Introduction

The name Ramírez de la Piscina traces its lineage back to the Navarra Kings who fought in the First Crusade during the 11th century. Included among this noble ancestry is the famous Cid Campeador. The name is also strongly embedded in the small village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, which is centrally located in the Sonsierra lands, in the heart of La Rioja Alta. Bodegas Ramírez de la Piscina elaborates its wines with grapes proceeding from its own vineyards located in Abalos and from other very carefully selected estates. The wine is made by two different methods: Carbonic maceration process: In this vinification process, entire bunches of selected grapes (with the skins, seeds and stems intact) are gently placed into a vat partially full of carbon dioxide in order to avoid the oxidation of the crushed grapes. Gravity causes that some grapes at the bottom of the barrel to be crushed by the grapes at the top. The crushed grapes release more carbon dioxide, The contact of carbon dioxide with the uncrushed grapes causes fermentation of the juice while it is still within the grape skin and postpones the activity of the yeast. We utilize carbonic maceration to create , red wines that can be drunk immediately with the highest aromatic and fruity expression. De-stemer: In this process, the grapes pass through the de-stemmer to remove everything but the berries themselves. This process allows us to create more concentrated and structured wines. The berries that go through this process are the placed into the vat for fermentation. In this process the berries parcialy crushed are floatting in the vat over the rest of the must. It is necessary to pump over in order to extract the tannins from the skin of the grapes. This extration process is carry out the natural enzimes of the grapes and helped by the increase of temperatute provoked by the yeast. Both of the aforementioned methods are backed up by proven technology and historical tradition that we have utilized correctly to create many award winning wines in international and domestic competitions. Some of our notable awards over the years include: A Gold Medal at the 1993 Euroalimentación competition in Bilbao for our 1992 Vintage; A Silver Medal at the 1994 INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE Blaye-Bourge competition for our 1990 Crianza; A Gold Medal in the 1996 Blaye-Bourg (Vinexpo) Competition for our Crianza 1993; A Gold Medal at the 1996 Madrid World Bacchus Competition for our 1990 Reserva. LAST AWARDS: 2004 VINALIAS INTERNATIONALES RAMÍREZ DE LA PISCINA CRIANZA 2001 SILVER MEDAL 2005 CONCOURS MONDIAL DE BRUXELLES RAMIREZ DE LA PISCINA SELECCION 2002 GOLDEN MEDAL 2006 INTERNATIONAL WINES & SPIRIT COMPETITION (LONDON) RAMÍREZ DE LA PISCINA RESERVA 2001 BRONZE MEDAL 2006 TEMPRANILLOS DEL MUNDO SANTA MARIA DE LA PISCINA GRAN RESERVA 98 SILVER MEDAL RAMÍREZ DE LA PISCINA SELECCIÓN 2002 SILVER MEDAL 2007 VINALIAS AMERICA LATINA RAMÍREZ DE LA PISCINA CRIANZA 2004 SILVER MEDAL 2008 CHALLENGE INTERNATIONAL DU VIN ( BORDEAUX/FRANCE ) ¡¡ NEW !! RAMIREZ DE LA PISCINA SELECCION 2005 GOLDEN MEDAL