The 2025 edition of The World’s Most Admired Wine Brands by Drinks International ranks the Haro-based winery as the most admired Spanish winery and the second most admired in Europe.
The 2025 ranking of the world’s most admired wine brands has brought extraordinary news for La Rioja Alta, S.A., as it has secured the third position globally in this prestigious list, which has been published annually for the past fifteen years by Drinks International. This ranking recognizes the 50 most prestigious wine producers worldwide.
This outstanding achievement, improving on the fourth-place ranking obtained in 2022, also makes La Rioja Alta, S.A. the highest-ranked Spanish winery and the second in Europe. The Top 10 of the world’s greatest wineries includes iconic names such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Antinori, Vega Sicilia, Penfolds, Gaja, Catena, Sassicaia...
To compile this exclusive annual ranking, Drinks International consulted hundreds of industry experts—including Masters of Wine, wine writers, sommeliers, buyers, restaurant owners, and educators—who were asked to select the five wineries they most admired worldwide. The key criteria included wine quality, consistency, brand strength, and value for money.
Guillermo de Aranzabal, President of La Rioja Alta, S.A., expressed his "immense satisfaction at being featured among the world's finest wineries, many of which have always been our inspiration and benchmark." He emphasized that this recognition is "the result of the exceptional work of our entire team, as well as our unwavering commitment to the highest quality in all our wines, developing both classic and contemporary international brands with outstanding personality."
Aranzabal highlighted that "2024 has been a particularly special year, as we introduced two new wines with a modern style that differs significantly from our classic Rioja wines. First, Lindeiros 2021 (Rías Baixas), a new age-worthy Albariño with great aging potential, which sold out in record time. Second, El Camino 2021 (Rioja Alavesa), a modern wine crafted from very small, old, and even century-old vineyards that we have been acquiring over the past three years. This is part of our Viñedos Artesanales (Artisanal Vineyards) project, which will bring us great oenological joy in the coming decades."
Furthermore, he stated that "La Rioja Alta, S.A. has released new vintages across all our brands and is making significant investments in new facilities for visitors, such as the recently reopened Casa Áster in Ribera del Duero. We are also integrating artificial intelligence, which is already being applied in marketing and production and will soon be implemented in our vineyards."
In summary, the exceptional global positioning of the group's four wineries—La Rioja Alta, S.A., Torre de Oña, Áster, and Lagar de Fornelos—"reinforces the strong market presence of our brands, driven by our winery's outstanding reputation, the high quality and consistency of our vintages, and our excellent distribution network, both domestically and internationally, which now accounts for 62% of total sales."
