Bideona Rioja - L4GD4 Viñas Viejas 2020

Bideona, from the Basque bide ona meaning “the good way,” represents the next generation of Rioja. Founded in 2018 by Andreas Kubach, a passionate MW raised in Brazil and Spain by German parents, and his partner Sam Harrop MW, a New Zealander, Bideona views Rioja’s capabilities through an international lens. Based in Rioja Alavesa, the smallest and northernmost of Rioja’s three sub-regions located just north of the Ebro River, Bideona defies the narrative that oak-aged Rioja is the sole tradition. In the past few decades, big, oaky Tempranillo has been the calling card of Rioja. Bideona’s focus is different, and mirrors that of a few other key, terroir-focused producers leading the charge towards (or perhaps, back to) pre-industrialization winemaking in Rioja, like Abel Mendoza, Arizcuren, and Artuke. Bideona’s model is to vinify tiny plots of land, about three quarters of an acre or one third the size of a soccer pitch, prioritizing place over process. This philosophy that is taking h