Galician wine
Encyclopedia
Galician wine is Spanish wine
made in the autonomous community
of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain
. It includes wine made in the provinces
of A Coruña
, Ourense
, Pontevedra
and Lugo
. Within Galicia are five Denominación de Origen
(DO)-Monterrei
, Rías Baixas
, Ribeira Sacra
, Ribeiro
and Valdeorras
. In recent years, the region has seen a resurgence in its wine industry led by the international acclaim being received by the Rías Baixas region for its Albariño
wines.
, Galicia has a very wet climate with average rainfall of more than 50 inches (1,300 mm) a year. The more than 2000 hours of sunshine that the region receives help contributes to the high humidity
of the area. The Serra dos Ancares
mountain range forms the border with Castile and León
to the east and the Minho River
forms part of the regions border with Portugal
to the south. The regions close proximately to Portugal and virtual isolation from the rest of Spain has had a marked influence on the style of wines from Galicia with many of them being closer in style to Portuguese wine
s then to other Spanish wines.
an vineyards. In the 19th century, the entire region suffered from a depressed economy
and many vineyards went shut due to depopulation as workers move away to find work. Galician harvest workers were a large part of the labor that developed the terrace
vineyards in the Douro
port wine
region. When Spain joined the European Union
in 1986, funding assistance began reaching Galicia to help stipulate a resurgence in the wine industry.
ing grapes with and regularly produces some of the highest yield
s in Europe averaging 5.7 ton
s per acre
(100 hlha
). The majority of the area's vineyards are found to the south of the region in the provinces of Ourense and Pontevedra, though there are some significant plantings in Lugo to the east. The regions closer to the Minho river often produce blended wines of Albariño, Loureira
and Caiño Blanca. More inland the white wines are often blends of Torrontés
and Treixadura. There are also white wines dominated by the Godello
grape. The light red wines are the region are primarily made from the Mencia
grape.
The Monterrei DO is found at the southern end of Galicia on the border with Portugal. The wine industry here is currently dominated by bulk wine production.
Ribeira Sacra
The Ribeira Sacra was granted DO status in 1996 and is the only Galician wine region to be dominated in red wine production [questionable]. The majority of the wine produced here is made from the Mencia grape with the limited white wine production coming from the Godello and Albariño grape.
Valdeorras
The Valdeorras DO is the easternmost wine region of Galicia that is dominated by the red Garnacha Tintorera and the white Palomino
grape. Prior to the phylloxera
epidemic of the 19th century, the indigenous
Godello vine was heavily planted and is only just recently starting to make a comeback in the region. The Mencia grape is also starting to gain ground due to the fruity and easy drinking red wines that it produces.
vines and some plantings of the Sherry
grape Palomino that didn't produce as well in the cooler climate of Rías Baixas. In the 1970s growers began to replant native varieties like Albariño. Throughout the region 12 grape varieties are permitted, including the red wine grapes of Mencia and Espadeiro
, but Albariño accounts for 90% of the region's production.
The vineyard soils of the area are granite
based and ideally situated for the damp maritime climate of the area. Despite the reputation for high yields in other parts of Galicia, Rías Baixas keeps the yield of its Albariño plantings low in order to produce concentrated fruity and fragrant wine. The wines are often a minimum alcohol content of 12% and are rarely produced in a style other than dry.
) is located along the Minho river and its tributaries
. It received its DO status in 1957. In the 16th and 17th century, Ribeiro wine was often exported to England
and Italy
but suffered the same damages as Rías Baixas did during the phylloxera epidemic. However growers were quicker to turn away from the low quality hybrid plantings and back to the native Torrontés, Treixadura and Lado varieties. These grapes produce crisp, aromatic white wines. The area's red wine production is centered on the Garnacha Tintorera which produces dark colored but light bodied wines.
Spanish wine
Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...
made in the autonomous community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It includes wine made in the provinces
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
of A Coruña
A Coruña (province)
The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia...
, Ourense
Ourense (province)
Ourense is a province of northwestern Spain, in the southeastern part of the Autonomous Community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra in the west, Lugo in the north, León and Zamora in the east, and by Portugal in the south. With an area of 7,278 square km it is the only...
, Pontevedra
Pontevedra (province)
Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia...
and Lugo
Lugo (province)
Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in the north by the Cantabrian Sea .The population is 356,595 , of...
. Within Galicia are five Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...
(DO)-Monterrei
Monterrei (DO)
Monterrei is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the souththeast corner of the Ourense province in...
, Rías Baixas
Rías Baixas (DO)
Rías Baixas is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the province of Pontevedra and the south of the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain...
, Ribeira Sacra
Ribeira Sacra (DO)
Ribeira Sacra is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wineslocated in the south of the province of Lugo and in the north of the province of Ourense, in Galicia, Spain. It extends over the territories of 17 different municipalities that conform a zone and entity called Ribeira Sacra, which could...
, Ribeiro
Ribeiro (DO)
Ribeiro is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the northeast of the province of Ourense , in the valleys formed by the rivers Miño, Arnoia, Avia and Barbantiño...
and Valdeorras
Valdeorras (DO)
Valdeorras is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located on the banks of the river Sil in the south of the province of Ourense, .-History:...
. In recent years, the region has seen a resurgence in its wine industry led by the international acclaim being received by the Rías Baixas region for its Albariño
Albariño
Albariño or Alvarinho is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia , Monção and Melgaço , where it is used to make varietal white wines.Albariño is actually the Galician name for the grape...
wines.
Climate and geography
Located along the Atlantic coastAtlantic Coast
The Atlantic Coast is any coast fronting the Atlantic Ocean. The term differentiates the coasts of countries or continents with coastlines on more than one body of water, such as North America, South America, Africa and Europe.-See also:*Indian Ocean...
, Galicia has a very wet climate with average rainfall of more than 50 inches (1,300 mm) a year. The more than 2000 hours of sunshine that the region receives help contributes to the high humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
of the area. The Serra dos Ancares
Serra dos Ancares
The Serra dos Ancares is a mountain range in north-west Spain, extending in a south-westerly direction from the western end of the Cantabrian Mountains in Asturias....
mountain range forms the border with Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
to the east and the Minho River
Minho River
The Minho or Miño is the longest river in Galicia, Spain, with an extension of 340 km.Both names come from Latin Minius...
forms part of the regions border with Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
to the south. The regions close proximately to Portugal and virtual isolation from the rest of Spain has had a marked influence on the style of wines from Galicia with many of them being closer in style to Portuguese wine
Portuguese wine
Portuguese wine is the result of traditions introduced to the region by ancient civilizations, such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and mostly the Romans. Portugal started to export its wines to Rome during the Roman Empire. Modern exports developed with trade to England after the...
s then to other Spanish wines.
History
In the 14th century, Galicia was exporting plant cuttings to other EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an vineyards. In the 19th century, the entire region suffered from a depressed economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
and many vineyards went shut due to depopulation as workers move away to find work. Galician harvest workers were a large part of the labor that developed the terrace
Terrace (agriculture)
Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...
vineyards in the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
port wine
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
region. When Spain joined the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in 1986, funding assistance began reaching Galicia to help stipulate a resurgence in the wine industry.
Viticulture and wines
The region of Galicia has shown itself to be quite successful in harvestHarvest (wine)
The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...
ing grapes with and regularly produces some of the highest yield
Crop yield
In agriculture, crop yield is not only a measure of the yield of cereal per unit area of land under cultivation, yield is also the seed generation of the plant itself...
s in Europe averaging 5.7 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s per acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
(100 hlha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
). The majority of the area's vineyards are found to the south of the region in the provinces of Ourense and Pontevedra, though there are some significant plantings in Lugo to the east. The regions closer to the Minho river often produce blended wines of Albariño, Loureira
Loureira
Loureira, Loureiro or Loureiro Blanco is a white Spanish wine grape planted primarily in the Galicia region. It is also grown across the border in the Portuguese wine region of Minho where it is known as Loureiro and used in Vinho Verde...
and Caiño Blanca. More inland the white wines are often blends of Torrontés
Torrontes
Torrontés is a white Argentine wine grape variety, producing fresh, aromatic wines with moderate acidity, smooth texture and mouthfeel as well as distinctive peach and apricot aromas on the nose. Three Torrontés varieties exist in Argentina: Torrontés Riojano, the most common, Torrontés Sanjuanino,...
and Treixadura. There are also white wines dominated by the Godello
Godello
Godello is a white variety of wine grape grown in northwestern Spain, in particular in Galicia. The Gouveio found in northern Portugal is thought to be the same grape variety....
grape. The light red wines are the region are primarily made from the Mencia
Mencia
Mencía is a Spanish grape variety primarily found in the northwestern part of the country. It is planted on over , and it is primarily found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras regions....
grape.
Wine regions
MonterreiThe Monterrei DO is found at the southern end of Galicia on the border with Portugal. The wine industry here is currently dominated by bulk wine production.
Ribeira Sacra
The Ribeira Sacra was granted DO status in 1996 and is the only Galician wine region to be dominated in red wine production [questionable]. The majority of the wine produced here is made from the Mencia grape with the limited white wine production coming from the Godello and Albariño grape.
Valdeorras
The Valdeorras DO is the easternmost wine region of Galicia that is dominated by the red Garnacha Tintorera and the white Palomino
Palomino (grape)
Palomino is a white grape widely grown in Spain and South Africa, and best known for its use in the manufacture of sherry.-Wine regions:In Spain, the grape is split into the sub-varieties Palomino Fino, Palomino Basto, and Palomino de Jerez, of which Palomino Fino is by far the most important,...
grape. Prior to the phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
epidemic of the 19th century, the indigenous
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
Godello vine was heavily planted and is only just recently starting to make a comeback in the region. The Mencia grape is also starting to gain ground due to the fruity and easy drinking red wines that it produces.
Rías Baixas
The Rias Baixas is the most well known region of Galicia and produces some of Spain's most sought after dry white wines based on the Albariño grape. While wines have been produced in this region for some time, exports of the wine to other areas of Europe didn't begin till 16th century and was kept at a steady pace till the phylloxera epidemic devastated the region's vineyards. At the turn of the 20th century many of the region's vineyards were replanted with low quality hybridHybrid grapes
Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more Vitis species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Hybrid grapes are also referred to as inter-specific crossings...
vines and some plantings of the Sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
grape Palomino that didn't produce as well in the cooler climate of Rías Baixas. In the 1970s growers began to replant native varieties like Albariño. Throughout the region 12 grape varieties are permitted, including the red wine grapes of Mencia and Espadeiro
Espadeiro
Espadeiro is a red Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Minho region for making Vinho Verde. It is also grown across the border, in Spain, in Galicia where it is used to make light bodied wines....
, but Albariño accounts for 90% of the region's production.
The vineyard soils of the area are granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
based and ideally situated for the damp maritime climate of the area. Despite the reputation for high yields in other parts of Galicia, Rías Baixas keeps the yield of its Albariño plantings low in order to produce concentrated fruity and fragrant wine. The wines are often a minimum alcohol content of 12% and are rarely produced in a style other than dry.
Ribeiro
The Ribeiro DO (which means "river banks" in GalicianGalician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
) is located along the Minho river and its tributaries
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
. It received its DO status in 1957. In the 16th and 17th century, Ribeiro wine was often exported to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
but suffered the same damages as Rías Baixas did during the phylloxera epidemic. However growers were quicker to turn away from the low quality hybrid plantings and back to the native Torrontés, Treixadura and Lado varieties. These grapes produce crisp, aromatic white wines. The area's red wine production is centered on the Garnacha Tintorera which produces dark colored but light bodied wines.