“Here if you don´t live it, you can´t start to make and care the vineyard”, Ruth Mozo
D.O. GetariakoTxakolina opened the week visiting the D.O. Ribeira Sacra. About twenty people, including winemakers, wine growers, members of the technical team of the Regulatory Council and a chef had the opportunity to get to know first-hand the work in the wineries Regina Viarum, Cachín and Val da Lenda; In addition to sailing in the Sil Canyon and visiting the Ribeira Sacra Wine Center on the first day. We speak with the secretary of the C.R.D.O. GetariakoTxakolina, Ruth Mozo.
D.O. GetariakoTxakolina group
Why it was decided to know the D.O. Ribeira Sacra?
In a meeting of the board it was said that you wanted to visit an area. Many people in the sector didn´t know this area and what heroic viticulture was, and as in Ribeira Sacra you have these terraces and our area is also a “bit of mountain”, although nothing to do with what we have seen here, we decided to know it. We wanted it to be a short trip and we chose Ribeira Sacra and El Bierzo. There was a lot of curiosity to know this area.
And what do you think, what do you get known?
You have a lot of merit. There are things we have in common, such as the problem of labor, jobs are mostly manual, there are problems in hiring, the price of grapes is almost the same. In our Denomination between 2 wineries have almost 40% of the production and the rest produce between 10,000 and 500,000 liters. It is similar, family wineries, here much smallholding, there begins to be generational relief. In many things we have felt identified. Then there are differences that make the work here brutal. In our Denomination between 80 - 85% of the vineyard is owned by the wineries, here you have 2,400 winegrowers enrolled in one thousand hectares, we are 430 hectares and 105 winegrowers.
The Taste of a Land is the slogan of the D.O. Ribeira Sacra What do you think about the landscape?
Spectacular. We are surprised by the change of the canyon to lands with less slope. The conclusion is that we have all said, ... and we complain about how we work there. Heroic Viticulture for Ribeira Sacra is well coined.
And about the wines what do you can value?
With the white wines I am used to the Txakolí which is cooler. Ribeira Sacra white wine is more aromatic and has more body. As for the red wine, which is the main production of the D.O. Ribeira Sacra, I see it fresh, it is very easy and pleasant, it is allowed to drink. Particularly I am of young reds, who drink easy and you are also heroic. Seeing how they work during the harvest must be spectacular. For example in the D.O. GetariakoTxakolina, the vines are 5 minutes from the wineries, here you have to like it and you have to live it to get into this world, here if you don´t live it you cannot get to elaborate and care for the vineyard.