Our Galicia wine story began one late morning in May, at our very first stop, Pazo De Señorans, a gorgeous wine property. We toured the estate before sitting down with winemaker, Ana Quietly Suárez to taste Pazo Señorans award winning wines. Pazo Señorans is unique in that women are engaged in all the winery's activities. I always like to celebrate women who are making history in wine. Women's leadership in the wine world far too often goes unnoticed. Based on what I experienced the women I met here are amongst those leading the way in Spain's wine world. Here's to women making history in the wine world!
Ana Quietly Suárez, Enologist, Pazo De Señorans © SpaswinefoodAfter crossing over into Galicia, Spain from Portugal we spent our first night in Vigo, a vibrant seaside city. Next morning, driving to Santiago de Compostela Carol and I dropped by Pazo Señorans.
Off to Santiago de Compostela © SpaswinefoodWelcome to Galicia's Wine Country
Our drive from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela was our first introduction to Galician wine country. Driving through Rias Baixas region we saw many of garden sized Albariño vineyards through the car windows.
We had come to Galicia to explore Albariño wines. Albariño is native to the northwestern corner of the Iberian peninsula where it is planted both sides of Spain's and Portugal's border. It constitutes more than 90 percent of the grapes planted in Galicia's Rias Baixas (lower estuaries), a series of four estuarine inlets located on the southwestern coast of Galicia. Given the climatic variation within the Rias Baixas DO there are five different sub-regions (Val do Salnés, Ribeira do Ulla, Soutomaior, O Rosal, and Condado do Tea), in addition there are variations between vineyards, and of course across vintages. While Rías Baixas wine tends to be made entirely from the Albariño variety, a very small amount of red wine is made from the varieties Caiño, Espadeiro, and Mencía.
Pazo De Señorans
Our very first stop was at Pazo De Señorans, a gorgeous wine property in Rías Baixas DO. For sure it is one of the best Galician wineries. The winery is located at Vilanoviña, in the Pontevedra town of Meis, in one of Rías Baixas’ most prestigious wine-making sub-zones.
We arrived at the property without a reservation. Fortunately, we were able to tour the property and do a wine tasting with the winemaker. Our tour and tasting was in Spanish. If you need a tour in English I would suggest a reservation.
We were pleased to discover that this is a wine estate where women are engaged in all the winery's activities, from vineyard workers to management.
Vineyard Workers, Pazo Señorans © Spaswinefood
Welcome to Pazo Señorans © Spaswinefood
Introduction to Pazo Señorans Wines © Spaswinefood
During the wine tasting we were introduced to the following wines (from right to left in photo):
It was an amazing tasting. I was not surprised to discover that all of these wines get great reviews. What welcome to Galicia it was! We had come to the best place to begin our Albariño wine explorations.
Pazo Señorans Wines © Spaswinefood
Included in the tasting were two distillations of Albariño produced by Pazo Señorans.
The two Albariño distillations were:
1. Pazo Señorans Aguardiente de Orujo de Galicia, Geographic Appellation Aguardiente de Galicia (right)
2. Pazo Señorans Aguardiente de Hierbas de Galicia, Geographic Appellation Aguardiente de Hierbas de Galicia (left)
This was my first time tasting Aguardiente made with Albariño.
Pazo Señorans: Aguardiente Time © Spaswinefood
It was informative for me to learn about aguardiente made from Albariño, and its long tradition in Galicia.
For sure this wine tasting Pazo Señorans set a high bar for us to measure other Albariño wines against.
Ready to Taste Pazo Señorans Wines © Spaswinefood
Reflections: Touring Pazo de Señorans
Now, I will share a few highlights from our tour of the estate. Pazo de Señorans has a complete manor house, with a wide array of outbuildings (a chapel and the largest surviving hórreo (a distinct, elevated barn typical to Galicia).
Hórreo, Pazo Señorans © Spaswinefood
Pazo Señorans manor house is very impressive.
Grand Manor, Pazo Señorans © Spaswinefood
Galicia's Pazo Señorans: Where Women are Leading the Way
I cannot thank the Pazo De Señorans staff enough for a first class visit. If you are looking for an authentic, and first class wine and spirit experience, Pazo De Señorans is the place. Moreover, it is where women are making history in wine. After such a wonderful welcome to Galicia at Pazo De Señorans, it was onto Santiago de Compostela.
Later, we would explore the charms of Santiago and the Rutas do Viño vineyards of Rías Baixas. When wandering the traffic-free streets of its medieval center, we encountered modern-day pilgrims, as they headed for its spectacular cathedral and historic buildings. Each day we set on our vinous pilgrimage along Rutas do Viño vineyards of Rías Baixas. What we discovered in Rias Baxis is that Atlantic Spain’s Galicia is a land of (1) pazos, and grand manor houses surrounded by vineyards, (2) hórreos (granaries), and (3) seafood rich estuaries fringed with vines and vegetable gardens.
Pazo Señorans: Ana Quietly Suárez, Enologist © Spaswinefood
No comments:
Post a Comment