The Rioja Alavesa winery Bodegas Ostatu is in the process of renewing its brand image, a move that will strengthen its position as a family winery dedicated to producing quality wines. This is a global change which is not only a step forward in building the brand, but a new way of seeing the company that has made it possible to maintain, at the same time, the personality of the winery and of each one of our wines.

The former includes the brand's most traditional wines: Ostatu Tinto, Ostatu Blanco, Ostatu Rosé, Ostatu Crianza (former Mazarredo de Ostatu) and Ostatu Reserva; while the "Unique" label refers to wines with greater personality: Selección de Ostatu, Gloria de Ostatu, Laderas de Ostatu and Lore de Ostatu.

In this first phase, the action has focused on the wines under the "Sensible" label. This is where we have renewed the labelling and packaging, a fact that can be seen in the use of two types of bottle: Bordeaux, for aged wines and Burgundy for young wines, in addition to the standardisation of the packaging. A policy that reinforces the environmental commitment the brand entered into earlier this year with the publication of our carbon footprint.

A new logo, new slogan, new labels and new packaging are the pieces that make up the first part of the Ostatu puzzle. A puzzle that will be completed in the near future with a second phase: the creation of new labels for the "Unique" wines. 

 

Due to the renovation work being undertaken at our winery, we have temporarily moved to new offices.

We shall be happy to continue attending to our visitors at the annex where we have installed our customer service office.

This map will help you find our new location. These are our usual means of contact:

E-mail: ostatu@ostatu.com

Office telephone: 945 609 133 and 656 708 858

Winery telephone: 688 616 717
 


We apologise for any inconvenience. We are looking forward to seeing you!

 

"Wolf! Wolf!" So goes the fairy tale, the kind with a moral. Of the type that makes you think how to deal with situations. The wolf comes and ends up eating the sheep because the careless shepherd thought the real warning was false. Poor shepherd!

The greenhouse effect, pollution ... are like little mocking shepherds warning us of what is going to happen: climate change. And we, businessmen and ordinary citizens, are just looking on - like the owner of the flock - until one day reality with catch us off guard.

Luckily, we are starting to see a certain level of real concern for our irrevocable destiny. Okay, we'll suffer the consequences of years and years of waste and appalling environmental management, but if we try to change certain attitudes in our daily lives, perhaps our children will be able to enjoy the results.

This is the path initiated byBodegas Ostatu,a family winery located in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa district that has recently submitted its entire activity to a carbon footprint calculation process.  Being environmentally responsible is one of the company's targets; we are not only publishing our greenhouse gas emissions but also proposing solutions to reduce the amount of CO2 produced and to offset those emissions through UN supported projects.

With a carbon footprint between 677 to 738 g of CO_2, below the general average derived from various studies in different parts of the world, Bodegas Ostatu is planning, throughout 2012, changes in its production and management processes to reduce its environmental impact. These measures include design adjustments (reducing formats, standardising wine boxes, using more sustainable materials for labelling and packaging), replacing diesel for biomass and using lighter bottles.

Being the first winery to perform this study on all our products is not one of our goals. Our goal is to build a fence around that field to prevent the wolf, the enemy of our shepherd, from causing more mischief.


 

Last year, Bodegas Ostatu decided to surprise customers by marketing a new product: chocolates made with wine and syrup. A product backed by the winery's wines and developed through close collaboration with the Belgian Chocolate firm, Valentino Chocolatier.

The initiative was well received and, consequently, this year, once the cooler weather has arrived, these wine-based chocolates have been added, once again, to the Ostatu product list. With the harvest in full swing, the grape must has been boiled to produce the famous syrup.

A traditional Saenz de Samaniego family recipe, which combines tradition and modernity. With the syrup, the "Ostatu Selection" wine and the best Valentino Chocolatier chocolates, we have prepared these gifts for the palate. A box of small chocolates that will awaken your senses.

 

On 13th and 14th October, we were at the Madrid Congress Building where a new edition of "Salón de los Mejores" organised by the Peñin Guide was held.
On this occasion we presented our Gloria de Ostatu 2005, valued by the Guide with 94 points, and a selection of our other wines.
After two days at the exhibition, we were extremely satisfied with the excellent reception of our wines at an event that attracted so many visitors and experts.

Once again, the prestigious International Wine Cellar (IWC) magazine, by Stephen Tanzer, was extremely impressed with three of our wines: Ostau White Wine 2010, Ostatu Crianza 2008 and Ostatu Reserva 2006.
Tanzer, a wine critic, editor and publisher, has given us the following scores:
-2010 Rioja Ostatu White Wine (90% viura and 10% malvasia): 89 pts.
-2008 Rioja Ostatu Crianza (95% tempranillo. The rest grenache, mazuelo and graciano): 90 pts.
-2006 Rioja Ostatu Reserva (100% tempranillo): 91 pts.

The scores are very similar to those already published by Robert Parker where these three wines received 89, 90 and 91+ points respectively.

Once again the Rioja Alavesa Harvest Festival is here and, once again, our wines have won a prize in the wine contest that takes place on occasion of this festival.

This is a prestigious and exclusive event for D.O.C. Rioja wines, where over 250 samples are presented each year in eight categories: Rosé, Young White, White Barrel Fermented, Young Red, Red Vintage, Red Reserve, Red Grand Reserve and Unique Wines.

It was in the Young White wine category where our Ostatu White Wine 2010 won the second prize.

On 6 July, the "The Wine Advocate" magazine published the list of the best Spanish wines according to the criteria of Robert Parker and his wine associate in Spain, Jay Miller. On this occasion, this American expert tasted five of our wines (Laderas del Portillo 2007, Gloria de Ostatu 2005, Ostatu Reserva 2006, Ostatu Selection 2008 y Ostatu White Wine 2010). They obtained a good result with scores ranging from 93 and 89 Parker Points. Laderas del Portillo 2007: 93 points. Gloria de Ostatu 2005: 91 points. Ostatu Reserva 2006: 91+ points. Ostatu Selection 2008: 90 points. Ostatu White Wine 2010: 89 points.

Premieurs 2010 is being held this week in the Bordeaux region. A rare opportunity to enjoy the diversity of existing Château wines. As in previous editions, Bodegas Ostatu is present at Château Angélus, Saint-Émilion, with its vintages. On this occasion, the OSTATU SELECCION 2010 and the GLORIA DE OSTATU 2010.
A significant aspect of this edition has been the large number of Asian buyers who have attended. We were also able to enjoy the high quality of the wines from the latest harvest.

From 27th to 30th March 2011, PROWEIN took place in Dusseldrof. Undoutedly the most far-reaching trade fair in Europe. We attended it together with Majpr Wein, our distributors.

It has been very dynamic and crowded, as a result of the fact that the economic revival in Europe is in clear.

We are very pleased with the encounters we had there.

We are making progress with the work of pruning our vineyards, there is still work for several weeks although most of  this delicate task is already finished. This winter, with a relatively dry and cold weather, allowed as pruning and cleanig the remains of it.

It's a job where knowledge of the vineyard and experience in this work are very important, as it is the way to manage the production of each of the soles of our vineyards.

Together with the New Year, Bodegas Ostatu is ready to market the new harvest of 2010 white and red young wines. Besides, once Mazarredo de Ostatu 2007 is finishede we have the 2008 harvest already labeling.

These new wines continue OSTATU family's especial features, overflowing with fruit and freshness. On the other hand, aged Mazarredo de Ostatu 2008 comes full of sweet and tempting aromas, at the same time to a round and complex mouth.

Our best wishes for this Christmas, and health, peace and illusion for the New Year 2011

This year the wines from Rioja Alavesa have returned to wipe out competition in the traditional wines of the Rioja Denomination of Origin held annually on the occasion of the feast of the harvest. The working of Alava bodegeros have won six of the eight categories in which this contest is divided participated 280 sample of 89 famous wineries of La Rioja.
Bodegas Ostatu, got the lead as the best young white.

OSTATU 2009, participated in the final tasting of Premiers 2010, organized by the magazines VINUN and MIVINO.

The day was held April t at the headquarters of Origin Rioja Regulatory Council, the final phase of the tasting of the wines presented in Premiers in Madrid in December. Was to highlight the level of jurors and the excellent quality of most of the wines presented.

In this edition, the wine presented by the seven wineries from Rioja, five from Rioja Alavesa, which were clearly highlighted. Albiker wine selected result, and beging OSTATU also one of the most valued.

The GLORIA DE OSTATU 2005 has received a Gold Medal in the IX edition of Bacchus International Wine Competition celebrated in Madrid from 12 to 16 March.

The event, organized by the Spanish Tasters Union and approved by the OIV, whihc is held every two years, according to the organization is "the best platform for the arrival in a country like Spain to new international wine reference, the quality is in this way proven".

More than 80 assessors from national and international renown, incluyding critical prescribers and specialized in the wine indeustry have been in charge of selecting the winning wines in blind tastung sessions GLORIA DE OSTATU is one of the most renowned wines of Bodegas Ostatu. Made cith grapes from vines 60 to 80 years and aged for 16 months in new french oak from the best toneliers, is a wine of great structure and body, yet silky and long on palate

Gold medal for outstanding wines as Gloria de Ostatu 2005 and Ostatu reserva 2005. And silver medal for excellent wines for white Ostatu 2009.

The competition, organized by La Seleccion, is unique and demanding, it shows how to do the evaluation of wine: always blind tasting whith a requirement of high quality standards and limited number of awards.

This fourth edition of La Seleccion, with over 1,600 samples, has become one of the most important to export to markets in German.It is the most important reference guide for consumers in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

EL LUGAR DE SAMANIEGO
Por José Luis De las Heras
Con la colaboración de Antonio Bengoa Juego amoroso, ilusión por la incipiente viticultura, y el valor de la lealtad son tres de los ingredientes de esta obra teatral en verso. En las postrimerías del s.IX ,el Rey Fortún Garcés I, amante del campo y la caza, funda la Divisa de San Meder entre Leza y Samaniego. En una de las cacerías por esta zona de la Sonsierra Navarra, hoy Rioja Alavesa, el Rey tropieza un amor casual, que desencadena la acción y trama de esta pieza teatral. Historia y leyenda, entretenimiento y reflexión. Tan distintos nos vemos después de mil años...?”...

Bodegas Ostatu, sl. en su afán de promover la actividad cultural y deportiva de nuestra comarca colaboró en la realización de esta puesta en escena durante el pasado mes de Julio, resultando un completo éxito de participación y asistencia, con lo que nos anima a seguir apoyando este tipo de actividades a lo largo del próximo año.

The hostel for temporary workers in Samaniego is now a reality thanks to the commitment of Bodegas Ostatu, setting a precedent for this type of accommodation by taking one of the first steps by private enterprise in the Rioja Alavesa in addressing the problems faced by those workers who are working in the area temporarily.

SAMANIEGO.  Bodegas Ostatu, a family-run winery in Samaniego in the Rioja Alavesa, has set a notable precedent in the area by building a hostel for temporary workers to improve their social and working conditions.

The hostel, with a capacity for 28 people, has been built to house temporary workers who are taken on to pick grapes at harvest time and carry out other tasks in the field such as pruning during the year, and aims to fulfil their basic requirements in terms of material comforts and provide other necessary facilities.

At Bodegas Ostatu they are well aware of the problems these temporary workers have in finding accommodation at certain times of the year, and that these difficulties are becoming greater as more and more temporary workers are taken on. This project, with an overall investment of 290,000 euro, has been one of Bodegas Ostatu’s main priorities, and the building will also be available for use as part of the overall plan to contract workers in their country of origin when it is not occupied by the temporary workers.

The Ostatu hostel is therefore aimed at providing decent living accommodation for temporary workers, and also to help their social integration during their stay in the Rioja Alavesa, and has three clear objectives:

- To establish facilities that can provide a solution to one of the area’s important social problems.
- To be able to house all the temporary workers that the winery may employ, and to provide all the associated facilities that may be necessary, such as changing rooms, showers, kitchen facilities, washing machines, dining area and leisure facilities.
- To set a precedent in the Rioja Alavesa, with the hope that other private enterprises may follow suit, in committing themselves to responding to the needs of incoming temporary workers in a responsible fashion, and thereby avoiding the sometimes poor conditions that some temporary workers may find themselves in that are not justifiable in these modern times.

In recent years, throughout the Rioja Alavesa, there has been a notable increase in the demand for temporary workers to carry out various jobs at different times of year, such as pruning and thinning out of the vines, and of course mainly the grape harvest itself, as the local workforce is not sufficient, and many workers are taken on from countries such as Portugal, Morocco, and Rumania, among others.

According to the figures that the Ostatu winery have seen, the number of people who work on various tasks during the harvest in the Rioja Alavesa region amounts to between 3,000 and 4,000 altogether. In the case of temporary immigrants, 87% are accommodated in winery buildings, houses, or warehouses or other storage facilities, generally provided by their employers. 11% reside in temporary campsites in their own vehicles, and 2% stay in hostels that are open to the general public.
Bearing in mind their social responsibilities, in response to this situation Bodegas Ostatu, decided to push for the building of this hostel in 2007. They put forward their plans for this project, which has been praised by the Rioja Alavesa Rural Development Agency, and this year the project has been completed.

This important step forward is one of only a few taken by private enterprise in the region aimed at improving the sometimes poor social and working conditions of immigrant workers. Furthermore it is an indication that some local companies are facing up to their social responsibilities by recognising that there can be more to the wine industry than simply making a profit, and that it can be a way of life that can be beneficial to the community as a whole.

The principle of the hostel being managed by the workers themselves will be assessed after this year’s harvest, as its smooth running will entail the workers shouldering certain responsibilities and commitments regarding the maintenance and correct use of the facilities.