Is Rioja the World’s Most Exciting Wine Region Right Now?

When one of North America’s leading wine authorities dedicates an entire feature to Rioja — and calls it the world’s most exciting wine region — we pay attention. That’s exactly what happened when Master Sommelier John Szabo returned from Rioja’s centennial celebrations with a glowing report for Canadian Family Offices.

Szabo arrived skeptical of easy superlatives and left convinced. What struck him most was the tension — and harmony — between century-old tradition and a wave of genuinely exciting new voices.

“Rioja is a region in motion, a region that anticipates and connects with new market realities. Falling behind is more dangerous than evolving; adaptation is not optional.”
— Raquel Peréz Cueva, President, Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja

Szabo traces the story of Rioja from its Roman-era origins through the 19th-century arrival of Bordeaux techniques, the railway revolution that connected Haro to global markets, and into the current era of single-vineyard wines, rediscovered indigenous varieties, and world-class whites. The region, he notes, has earned its nickname: “The Land of 1,000 Wines.”

Spanish Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros, who led a tasting during the celebrations, put it memorably: when you say “Rioja” without qualification, you say almost nothing at all — the region is simply that diverse.

Szabo’s top-rated wines from the article

What makes Szabo’s take especially valuable is his refusal to flatten Rioja into a single story. He gives equal time to the timeless — R. López de Heredia’s oxidative Reservas, C.V.N.E.’s legendary Imperial — and the groundbreaking: Artuke’s century-old field blends, Arizcuren’s pre-phylloxera ungrafted parcels, Sandra Bravo’s high-altitude garnacha at Sierra de Toloño. Both, he argues, are essential — and both are thriving.

For collectors and everyday drinkers alike, the article is a timely reminder: Rioja rewards curiosity. Whether you’re seeking the silky, time-polished elegance of a Gran Reserva or the electric tension of a single-village garnacha, the region has something exceptional to offer.

This article originally appeared in Canadian Family Offices, March 20, 2026.
Written by John Szabo, Master Sommelier. All scores and tasting notes are his own.