Spanish wine region

How to pronounce Rioja

Rioja is pronounced ree-OH-hah, written /rjoxa/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet. The stress falls on OH.

ree-OH-hah

IPA /rjoxa/

What is Rioja?

A major wine region in Spain known for Tempranillo-based red wines aged in American and French oak.

Tips for saying it

Often heard as ree-OH-jah.

In Spanish, j is a breathy h sound from the back of the throat, never the English j: ree-OH-hah.

Often heard as ree-OH-yah.

Spanish j is not the German j but a raspy sound like the ch in Bach: ree-OH-hah.

Related pronunciations

All Spanish wine terms →

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