Following the wine routes of Galicia & Northern Portugal’s Minho Valley

We recently spent 17 days exploring Spain’s lush, misty, and verdant northwest corner: the land of the fierce Atlantic with its spectacular cliffs, of mighty rivers gushing through deep gorges, of chestnut, pine and eucalyptus forests, of Celtic heritage, legends and myths, of bagpipes, dolmens and petroglyphs, of stunning medieval architecture dotting the countryside along the various pilgrimage routes to Santiago. Galicia also offers wild horses roaming the high mountain Serras, stately granite manor homes covered with blankets of moss, lively outdoor markets with bubbling cauldrons of pulpo a feira (octopus), more festivals that one can begin to count and 1,300 kilometers of coastline with unique Rías or low estuaries that supply the region with an astounding bounty of fish and shellfish.

Galicia is blessed with a unique mix of favorable microclimates which, along with lemon, orange and palm trees, afford it five principal wine making regions,with their official Denominaciones de Origen, three of which we toured in depth: the Ribeira Sacra, Rías Baixas and Ribeiro. These three wine producing areas encompass the provinces of Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra and are currently enjoying a growing international recognition for excellence.