Rioja

American  

[ree-oh-hah, ree-aw-hah] / riˈoʊ hɑ, riˈɔ hɑ /

noun

1. a table wine, especially a dry red wine, from the Rioja region of northern Spain.

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rioja British  

/ riːˈəʊxə /

noun

1. a red or white wine, with a distinctive vanilla bouquet and flavour, produced around the Ebro river in central N Spain

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Etymology

Origin of rioja

C20: from La Rioja , the area where it is produced

Example Sentences

He even offered examples from his own wife, including that Rioja smells like a pirate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

We step out of Botín into the Madrid sun, full of garlic and pig, Rioja and memory.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025

Last month, Delta Air Lines announced that 17 new wines, curated with master sommelier Andrea Robinson and including a Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a Rioja Gran Reserva, would be available on a rotating basis in all cabins.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 23, 2023

The seven registered voters of Villaroya, a small village in the La Rioja province, beat their own previous record of 32 seconds.

From BBC • May 28, 2023

There are lots of nights out in Berlin when, emboldened by a good-value Rioja, I forget my physical predicament and allow myself to hope.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides