DO Ribeira Sacra is a great vine-growing region, even though its yield is small. Located in Galicia, between the province of Lugo and the north of Orense, it is a region where vines have been grown since Roman times. However, it was not until 1990 that investment in technology and marketing in the region began, finally leading to its earning appellation status in 1996. Since then it has been witness to how the quality of its wines has attracted acknowledgement and awards both at home and abroad.

In deepest Galicia, to the north of Orense and south of Lugo, following the course of the river Sil until it meets the Miño, lies the DO Ribeira Sacra’s territories, whose vines are planted in the valleys and narrow passes of the river’s itinerary, making harvesting into almost an heroic feat. Early medieval monasteries and hermitages from between the 8th and 12th centuries are abundant in the region, located in its most inaccessible corners. DO Ribeira Sacra takes its name from both of these phenomena, ‘Ribeira’ meaning riverside and ‘Sacra’ sacred.

Before medieval times, the Romans were already making wine in this region. The spicy Amandi wines, one of the sub-regions under the appellation, are legendary and it is said that in Classic Roman times they were taken onboard ship together with the lamprey eels caught in the river Miño to serve at the emperors’ tables. Later on, it is believed that the monks replanted the vines for their own consumption and thanks to them, up to a dozen small wine areas developed in the region.

These days DO Ribeira Sacra covers around 2,500 hectares of vineyard, equivalent to 5.2 percent of Galicia’s total land-area which is devoted to the vines, a vicinity made up of parishes and localities belonging to 19 municipalities grouped together in five sub-regions: Amandi, Chantada, Quiroga-Bibei, Ribeiras do Miño and Ribeiras do Sil. The area actually devoted to vine growing is restricted to the sides of the riverbanks, this is why the production is not very high. During the last campaign more than 5m kilos of grapes were collected, from which 3.36m litres of wine were made.