In La Rioja there are more than 20 wineries that house more than a century of history within their walls. One of them is the Marqués del Atrio group, which has just turned 125 years old. Its activity began in Arnedo (La Rioja) in 1899 with the help of Olegario Rivero, the great-great-grandfather of the current managers, who made and sold wine in the area. The second generation specialized in the craft of boatman, the third bottled and marketed the wine and the fourth began to export it all over the world. It was the decade of the eighties, when exporting was difficult, emphasizes Jorge Rivero, commercial director and fifth generation of the family. It was also in these years when the need to expand the range of wines was seen, because, as the manager explains, selling only Riojas was falling short. First they arrived in Corella (Navarra). In the nineties they landed in Utiel-Requena (Valencia), and seven years later in La Mancha. In the 2000s, with the fifth generation at the helm, the most palpable change began with the challenge of leaving behind the image of commercial wine. In the search for the quality seal, the company invests up to two million euros each year. A twist that has touched all aspects from the renewal of the field equipment, the technician, the containers or the barrels to the construction of a new winery in Mendavia (Navarra), which bears the name of the group, Marqués del Atrium, and which in 2004 became its new headquarters. “A building, in which, in the absence of the part intended for wine tourism, until 2010 the investment has totaled more than 25 million euros,” Rivero specifies. Ambitious plans in which the fifth generation of the family has not been alone. In 2015, the Chinese firm Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Company, the largest winery group in Asia and the fourth largest in the world, announced the purchase of a good part of the shares of the winery, of which it currently has 90% of the shares. Even so, Rivero does not miss the opportunity to affirm that, despite having total control, the family continues to be the visible face of management. Currently, the Riojan group produces and bottles wine in eight areas of Spain, although in Most of them hardly have their own vineyard or winery. With only 50 hectares of property in La Rioja and the Arnedo and Mendavia wineries, along with Corella in Navarra, acquired last year with an investment of around three million euros, in the rest (Utiel-Requena, El Bierzo, Rías Baixas, Rueda, Ribera del Duero and La Mancha) works through agreements with farmers. In total, they make and bottle 25 million bottles each year, of which Riojas concentrate 50% of sales. For its part, the Marqués del Atrio brand is the leader with 10 million bottles and 45% of the turnover. Sales are followed by wines from Requena and Arnedo, both under the Faustino Rivero Ulecia brand. Even so, Rivero takes advantage of his promotion in the DO Bierzo. “Until now we sold 75,000 bottles a year, but we are going to make the leap to 200,000. We are going to be one of the largest producers of Godello grapes.” Their ambition to reach diverse territories and produce all types of wines also led them to the launch of an organic range, Conciens. “We like to be everywhere. We wanted to have a 100% sustainable product from the capsule, the packaging, the glass and the wine. We thought it was going to have more sales than it has, but for the moment the consumer is not willing to pay the difference in price,” says the winemaker.
Sales
Last year, Marqués del Atrio had a turnover of 58 million euros with an operating result (ebitda) of 6 million, compared to income of 46 million in 2022. Figures that, with data from Rivero, place them in 20th place in the ranking of Spanish wineries, according to sales, and in the top 5 in Rioja wineries. “We owe the growth to the horeca sector [hoteles, restaurantes y cafeterías] and the improvement in exports.” Even so, he recognizes that they will not grow the same in this exercise. “We are going to support them [las ventas] or we can even go down.” At the moment, 66% of its turnover is shipped in the food channel in the entire national and international market. “Catering is more sacrificed, but we are growing and we see a lot of potential, especially in tourist areas like the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands.” With 40% of sales outside of Spain, Marqués del Atrio looks at the United States with greedy eyes. An interest that has caused the delegation inaugurated in Mexico in 2023 to close its doors and the entire team to move to the Miami headquarters. A twist in the script that the manager justifies by claiming that the new project is going to be piloted from this city. “We are going to go State by State. We are not going to leave Mexico, but everything will be done from Miami, because we see a lot of potential.” Nor do they take their eyes off the Asian market, with Japan or Korea among their future destinations, because, as the commercial director points out, Chinese consumption remains weak. The objective is for foreign sales to account for 60% of total income. In this new stage, Rivero explains his intention to strengthen the group with new projects, such as the repositioning of the Faustino Rivero Ulecia brand in La Rioja, until now oriented to young wine After the investment in new barrels, they want to increase the quota in aged and reserve wines with this brand. They are also going to relaunch their main brand, Marqués del Atrio, in 2025, with changes to the packaging and the wine. “It will be the most powerful thing we have done so far.” Furthermore, with a view to 2026, they are evaluating the production of a sparkling wine in La Rioja.
Bad times for the vineyards
The decline in consumption in general with the new generations on the sidelines, the battle against alcohol consumption and the high price of this drink, especially in restaurants, are current issues in the wine sector. A context that, in wine regions such as Bordeaux (France), after overproduction in recent years, has led to subsidized vine grubbing programs. Jorge Rivero, commercial director of Marqués de Atrio, does not consider this possibility in La Rioja because this year there will be a loss in production after many years of stock. “Nobody wants the numbers from before. Selling Riojas at 1.60 euros like years ago does not benefit. “You have to generate value and brand.” For the Rivero saga, virtue is adaptation to the new. “In times of crisis we see market opportunities. If fewer red wines are consumed, we invest in white wines,” he says. Despite his optimism, Rivero does not see the future as easy. “The sector has to concentrate and we have to specialize. Time will bring order, some will disappear, others will merge. There is no market for both nationally or internationally. But, above all, the consumer is not stupid, we must invest in quality.”