Ribeira Sacra (DO)

42°30′59″N 7°30′58″W / 42.51639°N 7.51611°W / 42.51639; -7.51611

Ribeira Sacra DOP

Wine region
Ribeira Sacra DOP in the provinces of Lugo and Ourense, in the region of Galicia
Official name	C.R.D.O. Ribeira Sacra
Type	Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP)
Year established	1996
Country	Spain
Size of planted vineyards	1,241 hectares (3,067 acres)
No. of wineries	90[1]
Wine produced	35,787 hectolitres
Comments	Data for 2016 / 2017

Ribeira Sacra is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (Denominación de Orixe Protexida in Galician) for wines located 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 20 different municipalities^[2] that conform a zone and entity called Ribeira Sacra, which could be translated as "Sacred Shore". The vineyards are planted on the steep slopes of the valleys and canyons of the rivers Miño and Sil. The area acquired official Denominación de Origen status in 1996.

Three types of varietal wine are produced: red Mencía, white Albariño and white Godello.

History

Its first name in Latin was Roboira Sacrata (Sacred Oak Grove) but a bad translation made in the XVII century by a monk, changed it to Ribeira Sacra (Sacred Riverside) until nowadays. It is generally believed that grape growing and wine production were introduced to the area by the ancient Romans. It is said that the legendary spiced Vinos de Amandi were shipped to Rome along with the lampreys fished out of the river Miño, to be served at the table of the emperor.

It is believed that Ribeira Sacra takes its name from 18 monasteries and hermitages that were founded in the early Middle Ages between the 8th and 12th centuries and which are located in the inaccessible river valleys. It was the monks who replanted the vineyards for their own consumption and maintained the grape-growing and wine-producing tradition until modern times. The most important monasteries are:

• San Pedro de Bembibre
• Taboada dos Freires
• San Paio de Diomondi
• Santo Estevo de Ribas de Miño
• Santa María de Pesqueiras
• Montederramo
• San Pedro de Rocas
• Ferreira de Pantón
• San Paio de Abeleda
• Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil
• San Estevo de Ribas de Sil

Geography

The area is divided into five sub-regions, each with a different micro-climate, but in general all the soils are alluvial over a slate based subsoil.

The sub-zones and the municipalities contained within them have been listed below (the sub-regions were split by parish and so some municipalities are listed more than once):^[2]

1. Chantada: Portomarín, Taboada, Chantada, Carballedo, Peroxa
2. Amandi: Sober, Monforte de Lemos
3. Ribeiras do Miño: Paradela, O Saviñao, Pantón, Sober, Monforte de Lemos
4. Ribeiras do Sil: A Teixeira, Parada de Sil, Castro Caldelas, Nogueira de Ramuín
5. Quiroga-Bibei: Monforte de Lemos, Pobra do Brollón, Quiroga, Ribas de Sil, Pobra de Trives, Manzaneda, San Xoán de Río

Climate

The climate in Ribeira Sacra DO is more continental than Atlantic, and has long hot summers and cool autumns. However, rainfall is high (around 800 mm per year).

The sub-zones on the river Miño have more rain (900 mm) than the ones on the river Sil (700 mm). In general, the Miño area has a more Atlantic climate whereas the Sil area is more continental.

Winds can be very strong as they are funnelled by the shape of the valleys.

Grapes

The Recommended red varieties are: Mencía, Brancellao, Merenzao, Sousón, Caiño Tinto, and Tempranillo; also authorized are Garnacha tintorera, Mouratón.

The Recommended white varieties are: Godello, Loureira, Treixadura, Dona Branca, Albariño, and Torrontés.

The vineyards are planted on terraces (known as bancadas) in the narrow valleys of the rivers and are characterized by the production of grapes with a very concentrated flavor. The terraces are usually very small, making it impossible to mechanize the vineyard activities, such as pruning and harvesting. Access is often very difficult and sometimes only possible from the river.

See also

• Galician wine
• Spanish wine

References

External links

• D.O. Ribeira Sacra official website

• v
• t
• e

Spanish wine regions

PDO: Protected Denominations of Origin
Major regions Cava Navarra Priorat Rías Baixas Ribera del Duero Rioja Rueda Jerez-Xeres-Sherry
Denominación  de origen  calificada (DOCa)	Basque Country Rioja [1] Catalonia Priorat La Rioja Rioja [1] Navarre Rioja [1]
Denominación  de origen (DO)	Andalusia Condado de Huelva Granada Jerez-Xeres-Sherry Málaga Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda Montilla-Moriles Sierras de Málaga Aragon Calatayud Campo de Borja Cariñena Somontano Cava [1] Balearic Islands Binissalem Pla i Llevant Basque Country Txakoli de Álava Txakoli de Bizkaia Txakoli de Getaria Cava [1] Canary Islands Abona El Hierro Gran Canaria La Gomera La Palma Lanzarote Tacoronte-Acentejo Valle de Güímar Valle de la Orotava Ycoden-Daute-Isora Castile and León Arlanza Arribes Bierzo Cigales Ribera del Duero Rueda Tierra de León Tierra del Vino de Zamora Toro Cava [1] Castile–La Mancha Almansa Jumilla [1] La Mancha Manchuela Méntrida Mondéjar Ribera del Júcar Uclés Valdepeñas Catalonia Alella Catalunya Conca de Barberà Costers del Segre Empordà Montsant Penedès Pla de Bages Tarragona Terra Alta Cava [1] Extremadura Ribera del Guadiana Cava [1] Galicia Monterrei Rías Baixas Ribeira Sacra Ribeiro Valdeorras La Rioja Cava [1] Madrid Vinos de Madrid Murcia Bullas Jumilla [1] Yecla Navarre Navarra Cava [1] Valencia Alicante Utiel-Requena Valencia Cava [1]
Vino de Pago	Aragon Pago Aylés Castile–La Mancha Campo de La Guardia Casa del Blanco Dehesa del Carrizal Dominio de Valdepusa El Vicario Finca Élez Guijoso La Jaraba Los Cerrillos Pago Calzadilla Pago Florentino Vallegarcía Navarre Arínzano Otazu Prado de Irache Valencia El Terrerazo Pago de Los Balagueses Vera de Estenas
Vino de calidad	Andalusia Lebrija Asturias Cangas Canary Islands Islas Canarias Castile and León Sierra de Salamanca Valles de Benavente Valtiendas

PGI: Protected Geographical Indications
Vino de la tierra	Andalusia Altiplano de Sierra Nevada Bailén Cádiz Córdoba Cumbres del Guadalfeo Desierto de Almería Laderas del Genil Laujar-Alpujarra Los Palacios Norte de Almería Ribera del Andarax Sierra Norte de Sevilla Sierra Sur de Jaén Sierras de las Estancias y los Filabres Torreperogil Villaviciosa de Córdoba Aragon Bajo Aragón Ribera del Gállego-Cinco Villas Ribera del Jiloca Ribera del Queiles [1] Valdejalón Valle del Cinca Balearic Islands Formentera Ibiza Illes Balears Isla de Menorca Mallorca Serra de Tramuntana-Costa Nord Cantabria Costa de Cantabria Liébana Castile and León Castile and León Castile–La Mancha Castilla Extremadura Extremadura Galicia Barbanza e Iria Betanzos Ribeiras do Morrazo Val do Miño-Ourense La Rioja Valles de Sadacia Murcia Abanilla Murcia Campo de Cartagena Navarre Ribera del Queiles [1] 3 Riberas Valencia Castelló
[1] Multi-regional wine regions: Cava · Jumilla · Ribera del Queiles · Rioja See also Spanish wine Catalan wine Galician wine Txakoli Malaga