🍷 Bodegas Muga

Bodegas Muga is a family winery in the Barrio de la Estación of Haro, in the Rioja Alta part of the Rioja appellation. According to the house, it was founded in 1932 by Isaac Muga and Aurora Caño, occupies a two-hundred-year-old building and has been run by three generations of the family.

According to the house, it combines traditional methods — fining with egg whites and racking by gravity — with modern techniques, and uses oak throughout winemaking and ageing; it says it is the only winery in Spain with its own three master coopers. Its wines include Muga Reserva, Selección Especial, Prado Enea Gran Reserva, Torre Muga, Aro, Flor de Muga and Conde de Haro.

The house says its vats and casks are made in its own cooperage, and that the winery stands at Avenida Vizcaya 2 in Haro. It states that a majority of its vineyards are estate-owned, without giving an area, and lists sustainability measures including responsible vineyard management, rational use of water, energy efficiency and the recycling of wood from casks, as well as collaboration with suppliers from La Rioja.

Besides the red wines named above, the house's range includes Muga Blanco, Muga Rosado, Flor de Muga Blanco and Flor de Muga Rosé, and the sparkling Conde de Haro Reserva and Conde de Haro Rosé. It offers visits to the winery, including a 90-minute tour and a tour with a tasting class lasting two and a half hours.

Rioja is a protected designation of origin (PDO) and Spain's first DOCa. The label shows the ageing: a red Reserva is aged for at least 36 months, at least 12 of them in barrel and 6 in bottle, and a Gran Reserva for at least 60 months, at least 24 in barrel and 24 in bottle. The wine may be bottled only within the zone.

Why it matters to you. Reserva and Gran Reserva guarantee minimum ageing under the rules; egg-white fining is worth knowing about for vegans and people with allergies. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.