Aula· Spain, city by cityLa Rioja
Cenicero
«Cenicero destaca por sus viñedos y su tradición vinícola.»Cenicero stands out for its vineyards and wine tradition.
Cenicero is on the banks of the Ebro, in the middle of the vineyards of the Rioja Alta, halfway between Logroño and Haro. Almost the entire town works around the vineyard and the winery, and several of its bodegas are among the oldest in the denomination, born with the arrival of French producers.
Did you know
Muy Leal for a brave resistance.
The city received the title of 'Muy Leal' from Queen Maria Cristina in the 19th century for the courageous resistance of its citizens during the Carlist Wars.
How they talk in Cenicero
«Sarmiento» and «vendimia» are much more everyday words here than in a non-wine-producing city. «Cenicero» belongs to the Rioja Alta and the lexicon of wine enters into work and family conversations.
golmajería
Confectionery, sweets, or a collection of treats. Used to talk about sweets and pastry preparations from the Riojan tradition.
Everyday life in Cenicero
The wineries are the town
Cenicero has a very high density of bodegas for its size, some from the early 19th century: people work in wine, talk about wine, and the harvest decides how the year has gone.
«Aquí casi todos trabajan en el vino.» — Here almost everyone works in wine.
The «vendimia» by hand in the old rows
In the old grape vineyards, harvesting is still done by hand with shears, crate by crate: in September, teams of pickers arrive and the town fills up.
«Estas cepas se vendimian a mano.» — These vines are harvested by hand.
The Ebro behind the vineyards
The river marks the northern border of the municipality and the vineyards reach right up to it: people go for walks on the bank, among the rows and the water.
What to eat in Cenicero
Caparrones
Small red beans cooked slowly with chorizo and morcilla.
Menestra riojana
Garden vegetables stewed one by one and then combined, with ham and hard-boiled egg.
Chuletillas al sarmiento
Lamb chops grilled over dried vine shoots.
Festivals in Cenicero
Santa Daría y Virgen del Valle
between late August and 8 September
The giants tour the town and the first must is offered: here the harvest and the festival are the same thing.
What to see in Cenicero
Las bodegas
The town's historic wineries, some among the oldest in the denomination.
Iglesia de San Martín
The town's Renaissance church, with the tower visible among the rows of vines.
The vineyards of the Rioja Alta
The low rows of vines around the town, with the Cantabrian mountains closing the horizon.
Where Cenicero comes from
The town that earned its title
12th century
The village
It was born on the banks of the Ebro, in the middle of the vineyards of the Rioja Alta.
1834
The defence
The town repelled a Carlist attack: for that, it received the title of «villa».
19th century
The wineries
With the French phylloxera, producers arrived and the great bodegas were born.
20th century → today
Wine
Almost the entire town works around the vineyard and the winery.
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