Where to buy WINE

Some of you have asked us where to buy wine. There are so many big names for wine in La Rioja that it is difficult to pick just one, but before I go into any detail, I can't but recommend the wine my family produces!! You will have the opportunity to taste it at the wedding, so you will see that I'm not recommeding it just because my uncle makes it!! It´s very, very nice red wine (and the price is even better):

12-bottle box "Castillares" Crianza: €42
3-bottle wood box "Castillares" Crianza: €14
3-bottle cardboard box "Castillares" Crianza: €12
2-bottle wood box "Castillares" Crianza: €10

12-bottle box, young wine (see below for an explanation): €25
3-bottle cardboard box, young wine: €7

If you're interested, let me know.

This area produces some truly high quality wines, called special reserves. They come in three categories, depending on the length of time that they have been left to mature:

Crianza

(Literally wine of breeding) Wines are aged for a period of at least one year in a barrel, then stored in bottles for one more year. As a rule, Crianzas are made from grapes of the third, fourth or fifth crop.

Reserva

These wines are aged for at least two years in the barrel, then one additional year in the bottle.

Gran Reserva

Only permitted in particularly good vintages. Aged for at least three years in oak barrels, then one year in bottles in the underground cellars famous in La Rioja, called calaos.

Apart from the special reserves, you can also get Vino joven o Vino del año (Young wine): wine made for immediate drinking, bottled straight after fining (no ageing in oak casks). Lighter and easier to drink than crianza or reserva (but you can't really compare!).

Rioja Wineries

The following is a short list of Rioja wines, but there are many others:

• Marqués de Riscal - This is the oldest bodega in La Rioja and was founded in 1860 by the Marques of Riscal. This winery only produces Reserva and Gran Reserva wines and the grapes come from vineyards that are at least 20 years old. They also make fantastic white wine from the sanctuary of Rueda.
  

• Muga - "In our wines you find both tradition and modernity side by side. They are an exact reflection of very specific climatic and geographic features, and that’s why they have a pronounced personality."
  

• Marques de Cáceres - Enrique Forner founded this winery in the 1960's with the help of his friend, professor Emile Peynaud, who had already collaborated with the Forner family in Bourdeaux, France. The winery is named after the Marques, Juan Ambrosio Garcia de Cáceres y Montemayor.

• C.V.N.E. (Compania Vinicola del Norte de España) - This winery was founded in 1879 and keeps up to date on the latest equipment and technology available. This winery was honored when the Royal Family chose one of its wines to be served at one of Prince Felipe's wedding celebrations.

• Campo Viejo - This is one of the largest bodegas, with over 45,000 barrels, stored in its underground cellars. This winery has a wide variety of wines, from simple white table wines to exclusive special reserves.