La consolidación del vino de Rioja en el siglo XVII

We now usually identify La Rioja (Spain) with its wines and likewise remark on their quality. The origin of identifying the wine from La Rioja with the region started back in the Middle Ages and mainly comes from, the 17th century. Indeed, throughout the 17th century, the determining factors to consolidate a kind of wine, Rioja, are present in the high basin of the river Ebro (La Rioja and adjacent regions). It produced enough wine to be sold out of the region, most of the agricultural land was vineyard, sales improved, there was a consumer market, the interests of the public authorities started to lie in serving the owners of the vineyards, and the entire social and economic structure was centred on its wine. It was so successful and everything was so well structured around Rioja wine that this model of organization lasted until the phylloxera disaster in the 19th century.