Especialización agraria en el Alto Ebro (La Rioja) : la cultura del vino, 1500-1900

Abstract

Wine and wool were the main sources of wealth at La Rioja country from the 16th century onwards. Both had a clear market orientation and generate money incomes. The localities in the valley of the Ebro river specialised in wine growing. The conditions needed for such specialisation were established during the 16th century and, above all, after the end of the 16th and beginnings of the 17th century crisis. The result was a constant increase in wine production from 1630 up to the phylloxera plague at the end of the 19th century. The specialisation in wine growing not only affected the agrarian structures, but it also conditioned social relationships and the politics of local councils.