Grapes: Viura, Malvasia
Region: Rioja, Spain
Farming: Organic
Bodegas Ostatu is a family winery located in the heart of the Basque Rioja Alavesa region in the village of Samaniego.
Ostatu is located in an 18th-century structure in the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria range which was a former country inn (or hostel, offering hospitality; the origins of the name Ostatu) which travelers would stop for nourishment and rest on their way across the mountainous Basque Country.
The Sáenz de Samaniego family has been farming in the area since the 16th century – for so many generations, in fact, that their family name and the village’s name are the same. The winery has been growing grapes for over two hundred and fifty years. In 1970, husband and wife, Doroteo and María Asunción Sáenz de Samaniego began bottling the first Ostatu cosechero wines, utilizing the whole-cluster, carbonic maceration style which is historic to the Rioja Alavesa region. Upon realizing the exceptional quality of their vineyards and potential through a friendship with Hubert de Boüard de Laforest of Château Angélus in Saint-Émilion, the winery was modernized in 2002 by four of their six children: Mariasun, Gonzalo, Iñigo, and Ernesto. The philosophy at Ostatu has been one of constant self-improvement through blending tradition, a forward-thinking approach, and perseverance.