Founded on friendship and Basque dining culture
The name Bodegas Beronia is deeply rooted in the history of La Rioja: The Berones, a Celtic tribe, settled in the region from the 3rd century BC — and later gave the winery its name. It was founded in 1973 by a group of Basque friends from San Sebastián, all members of a gastronomic society, a so-called Txoko. The friends spent their summers in the village of Ollauri in the Rioja Alta, drank the local wines, and came up with the idea of producing their own — wines that would suit their meals and shared celebrations. The winery was therefore not created out of commercial calculation, but out of a desire to translate the joy of dining into a bottle.
In 1982, Beronia became part of the González-Byass group, which opened the way to international markets. A small portion of the shares is still held by the founding families and their descendants today. The first building on the edge of Ollauri dates back to 1977; in 2022, a completely newly built, modern winery building was added in the middle of the vineyards.
Ollauri, gravity, and a cellar under grass
Beronia manages its own vineyards around Ollauri and also works with long-standing grape suppliers from the Rioja Alta — some of these partnerships have existed for over 40 years. The vines mainly come from places like Ollauri, Briones, San Vicente, Haro, and Casalarreina; older vines for the top wines reach an age of over 60 years. The main grape variety is Tempranillo, supplemented by Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo for the Rioja red wines, as well as Verdejo for the white wine line from Rueda.
The cellar building opened in 2022 is a milestone in sustainable wine architecture: partially built underground with a planted green roof, it uses thermal inertia and gravity for energy-efficient winemaking. It was the first winery in Rioja to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) pre-certification from the US Green Building Council and also carries the Wineries for Climate Protection certification. Cellar master Alejandro López now continues the work of his long-standing predecessor Matías Calleja, who shaped the profile of the winery for over four decades.
Rioja classics with a modern backbone
Beronia stands for a wine style that combines classic Rioja structure with artisanal care. Reserva and Gran Reserva form the heart of the range — long barrel aging in American, French, and mixed oak is a trademark of the winery. For the premium line, such as the III a.C., grapes from pre-phylloxera vines are used; the must is cold-macerated, and the wine subsequently matures in new French barriques and large oak foudres. Alongside this is a fresh Rosado made from Garnacha as well as the Verdejo from Rueda — proof that Beronia consciously expands the classic Rioja framework. What connects all the wines: They were intended for the table from the very beginning, not as collector's items.
