The year 2009 was a busy one, with an excellent harvest and with the D.O. reaching new markets.
Ribeira Sacra evaluation 2009
The D.O. Ribeira Sacra ended a year that was fantastic on all levels and it hopes to continue this success during the coming year.
The year was characterised by the selling of all the wine from the 2008 harvest which received the classification VERY GOOD at the qualification tastings held in February; by the excellent grape harvest that exceeded 5 million kilos of grapes of a very high quality, by the presence at and success of the D.O. at numerous festivals, competitions and contests and by continuing to expand into new frontiers and receiving the support of national and international critics.
During the year 2009 the Regulatory Council moved to its new headquarters in the Ribeira Sacra Wine Centre. There they have held tastings of wines from the D.O. at the request of British tasters, an exchange visit from the Benelux countries and representatives from North American businesses that said about the Ribeira Sacra 'it is the freshness and originality of these wines that we are looking for'.
In January of this year the British journalist Harold Heckle tasted Godellos from the Ribeira Sacra and the D.O., the wines and the area were also on the lips of other journalists and experts in viticulture such as Steven Olson, Eric Asimov and Gerry Dawes, the latter proclaimed in a Galician newspaper that ' the Ribeira Sacra would have the same revolution with its red wines as happened in el Priorato in 1989'. As well as this several wines from the D.O. received for the first time more than 90 points from Parker and others were featured in the GuÃa Peñin.
In the year 2009 the D.O. updated its regulations and for the third year running it hosted the meal for the fraternity of Galician Regulatory Councils. Product promotion took place through various means, but as always it was present at festivals and participated in campaigns. The Denominación was present at Fitur, Xantar, Gourmets, Fenavin, Vinis Terrae, Salimat, II Salón Allimentario and from the D.O., V Salón de Vinos y Aguardientes de Galicia, Santiago Repetirás, Con queso,pan y vino ven al camino (they take to the road with cheese bread and wine),.....
The D.O. triumphed once more at the Tasting of Galician Red Wines in Euskadi with 2 prizes out of the 3 possible; 24 wines made it through to the tasting finals of the Distinguidos Gallaecia, with 9 wines achieving distinctions; 51 wines obtained Excelencia 2009 from the Association of Galician Tasters and at the International Mountain Wine Competition in Aosta the D.O. achieved some of the best results ever.
In the year 2010 we mean to continue working in the same way and achieving good results wherever the D.O. wines are present. The Council and the bodegas that make up the D.O. will concentrate their efforts, once again, on producing wines of a very high quality, because it is this that will continue to keep consumer confidence in us; and in maintaining the market presence that we currently have and strengthening our international markets.