Viña Ijalba

Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba planted his first vines in 1975 in an abandoned open-cast mine outside Logroño, and what now stands on that site is the winery that pioneered organic certification in Rioja, with concrete evidence of the quarry's former depth still visible in the 20-foot stumps topped with street lamps that once marked ground level. Grown in those same disused quarry soils, the wines are endowed with a remarkable minerality; perhaps the site's noblest legacy. Third-generation Cristina Gutiérrez leads the estate alongside winemaker Pedro Salguero, and together they have unveiled attractive new packaging to go with their never-ending efforts at improvement. The winery has set the region’s standard for environmental awareness and, equally, for the rescue of varieties Rioja had largely abandoned: their germplasm bank holds seeds of over 100 native varieties, they maintain an experimental vineyard of autochthonous varieties, and they were the first to produce varietal wines from Maturana Blanca and Maturana Tinta, and the first in Rioja to bottle a varietal Graciano.

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Producer:	Viña Ijalba
Country:	Spain
Region:	Rioja
City of Origin:	Logroño
Owner Name:	Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba
Vineyard Size:	222.30 acres
Total Annual Production:	60,000 bottles

Property History:

Viña Ijalba is the history of a family, as well as a commitment to the evolution of Rioja, from the day that Dionisio Ruiz planted his first vine in 1975 on an old gravel pit, which reproduced the natural conditions in which vines grow in La Rioja. And so began the pioneering road, innovative and clear, that Viña Ijalba has been travelling since then. Viña Ijalba has its own stories involving the transformation of gravel pits and open cast mines into new vinyeards, and the recovery of rare indigenous varieties of Rioja vines that had almost dissappeared.

Owner History:

Dionisio Ruiz, Ijalba founder, is now 86 years old and he is a very important business man in Rioja with his open sky mine business. He always worked hard and focused on realizing his dreams, and hence was able to make his own winery in the 90's from his own vines planted in the 70's in his old quarries...