lo Dec, J908.] Viticulture in Europe. 707 



offered to accompany me from Sartaguda in his own district and to in- 

 troduce me personally to his colleague Don Victor Cruz Manso de 

 Zuiiiga y Enrile, the Government Viticulturist for the agricultural region 

 of Aragon and Rioja and Director of the Estacion Enologica de Haro. 

 Don Victor proved to be another charming Spaniard and one of the 

 leading viticulturists in his country his special branch being wine making 

 in connexion \vith which he is one of the leading authorities in Spain 

 to-day. 



The two principal wine centres in La Rioja are Logrono and Haro, the 

 former in Rioja Baja, the latter in Rioja Alta. Thev are both on the 

 Ebro and easily accessible by the railway line which follows that river. 

 The Ebro is one of the most picturesque rivers in Spain — it is spanned 

 here and there bv old fashioned stone bridges a photograph of one of 

 which, at Zaragoza, the old capital of the once Kingdom of Aragon, is 

 here reproduced. The craggy hills to be seen in close proximity to the 

 river are often crowned by old waich towers and sometimes by imposing 

 castles, usually in a more or less ruinous condition though from a dis- 

 tance they still present an imposing appearance and bring vividly to one's 

 mind the frequent conflicts which have taken place in this part of 

 Spain which for manv hundred \ears has practically been one huge 

 battlefield with but brief periods of peace. Large villages with quaint 

 but hanflsome churches of great antiquity standing out as their most 

 striking feature are also met with at short intervals, another proof of 

 troublous times in which isolated buildings or even hamlets, afforded scant 

 security {o life. The view which unfolds itself as the train winds 

 along might easily l:e a series of scenes in a theatre and one feels in- 

 clined to ask if scenic artists have not found manv of their originals 

 in this remarkable part of Spain. 



Viewed from a practical stand-point this region is still deeply in- 

 teresting, its geologv, for one thing, being striking and varied. In the 

 distance one sees high mountains usually of Secondary age often be- 

 longing to the Cretaceous period, whilst the fcot hills near the river are 

 usually of Tertiary age though the formations most frequently to be met 

 with van- a good deal. Li Rioja Alta the Aquitanian formation occurs 

 very frequently, the hillo-ks of characteristic soft sandstone rock alter- 

 nating with patchj?-s of goorl free soil very often gravelly and reminding 

 one of the Alpine Diluvium of Sr-uthern France though occasionally 

 stiffer soils are to be found. In Rioja Baja the iNlinocene formation is 

 more largeh represented, the curious flat topped hillocks, like the roof 

 of a house, which are characteristic of this formation, being a striking 

 feature of the landscape. 



The importance of viticulture in La Rioja and the amount of havoc 

 wrought bv phylloxera prompt me to quote a few statistics. In 1889 

 the Province of Logroiio (which includes the greater portion of La Rioja) 

 possessed 125,740 acres under vines which yielded 20,747,232 gallons of 

 wine. Phylloxera was first discovered in the province 'n 1890; in 1906 

 its ravages had reduced the area under vines to 92.400 acres* and the 

 wine yield to 4,210,^92 gallons or less than one-fifth of the yield in pre- 

 phylloxera days. 



The district is now in full rtj-constitution, the quality of the wines 

 produced enabling remunerati\"e prices to be relied on. Wines of exactly 



* This area is probably excessive ; it includes many vincyar.ls, which have practically gone out of 

 €ulti\"ation, thouj;h not yet eradicated. 



Z 2 



