Wine Filter
Beronia
A group of businessmen and friends of a Gastronomic Society from the Basque country used to come to La Rioja on holiday together, and decided to produce their own wines to go with the local cuisine. Thus in 1973 Beronia was born. They named their Bodega in tribute to the primitive inhabitants who once lived on their land. In the 3rd century BCE the Rioja region in the north of Spain was inhabited by the Berones – a warrior people of Celtic origin, and they called their land Beronia. However, Beronia has been owned by by the Gonzalez Byass Family of Wine Group since 1982. Their winery is located in the Rioja Alta sub-region of Rioja, where over 900 hectares of vines are planted on typical terraces across the three main soil types of the area; clay-lime [great aging potential], clay-ferrous [good for developing grippy tannins seen in Rioja's finest reds] and alluvial [lighter wines with distinct fruity characteristics]. All of the vineyards are located less than 10 kilometers from the winery, and the age of the vines are between 20 and 100 years. They also have 65 hectares in Rueda, solely dedicated to the production of Verdejo wines planted in two vineyard areas: Finca El Torrejon contains a high proportion of alluvial deposit from the Duero River, especially veins of lime, which give the wines considerable minerality, and Finca La Perdiz where the soils are sandy which creates complexity. Sustainability is integral to their philosophy. They were the first winery in Europe to gain LEED - Leader in Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design, and a number of their vineyards are certified organic. Matías Calleja, Beronia's technical director and winemaker, has honed the house style over 40 years and they are renowned for producing pure and traditional Riojas which deliver expressive fruit and luscious textures with innovative oak aging. Beronia pioneered the use of mixed oak barrels - a combination of American oak staves with French oak ends, resulting in a unique combination of aromas and flavours.