Joven at heart: Rioja’s next winemaking generation
The focus in Rioja is increasingly on terroir and individual, localised character in wines, as Rioja’s talented next generation of winemakers begin to exert their influence.
In Rioja, it’s no crime to be joven (meaning ‘young’) – it’s actually an advantage; and not just for the wines. There’s a current of youthful excitement running through the region, thanks to the latest new generation of winemakers who are more prepared than ever to take on the challenges of an uncertain future.
As it celebrates its centenary this year, DOCa Rioja is reckoning with changing consumer tastes and declining red wine consumption around the world.
Faced with a radical reconsideration of the region’s place in the wine world, Rioja’s young winemakers are injecting the appellation with a much-needed dose of energy, optimism and clarity.
They’re taking the reins of family wineries and setting their sights on a new idea of Rioja, while never rejecting the wisdom of the past.
For this new generation, it’s clear that the way forward is turning to terroir. It’s not an easy feat, by any means; the concept of place has never been the focus of the conversation here as it was in other regions.
Instead, when we talk about Rioja it’s usually about barrels, and in most wine textbooks any mention of regional terroir is limited to the three well-established sub-zones of Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental.
The Rioja regional consejo regulador has slowly ceded ground by allowing wines to be labelled as Vinos de Municipio, or now de Pueblo, and there’s also a process to designate a vineyard as a Viñedo Singular (single-vineyard), governed by strict requirements on farming and yields.
More recently, winemakers have been given permission to add the name of the village where the vineyards are located to labels.
Making the right noises
The winemakers profiled in the pages that follow are representative of a young (very young) new generation whose motto could be summed up as ‘place over process’.
They know that the best way to promote Rioja in an increasingly crowded wine world is to shout its terroir from the rooftops and make sure that this shines through in their wines.
They’re educated, well-travelled and uniquely positioned to move Rioja into a second century of success.
But most of all, they’re excited – about their villages, their vineyards and their region’s potential to be one of the 21st century’s most inspiring places to make wine.
Lucía Abando
Bodegas Las Orcas
At age 28, Lucía Abando is the sixth generation of grape-growers in her family and the fourth generation of winemakers in Laguardia, Rioja Alavesa.
When she was 15, she decided to join the family business, eventually completing a degree in agricultural engineering and a masters in winemaking.
Now, Abando has total independence in the vineyard, where she’s converting the family’s holdings to organic viticulture, recovering indigenous grapes and experimenting with single-parcel wines.
Abando takes pride in her commitment to a life in the vines. ‘Out of the 13 of us who grew up together, two of us still live in Laguardia,’ she says. ‘And I’m the only one working in the vineyard.’
Being a young woman in a field dominated by men isn’t always easy.
‘People have come up to me at wine fairs and asked, “Who are you, the sales manager? Where’s the real winemaker?”’ she says.
But Abando is quick to point out that despite the occasional negativity, there’s nothing she’d rather be doing.
She defines the generational shift as a rise in the numbers of young people who are enthusiastic about putting Rioja where it deserves to be.
‘We know how to listen to tradition,’ she says, ‘but we’re prepared to work in different ways.’
Abando points to the increase in village- and vineyard- specific wines as a sign of this new way of making Rioja. Above all, she says her generation knows how to have fun.
‘We all get along really well,’ she says. ‘It’s a very good vibe.’
Juan Valdelana
Bodegas Valdelana
Aged 32, Juan Valdelana is the third generation to bottle wine under the Valdelana label in Elciego, Rioja Alavesa, though the family involvement in producing its own wine stretches back to the 17th century.
Juan took over from his father Juan Jésus in 2013 at the age of 21, after working in wineries in California and the Canary Islands. ‘I’ve always wanted to make wine, ever since I was little,’ he says. ‘No one made me do this.’
Valdelana recognises that there could have been an easier path: ‘I have good friends in different careers who are very hardworking, but they can put in their 9-5 and go home. This winery is my life,’ he says.
But he emphasises that continuing a family legacy is its own reward. ‘For me, success is being with my family and facing the world together,’ he says.
Since taking over as winemaker, Valdelana has spent several years isolating vineyards to certify them under the DOCa’s Viñedo Singular designation. He believes Rioja is undergoing a return to terroir, and hopes that the current situation will give others the opportunity to expand family wineries or create projects of their own.
‘I think now it’s easier to get hold of land,’ he says. ‘Yes, the market is in a difficult place, but I think it’s a good thing for people who want to do something new.’
His advice to his fellow young people? Don’t underestimate the importance of hard work.
‘Instagram has done a lot of damage,’ he says. ‘You can project an image that’s far from the truth of this life. But in the end, everything is work and sacrifice.’
Javier Peciña
Bodegas Feco
Javier Peciña comes from a family of viticultores (grape-growers) in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, which is steadily gaining a reputation as a ‘grand cru’ village in northern Rioja Alta. He grew up in the winery, and remembers helping his father and uncle press the grapes they sold in bulk.
After completing a winemaking degree in 2020, he returned to the family winery and began to bottle wine from their best vineyards under the Bodegas Feco label.
‘My father and uncle supported me, because if we kept selling grapes we would just be dependent on the market,’ Peciña says. ‘This way, we can sell our own wine and have more control.’
Now aged 26, Peciña says some people were initially sceptical of his youth, but today the response is overwhelmingly supportive. ‘At first they wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a passing hobby,’ he explains. ‘They looked for continuity and now they’ve seen it.’
Despite his success, Peciña has concerns for the region’s future. ‘Wineries and families of growers are disappearing,’ he says. ‘People try to make it work for a year or two, but then they end up selling everything and working in a factory.’
But for Peciña, no other option would do. His uncle is now retired, and 2025 will be his father’s last harvest. ‘I consider this to be more than wine,’ he says.
‘Being the next generation is a really beautiful thing. And if I hadn’t kept going, my father and uncle would have spent their whole life working for nothing.’
José Gil
José Gil Vinos
After 10 years working side by side with his father and uncle in their winery in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, José Gil struck out on his own. His eponymous project is ‘a return to traditional methods using modern advancements’, he says.
Gil, 34, works with his wife Vicky Fernández to isolate the best parcels in and around San Vicente. He compares his model to that of Burgundy, as opposed to the Bordelais ‘house style’ method that generally prevails in Rioja.
Although his wines have been well received by critics, it wasn’t always this way. ‘Until you do something well, it’s difficult to establish credibility,’ Gil says.
He notes that young people tend to look for quick results – perhaps as a result of social media – but older generations need to guide them and let them experiment.
‘You also have to travel and get to know other ways of doing things,’ he says.
Gil has spent time in France, Germany, Portugal and the rest of Spain, but ‘you have to make Rioja in Rioja’, he continues. And besides the practical, it doesn’t hurt to love what you do.
‘You have to make money, but at the end of the day this needs to be something romantic,’ he says. ‘I feel like I’m on vacation all year.’
As far as the new generation goes, Gil is convinced the best is yet to come. ‘We need to mature as growers and winemakers, and above all, we have to be humble,’ he says. ‘Our greatest wines are still waiting to be made,’ he concludes.
Ricardo Fernández & David Fernández
Bodegas Abeica
Cousins Ricardo and David Fernández, 28 and 25 respectively, are the fifth generation to make wine and the third generation to bottle it at Bodegas Abeica in Abalos, Rioja Alta.
Both say they decided to join the family business out of love, not obligation – David’s brother and Ricardo’s sister both have careers outside wine.
Now, they’ve turned their focus to making single-varietal and single- vineyard wines from their best vineyards in addition to their flagship wines.
‘We make wines we like to drink, but we have to represent the village,’ David explains. ‘We’re lucky to have the vines we have, and we want to make wines that transmit the vineyard,’ adds Ricardo.
They see opportunities for the next generation in Rioja’s current difficulties. ‘It’s harder to get started if you’re not taking over from family, but there are a lot of vineyards available now and people can start little by little,’ says Ricardo. ‘And if someone wants to start a project, we’re all happy to help them,’ says David.
Asked to define the new generation, they answer with three phrases: ‘less is more’, ‘focus on the origin’, and ‘more wines made in the vineyard and fewer in the winery’.
Their approach to innovation is cautious; they want to respect tradition and implement any changes bit by bit.
‘It’s an honour to work the way our ancestors did. But if we had kept on doing things the same way, then we wouldn’t be able to consider ourselves part of a new generation,’ says Ricardo.
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