Rioja is wrapping up its “centennial” harvest, marked by exceptional quality

The Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin is entering the final stretch of its 2025 harvest — a particularly symbolic one, as it coincides with the year marking Rioja’s Centenary. And by all indications, it promises to be an extraordinary vintage, truly worthy of the occasion.

With growers still harvesting and grapes continuing to arrive at wineries in the Rioja Alavesa area (some vineyards in Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental were still being picked just last week), the harvest is expected to extend through the week, according to the Regulatory Council’s technical services. “It’s been a small harvest in terms of volume, but long in its development. Taking advantage of the favorable weather, growers and wineries haven’t been in a rush, each choosing their ideal picking date. Those still harvesting are now sampling their plots daily—almost continuously—to determine the perfect moment and achieve the highest possible quality,” explains Alejandra Rubio Gil, Technical Director of the Rioja Regulatory Council.

As of today, a total of 225,477,895 kg of grapes have been harvested in Rioja — 191,693,691 kg of red varieties and 33,784,204 kg of white.

All analytical parameters monitored by the Regulatory Council throughout the harvest season—and shared weekly with growers and wineries through ripeness reports—have consistently reflected the excellent quality of the grapes, with strong phenolic maturity indicators such as color intensity, total polyphenol index, and anthocyanin levels. “We’ve seen very healthy grapes, with excellent values and balance, so everything suggests we could be looking at a vintage to remember,” says Rubio. She also highlighted “the effort and professionalism once again demonstrated by Rioja’s growers throughout the entire growing cycle, not only at harvest time.”

“The feedback we’re getting from wineries is also very positive—they’re pleased with what they’re seeing in the first tank tastings, which confirms the analytical data and overall impressions we had,” she adds.

With such promising quality expectations, the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin will soon wrap up the “main harvest.” However, some “late harvest” grapes—those left longer on the vine for specific winemaking styles—still remain to be picked, as nearly ten producers have requested authorization for this practice from the Regulatory Council. The Council therefore expects to release the official final harvest figures (total kilograms of grapes) in early 2026.