellence of Rioja today, with a focus on new interpretations, new projects, Singular Vineyards, varietal recovery and sustainability, showing the territorial richness of the Denomination and its ability to continue to make its mark on the wine market. A second tasting, “Tribute to a Legacy”, with a historical journey through the 100 years of the DOCa Rioja, based on 12 iconic references that connect the origins of Rioja with its main milestones and most representative styles.

Pedro Ballesteros MW, president of the Advisory Committee in charge of advising this project, together with Juancho Asenjo, wine popularizer, teacher and humanist, and Elena Adell, one of the most influential winemakers in Spain, were in charge of conducting both tastings, with the help of representatives of the wineries responsible for producing the wines selected for the exhibition.

The tastings also included the institutional participation of the president of the QDO Rioja Control Board, Raquel Pérez Cuevas, and the general director of the organization, Pablo Franco.

After the tastings, participants enjoyed a large selection of wines, “Rioja Centennial Collection” with 103 references, in free tasting format, available at different times during the Meeting.

The international prescribers, who write in some of the most influential global media, such as ‘Wine Spectator’, ‘Decanter’, ‘Wine Advocate’, ‘Wine Enthusiast’, ‘James Suckling’, ‘Jancis Robinson’, ‘Wine Enthusiast’, ‘James Suckling’, ‘Wine Enthusiast’, ‘Wine Enthusiast’ and ‘Wine Enthusiast’.Jancis Robinson’, ‘Robb Report’ and ‘Vinous’ all agreed that Rioja is experiencing a particularly brilliant moment, in which “some of the best wines in its history are being made”.

“Rioja wines are of excellent quality, both reds and whites. It was a very professional tasting; a real pleasure to be able to participate,” said Jeffrey Jenssen, wine expert and U.S. journalist, at the end of the tasting. “Mexico is a great historical consumer of Rioja wines, so I am very proud to be here on this centenary,” said Gina Estrada, president of the Association of Mexican Sommeliers. “We should not think of a single particular style when we talk about Rioja wines; today we have many references that are also impressive in harmonization and pairing,” she concluded. “I am frankly thrilled to be able to attend this meeting and taste these historic and excellent wines,” said Nagisa Miyata, Japanese wine journalist.

The general director of the Control Board, Pablo Franco, said: “We are joined at the meeting by the world’s leading voices in the wine sector who are highlighting the unique strengths of this century-old appellation; we have seen projects that Rioja is now developing, as well as other more historic ones, which make this appellation a vibrant area”.

To download the technical data sheets of the wines, click here

An exceptional gala, the finishing touch to the Centenary

Monday concluded with a grand gala dinner at the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture in Briones, whose gastronomic proposal and wine pairing left no one indifferent: five Michelin-starred chefs from the region –Francis Paniego (El Portal de Echaurren), Ignacio Echapresto (Venta Moncalvillo), Miguel Caño (Nublo), Iñaki Murua and Carolina Sánchez (Íkaro), Mariana Sánchez and Gonzalo Baquedano (Ajonegro) – prepared the menu for the 120 guests.

This exclusive and unique menu, prepared by the five Michelin stars, was paired with a careful selection of 16 QDO wines, also chosen by the project’s Advisory Committee, whose winemakers were able to explain their particularities and characteristics throughout the dinner. More than 5,200 Riedel glasses, the event’s sponsor, were used to serve the wines. “The selection of wines is a journey through the diversity and excellence of Rioja, accompanied by its gastronomy, going from the terroir, the origin, the dish and the glass, expressing the enormous richness of our roots and landscapes,” said Raquel Pérez Cuevas.

The guests attended an unrepeatable dinner, with several highlights, such as the intimate performance of two dancers during dinner, the cocktail reception enlivened by a jazz band or the final standing ovation to the service staff and cooks, who knew how to prepare a menu that values its roots, but haute cuisine, modern and avant-garde, like the appellation itself. And all this surrounded by works of art, as the dinner was held for the first time inside the exhibition halls of the Museum.

The event concluded with a brief speech by Raquel Pérez Cuevas, president of the Control Board, to toast with all the attendees to Rioja and the great future that she predicts for the Wine Region. “This Centennial Celebration is a declaration of identity and a celebration of our origins,” she said. “For one hundred years, Rioja has built a collective legacy and forged its own character and way of understanding wine. This legacy is expressed today in very diverse wine references, full of contrasts, which in turn constitute one of the great riches of the Designation. And like any legacy, it only survives if it is capable of evolving; Rioja is a region in movement, its great dynamism involves a centuries-old heritage that coexists with a new look at the vineyard and its origins, and where new generations reinterpret Rioja with enthusiasm, precision and vision of the future”, concluded the president.

Discovering the essence of Rioja on an exclusive tour

After yesterday’s celebration, the international groups had the opportunity to visit some thirty wineries and vineyards in the region, tasting in each one and learning first-hand about the diversity of its wine-growing landscapes, the uniqueness of its vineyards and the know-how that defines Rioja as one of the great wine regions of the world. The nine different itineraries proposed allowed participants to get to know the region in small groups. The routes converged at three wineries, where the prescribers were able to exchange information, opinions and tasting notes at the three dinners offered.

With this international meeting, the QDO Rioja culminates a year of commemoration that has served to vindicate its one hundred years of history, quality and leadership, and to project its identity into the future, reaffirming its role as one of the great wine regions of reference worldwide.

Download the images of the event here.