Rioja and the Muga family. Tempranillo, oak and a love of tradition.

How Rioja became famous

Rioja lies in north central Spain, protected by two mountain ranges that shield it from cold northerly weather and hot southern winds. It has three subregions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, formerly called Rioja Baja. Within ten kilometers you can find four or five soil types, all based on chalk and clay, and each vintage leans either Atlantic and cool or Mediterranean and warm.

Rioja's rise began in the late 19th century. The railway linking Haro and Bilbao opened the way to export, and when phylloxera devastated Bordeaux, French winemakers crossed the Pyrenees. They brought barrel aging and French oak to a region that had largely made young, rustic wines and used American oak.

Tempranillo and its friends

Tempranillo is the king of Rioja. Its name comes from temprano, early, because it ripens early, which helps in the cooler parts of the region. It is a chameleon: black fruit in cooler sites, red fruit like strawberry and raspberry in warmer ones, with supple tannins and medium to high acidity. It can make juicy carbonic maceration wines or some of the world's longest-lived reds.

As the Muga team says, Tempranillo needs friends. Garnacha adds aroma and volume, Mazuelo brings color, acid and tannin, and Graciano adds power. The film shows how these blends are built first in the winemaker's head, then in the tanks.

Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva

Traditionally Rioja is labeled by aging. A Crianza is aged for at least two years with at least one in oak, a Reserva for three years with at least one in oak, and a Gran Reserva for five years with at least two in oak. Muga makes these classic styles alongside modern wines such as Torre Muga, first released in 1991, Aro and Selección Especial, which are deeper, more structured and made for the cellar.

The family's Prado Enea Gran Reserva is a traditional style that ages remarkably well. See why one expert calls it a waste to drink young.

A winery built of wood

Bodegas Muga was founded in 1932, but war delayed the family's barrel-aging plans until 1967, when they moved to Haro's historic station quarter. Today they hold thousands of barrels of French, American, Central European and even Spanish oak, and they ferment in large wooden vats instead of stainless steel. They even employ their own coopers, who choose trees in French forests, dry the staves outdoors for about three years and toast them to order.

The episode explains the difference between oaks with wit: American oak is sweet, open and friendly, with coconut, vanilla and baking spice, while French oak is more reserved, with finer grip and notes of coffee and chocolate. Muga also still clarifies with egg whites, tens of thousands per vintage. Find out what happens to the yolks.

A family that talks

The Muga cousins, sons of two brothers, say there is no secret: just a small family, good communication and the best raw material. Their uncle Isaac is the family's memory, with deep knowledge of their vineyard parcels, and they test ripeness by crushing berries and cracking seeds by hand.

Watch to see how they balance an optical sorting machine with centuries-old techniques, and why they believe Tempranillo could be the next great red grape for a warming world.

They also do not make every wine every year. In difficult vintages the family focuses its best grapes on the Muga Reserva to protect its quality, and refrigerated trucks cool the grapes on the way from the vineyard so fermentation starts slowly.

Go furtherWant to taste along? Find Bodegas Muga’s wines and where to buy them near you on Wine-Searcher.