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| This part of Galicia, known as the Rias Baixas, is blessed with a micro-climate which favours vine cultivation. The fertile valley of O Rosal has several vineyards producing wine of stella quality. One of its most important and prestigious wines is the Albariño, but the O Rosal wine which blends Albariño, Teixadura Loureira and Caiño grapes is also to be reckoned with. "... Galicia has started producing a white wine of stellar quality: in fact, critics are now rating it among the world’s finest. Known by the grape from which most of it is made — albarino — it manages to be crisp, creamy and complex all at the same time, and, as luck would have it, it’s the perfect partner for seafood. ...In order to coax good wine from such unpromising conditions, the makers have to run small, undermechanised vineyards and employ the most modem and sensitive production techniques. " The Sunday Times, Travel, 12 June 2005 |
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Many of the vineyards in this area are family run and follow traditional practices handed down from generation to generation. The vineyards of Quinta Couselo and Santiago Ruiz with carefully maintained buildings dating back to the 17th century give the visitor a feeling of times gone by. However, sitting along side the old is the latest technology, creating perfect wines for contemporary tastes. |
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We
can arrange wine tasting tours at some of the vineyards. In July there
is an O Rosal wine festival which involves many of the wine growers
of this area. A good opportunity to taste the various wines and sample
some of the best seafood in Galicia. |
Cross the Mino into Portugal and you are in the Costa Verde and just two hours down excellent roads is Porto with the southern banks of the Rio Duro lined with port warehouses. |
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