Vinicola Real

Tasting Vinícola Real’s wines, one can easily understand the estate’s mission to communicate the essence of the land and the landscape, through expressive wines that grow in complexity and maturity.

Although Vinícola Real’s owner and winemaker, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, began his wine journey in 1989 in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, La Rioja, he had a different vision for his estate: to pay tribute to the traditional viticulture model dating back to the 10th century, when around 200 priests dedicated their lives to safeguarding traditional agriculture in the Monastery of San Martín de Albelda, right where the vineyards still stand today. One of the most important cultural centres in medieval Spain, the Monastery San Martín of Albeda de Iregua held until it was destroyed with the landslide of the Salagona Crag in the year 1683.

Started as a small organic vineyard in the 1990s, Vinícola Real has grown to 25 hectares of vineyards planted on clay soil, all farmed organically and, most importantly, traditionally, by a small, knowledgeable and dedicated team. The vineyards of Vinícola Real are old vines, yielding smaller fruit quantities of superior concentration and balance. All the grapes are hand-harvested and hand-selected during harvest to produce some of the most expressive wines from La Rioja. More than that, the unique philosophy of viticulture that sets Vinícola Real apart is a desire to observe and listen, always considering the vines as a legacy of knowledge to protect and preserve. The objective is to keep the identity of each vineyard intact by respecting its age and the typicity of the local varieties. Vinícola Real relies on sustainable viticulture with the least amount of intervention on the land. They do not use artificial herbicides and pesticides, opting for more natural methods of cultivation where they only hand-select the best parcels for each wine.

The cellar of Vinícola Real is both a work of art and a mindful homage to the disappeared monastery of San Martín de Albelda. Continuing the tradition of those hermits who, more than a thousand years ago, excavated a set of caves from clay rocks to form the monastery, Miguel Angel Rodriguez used the same clay for the construction of the Vinícola Real cellar. For that sight alone, we highly recommend visiting Vinícola Real if you ever go on a wine tasting trip in La Rioja. Not only does the estate produce outstanding wines and pays a moving homage to the monastery’s traditional viticulture model, it also provides an amazing experience for all visitors. The winery includes a magnificent hotel as well, which is guaranteed to make your stay even more memorable. ¡Salud!