Arizcuren

Rioja, Spain
Arizcuren

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

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Short Summary

Well-known and highly respected architect turned winegrower, Javier Arizcuren is one of Rioja Oriental’s most exciting talents. Javier spends his “spare time” focused on rescuing high-altitude, ancient Grenache and Mazuelo (the local name for Cariñana), on vineyards that managed to survive both phylloxera and the trend of replacing historic vines with Tempranillo, a grape that ripens early, and that is only a small part of this region’s history despite its dominance today. His experience with architecture leads him down rabbit holes of possibility and experimentation (a rarity in this often predictable and extremely conservative wine region) so that he may better understand the aesthetic of each site and build on its strengths using various fermentation and aging techniques.

Full Length Story

More in-depth content will be posted soon. In the meantime, here is a short teaser:

Well-known and highly respected architect turned winegrower, Javiar Arizcuren is one of Rioja Oriental’s most exciting new talents. With the help of his father, Javiar spends his “spare time” focused on rescuing high-altitude, ancient Grenache and Mazuelo (the local name for Carignana), on vineyards that managed to survive both phylloxera, and the trend of replacing historic vines with Tempranillo, an early-ripening grape that is only a small part of this region’s history despite its dominance today. His experience with architecture leads him down rabbit holes of possibility and experimentation (a rarity in this often predictable and extremely conservative wine region), so that he may better understand the aesthetic of each site and build on its strengths using various fermentation and aging techniques.