Rioja Alavesa
Rioja Alavesa (Basque: Arabako Errioxa), officially Cuadrilla de Laguardia-Rioja Alavesa is one of seven comarcas that make up the province of Álava, Spain. It covers an area of 315.83 km² with a population of 11,360 people (2010). The capital lies at Laguardia. It is part of a notable wine growing region. Its northern boundary is formed by the Sierra de Cantabria and Sierra de Toloño, two mountain ranges that separate it from the rest of Álava. To the south, its geographical limit is marked by the Ebro River, its border with the neighboring autonomous community of La Rioja.
The Sonsierra of La Rioja includes the municipalities of Ábalos and San Vicente de la Sonsierra, located north of the Ebro River. Although geographically part of the river's left bank, these municipalities form a wedge of land technically belonging to the autonomous community of La Rioja. It thus divides the Rioja Alavesa in two: Labastida, located to the west, and the remaining Rioja Alavesa municipalities to the east, with Laguardia and Oion at its main towns. The border with Navarre to the east are not based on clearly defined geographical features like the aforementioned boundaries. The rivers within the area are all tributaries of the Ebro.
There are some dolmens and other archaeological remnants of the prehistoric La Hoya people. The Romans established themselves in the area due to its climate and mountainous landscape. During the Middle Ages, this region belonged to the Kingdom of Navarre, the Sonsierra, which was eventually occupied and annexed to the Crown of Castile in 1463 as a result of Castile's intervention in the Kingdom of Navarre. The region possesses 11,500 hectares of vineyards - the local economy being based primarily on viticulture and the production of La Rioja wine. La Rioja DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada, akin to AVA in US wine-growing regions) is separated into three subregions, of which La Rioja Alavesa is one.