Ribeiro
Atlantic–Mediterranean transition
Galicia's oldest wine denomination, in the inland river valleys of Ourense, where Treixadura is the leading white grape.
Overview
About Ribeiro
Ribeiro is a DO in the north-west of Ourense province, around the town of Ribadavia, where the valleys of the Miño, Avia and Arnoia rivers meet. It is generally described as the oldest wine denomination in Galicia, dating to 1932, and its wines were already highly priced in the markets of Santiago de Compostela in the 12th century. White wine makes up the great majority of production, and Treixadura is the leading grape, usually blended with Godello, Loureiro, Torrontés, Lado or Albariño. The reds come from Sousón, Brancellao, Caíño and Mencía, and there is also a sweet wine from dried grapes, Viño Tostado.
The region has small growers, the colleiteiros, who make under 60,000 litres a year, alongside larger bodegas and a cooperative. Treixadura nearly disappeared in the 20th century, and the modern reputation of Ribeiro's whites dates from a revival that began in the 1980s.
Ribeiro is marked on the map.
Spain
Shaded: Orense. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Atlantic–Mediterranean transition
Between the maritime coast and the Mediterranean-influenced interior. The mountains shelter the valleys from the worst of the Atlantic storms, so Ribeiro is drier and warmer than coastal Rías Baixas, though it still gets plenty of rain.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Granite that weathers into a sandy soil known as sábrego, with some schist and slate. The vines are planted on terraced slopes above the three river valleys.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
What makes one year better than another follows from the climate here: atlantic–mediterranean transition.
A great year
A warm, dry ripening season that lets late-ripening Treixadura ripen fully while keeping its acidity.
A difficult year
Autumn rain around harvest, or a very hot season that pushes alcohol up and acidity down.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.