Meandering the Ribeira Sacra

Using the Parador of San Vicente do Pino, a reconverted Benedictine Monastery, in Monforte de Lemos as a base, we spent 4 intensive days touring the out-of-the-way, exquisitely rural, ancient Ribeira Sacra, or ‘Sacred Bank” (noted as such for its wealth of monastic retreats). Without a doubt, it is one of the most stunningly picturesque wine growing regions of Spain! The rich, rugged canyons formed by the Miño and Sil rivers are covered with steeply terraced vineyards, vines cascading down the precipitous slopes to the very edge of the meandering rivers below. The harvests here require arduous, back breaking labor to collect the grapes from these plunging slopes.
Smaller than the Rioja, but slightly larger and with an even more dramatic landscape than the Priorat, the Ribeira Sacra has been growing wine for 2,000 years, its terraces (bancales) dating back to the Roman occupation. They produce lighter, lively, fruity, mineral-rich wines, primarily mencía-based reds and godello-based whites, along with fine liqueurs, or orujos. Adegas Vía Romana and Adegas Regina Viarum enjoy two of the most spectacularly beautiful and panoramic locations of any winery we’ve visited and are truly “must sees” for wine lovers.

Along with winery visits, we toured the area’s vast array of Baroque monasteries and Romanesque hermitages and purchased ceramics from the artisan hamlets of Gundivós and Niñodaguia.

The Ribeira Sacra wines are attracting world-wide attention, and we promise that once you try them, you will definitely be hooked!