The Lower Rioja region is widely considered to be one of the richest wine producing regions. It is known as the ‘Ruta de la Viña Recia’ and allows wine growers and producers to obtain better quality wine using fewer grapes. Alfaro is one of the areas which falls within the Lower Rioja area.

Alfaro’s archaeological remains testify to the historical legacy left by the Iberian people, who at that time were called “Ilurcis”. Much later in the year 179 BC, the Roman General Tiberio Sempronio Gracco would found a new settlement on what had previously been an older settlement. The new settlement would come to be known as “Graccurris”.

The arrival of the Romans also brought with it the arrival of wine cultivation and a culture of wine which would soon extend throughout the whole area, evidence of which can be seen in the numerous remains of wine cellars which dot the ribereña territory to this day. In those days, wine was exported to Rome in saddle bags along the river Ebro, which, at the time, was navigable all the way to Logroño.

Perhaps more well known today for playing host on its rooftop to the largest urban colony of white storks in the world, la Colegiata de San Miguel Arcángel in Alfaro is also the biggest church in La Rioja (dating from 1685 it occupies 3,000 square metres of ground) The church is a definitive example of the beauty of Alfaro and the surrounding area.