Rioja's wine governing body has indicated that it will take the first steps to introduce village designations by the end of the year.

The Consejo Regulador intends to table "a detailed proposal" to allow bodegas to designate their wines by subzone, village, and single vineyard, Wine-Searcher has been told.

"We are going to put on the table in the near future a detailed proposal to introduce 'subzone' designations, with the same scheme for village wines and finally an additional one for single vineyards," Consejo managing director José-Luis Lapuente said.

"Our goal is to put these new expressions within our categories, and to reinforce them," he added. He did not say how long the process would take but said the plan would be proposed "before year end".