Frequently Asked Questions
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They are the Zamora family, who are known in the world of wine by means of several quality-controlled wines like Rioja, Rias Baixas and Castilla-La Mancha.
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How many hectares of vineyard do we have?
Do we bring wine from outside of Rioja?
How many kilograms of grape do we harvest?
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We manage 475 hectares in High Rioja, of which a part belongs to us and the rest is vineyard, controlled throughout the year by our team of agronomists and farmers, of whom we have spent generations working with.
We do not bring wine from outside of Rioja as this would mean that it would no longer be quality-controlled wine. The Regulating Council controls the work in the vineyards during the whole year, like the harvest and there is always a wine control in the bodega.
We harvest some 3 million kilograms of grape.
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What levels of sugar are used in the harvest?
What are the other parameters to keep in mind?
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The level of sugar is between 13 and 14 grades. The level of acidity is also important: pH, state of the grape, etc.
Not everything is harvested at the same time, but rather chosen by areas, age of vineyard, etc.
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¿How does the year have to be in relation to the climate so that the grape can be excellent?
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It is not so important if it is very hot or very cold but rather that the climatic conditions be suitable, for example, that an ample supply of water is provided; that there are no frost spells in spring after the vine has budded; that there is enough sunshine when the fruit has to mature; that hail storms do not occur when the fruit is ripe, etc.
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What is the temperature during the fermentation of the wine?
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During the alcoholic fermentation the temperature is controlled using the refrigeration mantles, since for the first few days the liquid part can go as high as 29 degrees. The temperature then drops slowly for the period of fermentation of 21 days, until finishing off at approximately 20 degrees.
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How many vats do we have and what is their total capacity?
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We have 105 vats with capacities adapted to the fermentation for the different plots of vineyard. This variety benefits us with versatility to produce using different capacities.
We have an approximate capacity to produce 4,000,000 bottles.
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Why do we use stainless steel vats and not just wooden ones such is the case in other bodegas?
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We have both types. At the moment, the stainless steel vats are the most hygienic and more easily temperature controlled. However, the grapes from older vineyards or from vineyards of higher quality, are selected by hand and are fermented in casks of French oak.
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¿How is the wine cooled in the oak vats and how long do they last?
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They are provided with an internal refrigeration system by means of interchangeable plaques. The exterior panels display temperature indicators. The vats can have a life span of some 10-12 years; 5 of the ones we have are from the vintage year of 1998 and the other 3 from 2005, and we also have about 20 on order for the new bodega.
what is the difference between young wines, crianzas, reservas and gran reservas?
One of the main differences is the quality of the grape, such as the age of the vine, because the older the vineyard is the smaller the yield yet its quality will be better. Apart from this, every bodega has its policies but to draw a line we can mention the minimum requirements put forward by the Regulating Council in order to assure that the wine achieves the seal of a crianza, reserva or gran reserva. A wine considered to be a crianza will be one which in at least its third year of life will have been maturing a minimum of 1 year in oak barrels. A reserva will have been in a state of maturity for a minimum of 3 years between barrel and bottle, furthermore they must have been at least a year nurturing in oak barrels. The gran reserva are those that have been matured a minimum of 2 years in oak barrels and 3 years in bottle.
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What is the difference between young wines, crianzas, reservas and gran reservas?
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One of the main differences is the quality of the grape, such as the age of the vine, because the older the vineyard is the smaller the yield yet its quality will be better. Apart from this, every bodega has its policies but to draw a line we can mention the minimum requirements put forward by the Regulating Council in order to assure that the wine achieves the seal of a crianza, reserva or gran reserva. A wine considered to be a crianza will be one which in at least its third year of life will have been maturing a minimum of 1 year in oak barrels. A reserva will have been in a state of maturity for a minimum of 3 years between barrel and bottle, furthermore they must have been at least a year nurturing in oak barrels. The gran reserva are those that have been matured a minimum of 2 years in oak barrels and 3 years in bottle. |
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¿What is an author’s wine?
Why is Mirto thus called?
And is it a gran reserva?
Why does it have the generic label?
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The truth is that these wines have various pseudonyms; author’s wine, designer wine, high expression or high concentration and so on. They are wines that stand out and bend the rules a bit. It was 11 years ago when bodegas started to work on this type of wine. At Ramon Bilbao we started putting aside the oldest vines – over 70 years old. Production and maturing of the wine were performed in a completely traditional.
Mirto is also the name of a shrub (myrtle) that grows abundantly in Mediterranean areas albeit uncommon in this area. However, in and around the area where we have some of our vineyards in High Rioja there are some scattered about. After some years we realized that during the years when the myrtle is at its leafiest and its blossoms and shrubs are luxuriant, it just so happens that the grapes on the vines are also very special. Because of this phenomenon we tend to say at Ramon Bilbao: “Year of myrtle, year of wine.”
In the end, we manage to produce a special wine; more concentrated, more body and longer-lasting. It is no gran reserva, nor even a reserva, it is not necessary to try to categorize it anywhere because it is a wine that speaks for itself. Leaving it as a generic we do not have to bend to the rules of the Council, knowing full well that it is the wine that gives the orders and we have to stand behind it.
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How many barrels do we have?
How often do we change them?
What do we do with the ones we dispose of?
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At the moment we have over 15,000 barrels at the bodega, of which 60% is American oak from the states of Virginia and Missouri, and 40% is French oak from Allier.
The barrels are changed every 5 years at the most, because of the process of wine oxidation and they need the oxygen to enter which can only be achieved by means of the pores in the barrel. If the pores close shut the barrel will turn into a simple deposit which will paralyze the process.
Some of the barrels that we withdraw from use, as they are still as good as new, can be sold to other bodegas. We also respond to a certain demand to convert the old barrels for use in gardening or decorated for tables in bars, etc.
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Which is better? French oak or American oak?
What are the differences between them?
Why is Spanish oak not used?
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It is not a question of which is better but rather which one contributes different hints to the wine. It is true that French oak is more expensive, but for the fact that there is a lot less of it and because of the way of manufacture. American oak is taller and straighter and when sawing it more barrels can be made from one tree, while the French oak is more twisted and less wood is taken advantage of.
Regarding hints or layers, the American oak contributes a more woody sensation with spicy touches, while French oak offers more balsamic aromas like sandalwood or cedar to the wine, giving a possible fruity element also. French oak is also more porous and therefore speeds up the evolution of the wine. These are perhaps the most elemental differences.
On the other hand, Spanish oak is not used for Rioja wine, basically because the tree is very small and its trunk very twisted and for this reason it is practically impossible to quarter the staves. However, one would also have to define whether the layers of the oak mixed well with Rioja grapes in order to be placed among our wines.
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How many bottles are there or fit in the bottle racks?
How many in each cage?
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The current bottle rack has a capacity for 2,000,000 bottles, although there are usually about 1,400,000 bottles loaded.
Each cage holds 588 bottles. The size of each one is 14x14x3.
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Is the glass important for the bottles?
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Yes, it serves a use to isolate the wine thermally and protect it against radiation.. |
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Does ageing in bottle serve a use for anything?
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The oxidation phase in barrels is as important as the strengthening and reduction in bottles. The barrel and the wine have transmitted between them many different layers but the wood hardens the wine a lot as well. So this complimentary phase is necessary, where the wine almost completely separates itself from the oxygen so that it does not lose its qualities it took beforehand. But oxygen continues to be needed and this minimal entry of oxygen can only enter if the cork is 100% natural. This entry of oxygen will make the wine shed its harshness that it incurred in the barrel and will gently soften it up, and while the wine gently smoothes itself out, it also strengthens up those details in the tasting that, in the end, we hope to let stand out in each one of our wines.
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It is said that the synthetic cork is in fashion, so why do you not use it?
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The synthetic cork lacks pores, so the oxygen cannot enter. It is true that in recent years the price of natural cork has risen considerably, above all because in the Peninsula there is not so much in abundance as there used to be. So the price of cork has risen a lot and therefore synthetic corks are used quite a lot in young wines that lack the phase spent in bottle.
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What is the life of the wine outside the bodega?
How should one store wine?
Is it true that magnums are better? Why?
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There is no mathematics in wine, as it is considered a living thing, but as a general rule one could say that the life of a crianza is usually between 5 to 6 years; a reserva is generally 10 years and a gran reserva some 15 years. Regarding the great reservas, it is no longer a problem of the wine but also of the cork, as after these years have passed they can start declining by internal porosity. The ideal action to take at the hour of storing is fourfold: keep the temperature as constant as possible; humidity; no strong smells; no loud noises or strong lighting. The truth is that these wines leave the bodega matured and well stabilized, therefore these 4 factors would have to be really exaggerated or very frequent in order for the wine to spoil.
It is true that the magnum offers better quality because the wine is nurtured in this format, therefore by having more quantity of wine, the colour, smell and aromas remain much more intensified, so in this way, the life of the wine in magnum format is usually also longer.
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How does the Regulating Council control you?
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Throughout the whole year there are rules that govern over all the work carried out in the vineyards, like pruning, and summer pruning, or unloading the grape bunches, the amount of grapes collected at harvest time, etc. Thus there is an exhaustive control on all grapes that enter the bodega. The Council always sends someone to the bodega in order to check the quantity and quality of the harvested grape at its reception. During the year we also have ledgers that we must keep up to date, and revisions, controlled visits to the bodega, checks on sealing and so on.
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What do we do with the excess wine?
Do we have unlabelled wine?
When the batch is spoiled what do we do with the wine?
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The truth is that there is never any excess of wine, because by controlling the unloading of bunches of grapes we control the amount in order to control the quantity and quality, therefore the black grape can have a harvest as high as 6,500 kilograms per hectare and the white grape can have 9,000 kilograms per hectare. Only on special occasions, but this has never happened to us, is the wine disqualified after production for not giving parameters. The Council will then give you a deadline to offload the wine which can actually be sold to bodegas producing table wine or even to distilleries.
Nor do we have any unlabelled wine, as we have already said, we do not have any excess wine and furthermore, the Council makes sure that the labels and seals and the quantity of wine in the bodega coincides perfectly.
When there is not a lot of grape during a harvest, the quality of wine is usually inferior, moreover in the vintage years in which the wine does not develop we do not produce any wine at all at Ramon Bilbao as we always strive to maintain a high range of wine.
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Do we control the wine in any way once it has left the bodega, i.e., do we make sure that our clients sell the wine in good conditions?
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By owning one’s own distributor like Zadibe, using our own team of managers and sales staff, it allows us to have a very personal contact with our clients; hoteliers as well as smaller distributors. Furthermore, being aware of the importance of treating the client well we usually invite them to visit the bodega so that they can get to know well the wine that further on they will offer. In this way, we offer them the possibility of tasting the latest vintages with us so that they get an understanding in situ about how we treat our wines. The professionalism regarding all aspects of wine increases more and more all the time and therefore we try to educate our clients in the most appropriate way regarding the wine.
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How are we placed regarding quantity and quality?
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Regarding quantity, we could say that we have an average production of 2,500,000 bottles per year which means we would have an average production if we compared it with other bodegas. Regarding quality, we are very well placed being a constant reference in wine literature.
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How many bottles do we usually produce in one year?
How much is exported? And where does it go?
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Some 2,700,000 bottles are produced each year with a home market of around 70%. The other 30% is for exportation going to almost all countries. Countries with important markets are, for example, the USA, Switzerland or Sweden, etc.
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How does ageing in barrel differ from ageing in bottle?
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Ageing in barrel uses the oxidation process, which brings together the wine with a small quantity of oxygen measured out slowly which, in turn, makes it evolve very slowly and transforms it as if it were curing it.
Whereas the ageing in bottle is a reductive process where the wine undergoes a certain period of time starved of oxygen causing the wine to round itself off and freshen up.
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How often should the wine be aired?
Should one decant?
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It is a fact that a little bit of airing is good for the wine, but there is no hard and fast rule; there are those bottles that with half an hour release themselves quickly and others such as the gran reservas or designer wine that need around two hours. Once the bottle is corked, and one sniffs the wine in the glass, the sensation that it produces will indicate a little bit what it needs.
Although many people think nowadays that the decanter is used exclusively to air the wine, the reality is that decanting actually cleanses precipitated wines, as there are wines that have not been filtered, like the Mirto, and lees or sediments may be found. Lees also appear in older bottles or those wines that have undergone quite a lot of movement during their lifetime.
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How does one taste a wine?
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There are quite a lot of tastings; it could be a simple sensorial analysis in order to extract layers from the wine, or vintage tastings in order to compare years, or even wines from the same category and so on. The fact is that wine tasting can be simplified in 3 phases: The visual phase, where one analyzes the aspect of the wine, the colour, transparency, shine and tone. The second phase is using the sense of smell looking for primary aromas of the fruit to determine the variety of the grape used or the aromas that come from the wood, in case they have them, and afterwards looking for the balance between the fruit and the wood. The third and final phase is taste, where one analyzes the flavours and sensations that are felt in the mouth or on the palate and its aftertaste, then one comes to the conclusion if the wine is balanced, well structured and complex.
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