Beatriz Soto, technical director of the C.R.D.O.R.S. since 1998
"The R.S wines have the character of the vineyards from which they came"
What does the job of technical director of a D.O., in this case the Ribeira Sacra, consist of?
They organise and oversee the activities of the inspectors throughout the year. They produce the reports that are necessary in relation to incidences. I represent the D.O. when required during tastings, talks, as a taster, .... a little bit of everything.
Since 1998 when you became a technical director to today, what changes have there been in the D.O.?
When I started there were 60 bodegas, today there are a 100, the production has trebled, the number of wine producers has doubled with around 2,900 today. But apart from figures, the biggest change I have seen is in the consumers. We are the youngest D.O. in Galicia and little by little we are becoming recognised. There has been and still is a big focus on promoting the wine so that the consumer knows to ask for Ribeira Sacra.
How do you see the Ribeira Sacra outside of Galicia?
The bodegas that have the capacity to export are doing it and are getting very good results. It helps if the specialist press gives it good reviews, as is happening, and it is always an important step forward to get good results in certain international markets.
Complete success at the last International Mountain Wine Competition in Aosta.
The promotion of our wines within Galicia is mainly helped by the tastings at the D.O. and the Tastings of Galician Wines, but at an international level our best showcase is at Aosta. We are the only representative from Spain and this year our results were extraordinary. I think it was the best year yet for the D.O.
They recently changed the prize categories, it´s now much more demanding, with a premier gold medal, gold medal and silver medal in each category, before, depending on the points awarded, it was possible to have several gold, silver and bronze medals.
Now getting a premier gold medal at Aosta is a triumph
This year 500 wines were represented, competing against Denominacións de Origen from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. We won the premier gold medal and the gold medal in red wines from the 2008 harvest and a mention of honour. One of the highlights were the two mentions of honour in the white wine category because we are the only white wines that use Godello grapes, they were competing with grape varieties that were better internationally known by the tasters and our wines represented white wines that are totally different and we still achieved very good results.
Does getting good results at tastings and competitions encourage the bodegas to take part in these type of events?
Each time it makes the bodegas more aware that it is important to take part in tastings and competitions, not only to win prizes, but because of the awareness that these events spread.
It is also a way for tasters and sommeliers to get to know certain wines that they wouldn´t normally come in contact with. This year in the tastings of Gallaecia and the the Association of Galician Tasters they had a record level of participation.
The professionalism of bodegas, generational change.....how do you see these themes in relation to the D.O. Ribeira Sacra?
In the Ribeira Sacra, the majority of the people working in the world of wine are doing it as a secondary activity, but this doesn´t mean that they are less professional than those that do it as their main activity. Each time the wine improves, it is because the bodegas are making important investments in the area of technology, research,...Generational change? Very few bodegas are leaving the D.O. due to retirement, the great majority are handing down their title to somebody younger in the family. I don´t see any problems with this.
Which is the best wine in the D.O. Ribeira Sacra?
All of them together, the landscape associated with this complicated wine production. Hernáez Mañas (expert in wine production and enology) when talking about the special prize that he was given by the D.O. at the XV Tastings of the Wines of the Ribeira Sacra, said 'that on the topic of wine it is important to be able to differentiate, not to be homogeneous'. This is true of the Ribeira Sacra. Each wine has its own character. They have the character of the vineyard from which they came.