Luis PaadÃn, Director of the Galician Wine Guide
When one drinks this wine they drink the area, to drink heroism
When did you first hear about the Ribeira Sacra?
I knew Ribeira Sacra as the wine from Amandi. Later, as a professional, I wanted to know why these wines were different. I had information on what the area was like, but I didn´t imagine how steep the gradients were, the strong sun, the terraces,...
Once I knew the area, the wine from the Ribeira Sacra appeared a bargain.
The first contact with the wine, therefore, was with the wine from Amandi. Did you ask for it like this: wine from Amandi?
In the past wine wasn´t known by grape varieties like it is now. Before it was known by origin and I wanted to taste the wine from Amandi. I was familiar with the wine from Rioja and the wine from Amandi was distinctive, fresh... This wine had added
value due to its location as it was a quality red Galician wine. After getting to know the Ribeira Sacra area, I am sure that you can enjoy the wine more when you have had the opportunity to see the Ribeira Sacra.
How would you define the wine of the Ribeira Sacra?
I believe that wine is like a landscape in a bottle and that is the case in the Ribeira Sacra more than in any other D.O. When one drinks this wine they drink the area and to drink the area is to drink heroism and landscape.
What differentiates the wine of the Ribeira Sacra from the rest?
The landscape and all the work involved in producing the wine.
How do soil conditions and climate define the wines of the Ribeira Sacra?
They are influenced by the Atlantic with a big temperature difference between the day and the night. This gives the wine a great fresh quality. In the case of the soil, if there were no vines on the banks, there would be nothing. The poor quality of the soil means that the vines produce a grape of high quality, limited by the
difficulties of the terrain, but of great quality. The climate, the soil, the landscape...This is what I mean when I say: putting a landscape inside a bottle. The wine production in the Ribeira Sacra is seen as heroic wine production and this is not just a saying. I can´t begin to imagine producing a product that wasn´t wine on
gradients of more than 45%. The wine of the Ribeira Sacra is the result of
determination and tenacity.
How do you see the future for the wines of the Ribeira Sacra?
I believe that the wine should be sold as a wine from a specific area. The wine is more than a taste and palatability, you have to go beyond this. If you see the Ribeira Sacra you understand the hardship involved and this is its added value. The
grapes that go inside a bottle are from wine production on a human scale. The Ribeira Sacra wouldn´t be the Ribeira Sacra without the wine from this D.O.