The national wine-tourism map welcomes a new destination in Galicia

As it joins the Wine Routes of Spain network, Ribeira Sacra reinforces its position as one of the most unique destinations in national wine tourism, combining the heroic winegrowing activity of its hillsides with the region’s cultural and heritage assets. This Galician destination, made up of 21 municipalities spread out between Lugo and Ourense, now forms part of a tourism-development model that already includes a total of 38 certified routes throughout Spain and represents the quality benchmark for wine tourism. This newly certified destination stretches across five wine-producing subzones that make up the D.O. Ribeira Sacra, located on the banks of the Miño and the Sil rivers. The area’s steep mountains, with slopes of up to 70%, has resulted in a terraced approach to winegrowing known as ‘heroic viticulture’, which has defined the identity of the landscape and its wine production. Some of its key varieties include Mencía and Godello, along with other native grapes such as Brancellao and Treixadura.

Heroic viticulture is the most traditional way of cultivating vineyards (pictured, those by the Sil River) belonging to the Ribeira Sacra Designation of Origin © In Green Spain | Noe Baranda

On top of all this winegrowing wealth, tourists will find some remarkable historical heritage, with one of the largest concentrations of churches and medieval monasteries in Europe—many historically linked to wine production. This cultural landscape has prompted the area’s ongoing application to recognize the “Ribeira Sacra: Waterscape” as a World Heritage Site. The Wine Routes of Spain already encompass more than 800 towns and cities and nearly 2,400 businesses, of which around 800 are wineries. This network attracts over three million visitors annually and has asserted itself as the leading name in national wine tourism.