Tempranillo is Spain’s most celebrated red grape, and if you’ve ever had a glass of Rioja or Ribera del Duero, you’ve tasted what climate can do to this variety. The weather doesn’t just affect the harvest – it influences the flavour, structure, and style of every bottle. As Spain’s climate continues to warm, growers and winemakers are already seeing changes in how Tempranillo behaves. Here’s how temperature, rainfall, and growing season shifts are shaping the wine we love right now.
Rioja vs. Ribera del Duero: Same Grape, Different Weather, Different Wine
Rioja has a milder climate with Atlantic and Mediterranean influences. That means cooler nights, gentler summers, and a bit more rainfall. The result? Tempranillo that ripens slowly, with balanced acidity, medium body, and a lighter, more elegant profile. Think red cherry, soft spice, and smooth tannins.
Ribera del Duero, on the other hand, is harsher. Summers are hot, winters are freezing, and rain is scarce. Grapes ripen fast and small, packing in sugars and skin-based compounds. That means deeper colour, fuller body, higher alcohol, and punchier tannins. Expect black fruit, firm grip, and a bold, concentrated structure.
How Temperature Impacts the Wine
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Sugar & Alcohol: Warmer seasons push grapes to ripen faster. That means more sugar, which means more alcohol in your glass – often 14–15% in hot vintages.
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Acidity: Heat burns off natural acids. The warmer it gets, the softer (sometimes flabbier) the wine can feel. Cool nights help retain acidity – one reason Ribera’s altitude is so prized.
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Colour & Tannins: Tempranillo needs a balance to develop rich colour and ripe tannins. Too much heat, and you can actually lose colour and end up with underdeveloped phenolics – even if the sugars are high.
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Flavour: Cooler ripening brings red fruit, florals, and spice. Hotter ripening shifts things toward black fruit and jam, and can flatten out the complexity if things move too fast.
The Role of Rain and Drought
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Moderate water stress is good – it limits excessive vine growth and concentrates the grapes. That’s the Ribera model.
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Too much drought, though, and vines shut down. Grapes shrivel, yields crash, and ripening can stall. Ribera saw this in 2022 with tiny harvests and super-concentrated wines.
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Heavy rain near harvest is risky. It can dilute the grapes and invite rot. Rioja got hit by this in 2024 and had to rush the harvest – total yields dropped 28%.
Modern Rioja is using more controlled irrigation to offset unreliable rain, though this can also shift acidity and flavour. It’s a balancing act.
Earlier Seasons, Earlier Harvests
The growing season is shifting. Tempranillo now buds, flowers, and ripens earlier than it did 30 years ago – often by a week or more.
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Harvests are earlier, often in mid-September (or even late August in hot years). That means grapes are picked in hotter conditions, sometimes before full phenolic ripeness.
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Spring frost risk is rising because budburst happens earlier, when frosts can still strike.
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Cool autumns used to help finish ripening slowly. Now grapes might be off the vine before autumn even arrives.
Producers are adapting with delayed pruning, night harvesting, and even moving vineyards to higher altitudes.
What’s Already Changing in the Bottle
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Alcohol is up, acidity is down. Most modern Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines are stronger and softer than their 1990s counterparts.
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Flavour profiles are shifting. Red fruit and spice are giving way to darker, richer tones – sometimes veering toward overripe or jammy.
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Colour intensity can be inconsistent. Heat can deepen colour or damage pigments, depending on the timing and stress.
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Yields are more erratic. Hotter, drier years bring lower harvests and sometimes smaller berries – good for concentration, tough on business.
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Producers are changing their approach. They’re experimenting with canopy management, blend tweaks (like more Graciano for acidity), and harvest timing to stay ahead of the climate.
The Bottom Line
Tempranillo is changing – not because winemakers want it to, but because the climate is leaving them little choice. Some of those changes make for bolder, richer wines. Others risk losing the freshness and balance that made Rioja and Ribera famous. What’s clear is that Spain’s most iconic grape is at a crossroads, and we’re already seeing it in the glass.
