Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Spanish Tasters Union praises the red wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation in its Bacchus awards.




The Silver Bacchus 2013 prize , given by the Spanish Tasters Union, goes to the wines of Memoria de Ventura Garnacha 2011 of the winery Adega da Pinguela and to Joaquin Rebolledo Mencia Barrica 2011, of the homonymous winery.

Among the awarded, and for the second year running, Joaquin Rebolledo with its red barrel wine 2011 is back in the elite of the Spanish wines, getting the Silver Medal.

The 40 hectares of vineyards along with its history and the title of best young red wine of Spain 2012 are the best presentation of the winery.

The red barrel wine is a selection of Mencia, aged for 6 months in French oak barrels and a part of it in American oak barrels too. It highlights  for its bouquet of white pepper and raspberry, being very fresh and sweet as a whole.


 The potential of this variety, as well as the characteristic soil of Valdeorras, have brought the most distinguished Spanish Winemakers to produce wines in Valdeorras. Mencia is the quintessential red variety of the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. 

Joaquin Rebolledo prestige in the red wines is very important and continues to gain first class awards. This is the rhythm of wines such as the Barrica and Mencia of Joaquin Rebolledo that set the standards. 

The collection of wine barrels is sufficiently complex, so as to confer distinctiveness to Joaquín Rebolledo wines. French, American and Caucasican oak, are the predominant wooden barrels that fill the caverns of the winery. There, with specific humidity, temperature and silence, the reds take on a remarkable and distinctive expression. 









For its part, and as a complement of the outstanding work done by the DO Valdeorras appellation with its reds wines, the Spanish Tasters Union has also awarded the Silver Bacchus to the wine Memoria Ventura Garnacha 2011, adding this prize to previous ones like the 91 points gotten in the last Penín Guide and given at the Fair of the Best Wines of Spain.

This award also serves to recognize the enormous potential of the grenache grape, secluded for years of the qualified productions and recovered in recent years either in the DO Valdeorras appellation or in other parts of Spain.

The Memoria de Ventura Garnacha wine has a limited production (1,000 bottles). For its elaboration it has been necessary to locate old vines on the slaty slopes of the Valley of Sil. Francisco Núñez, the winemaker, explains that "the cultivation of these strains in glass is very laborious as it is a kind of viticulture that respects the environment. That notwithstanding, the efforts are worth since the result is a wine that represents well its source".

According to the winemaker, this Grenache was his first bet to explore other possibilities of red wine varieties. Last year, for example, the winery presented the wine Memoria de Ventura Castes Nobres which included sousón and brancellao varieties. As Núñez states, "most of the experts agree that the Galician red wines are leading a revolution in the national scene and we are proud to contribute to this new trend of wines with personality".





Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation included in the selection of best wines of Galicia will be presented the coming Wednesday, the 20th of March, in Madrid.



The following 20th of March a must-meeting for wine lovers will take place at the Palace of Amezúa (C / Casado del Alisal, No. 8-28014 Madrid), which houses the Galician House and the current Galician regional government in Madrid. And this will be the venue where the wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation,  included in the selection of best wines of Galicia, will show to the audience its great qualities.

Organized by Servino.net, the Association of Sommeliers of Madrid and the Galician House in Madrid, the coming Wednesday 20th of March the "Tunnel of Wine" will host the best wines of Galicia under the name GALICIAN WINES.

The event will gather the awarded wines of the "Guide of Wines, Spirits and Wineries of Galicia", published by Luis Padin and in which several wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation are included. These are the following:

White Wines



Red Wines



Currently, because of quality criteria of volume and diversity, Wines and Spirits of Galicia have reached the highest level in their history. If we select the best of these sweet moments, and this selection has been made by 27 of the most expert tasters of Galicia, we can ensure that GALICIAN WINES has gathered more than 50 of the best wines and spirits of this region to the pleasure of professionals of the hospitality industry and the specialized press of Madrid.  More products could have been included, but all the Wines and Spirits showed are EXCELLENT.


On March the 20th at the Palace of Amezúa - the Galician House and current Galician regional government in Madrid - (C / Casado del Alisal, No. 8-28014 Madrid), from 11am to 14pm and from 5pm to 21pm.

To book in advance is required on: info@servino.net





Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Switzerland and Japan are the new promotional destinations for the DO Valdeorras apellation wines



While the Stand of the Regulatory Council received many visitors last weekend at the Galician Gastronomic Fair,  "Xantar 2013", the organization is preparing the upcoming promotional activities that will bring the Valdeorras wines to visit Switzerland and Japan.

Once the Food Fair  Xantar 2013 has concluded,  after having had a great succes with many visitors at the Stand of the Regulatory Council of the DO Valdeorras appellation, the organization is now preparing  a series of promotional tours that will bring its wines to important international markets, such the Swiss and the Japanese.

Stand DO Valdeorras in Xantar 
Xantar, that closed its doors last Sunday, was awaited with great expetations. In this special environment, the peruvian delegation invited to the fair this year was able to enjoy and appreciate firsthand the wines of Valdeorras.

Peruvian Delegation in DO Valdeorras Stand
And this international environment is the intial point for the next promotional presentations; the next event will take place in Switzerdland the following 18th of April at the Metropol Hotel in Zurich.

The act, that will be attended by some of the most important wineries of the DO Valdeorras apellation and which will be specified in upcoming articles, will gather the best professionals of the wine sector of Central European region and will serve as an important complement to the successful presentations held previously in this country.


After finishing the meeting with the Swiss profesionals of the wine sector, the Regulatory Council will celebrate its next presentation in FENAVIN – from 7th to 9th of May- and where a number of wineries of the DO Valdeorras apellation will be represented.


This fair will be followed by a big event in Japan: VINALITUR, that will be held the 13th and the 14th of May in Tokyo.

In this important event the Regulatory Council of the DO Valdeorras apellation will act on behalf of seven wineries, showing their wines and will make available, through the Mother of Wine, a number of invitations for all the people who wish to attend the fair.

 These acts, of which we will give you full informtion throughout the coming weeks, will launch the first series of international promotional events that the Regulatory Council has scheduled for 2013 and, through them, there is no doubt that the international prestige that the wines of the DO Valdeorras have earned in the international wine scene will be strengthen.







Monday, March 4, 2013

Jancis Robinson, wine critic of the Financial Times and consultant of the wineries owned by the Queen Elizabeth II of England, shows herself delighted with the Godello variety of the DO Valdeorras appellation.



The weekly chronicle of the DO Valdeorras appellation is marked by the article published by the leading newspaper of England, the Financial Times, in which the Godello Valedorras is greatly praised. In addition, this unique publication is complemented by the presence of the Regulatory Council of Valdeorras at the 2013 "Xantar" Fair, that will be held proximately in Ourense.

The well-known wine critic all over the world, Jancis Robinson, has published a piece about her passion for the Godello of the DO Valdeorras appellation, elevating this variety within the international wine industry.

In addition, the renowned author of the article and wine critic has included two white wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation - As Sortes 2011 and Sorte O Soro 2011 of the Rafael Palacios Winery- in her own list of best white wines all over the world, giving them a score of 18.5 points respectively.


The weekly collaborator of the British newspaper Financial Times has praised the wines and, in her own words and referring to As Sortes 2011, remarks that "the wine belongs to the most wonderful vintage of a great selection with great body and balance, despite its youth".  Regarding  Sorte O Soro 2011, the critic emphasizes "its strength and depth of shades".

And this confirms Robinson's great passion for this variety; as a matter of fact, last year another Godello of the DO Valdeorras appellation -Valdesil- also joined the list of the 25 best white wines in the world of the Financial Times.

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW (born on 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com. She also provides advice for Queen Elizabeth II's wine cellar.






For its part, the Regulatory Council of Valdeorras begins its promotional tour at the Galician Gastronomy and Tourism Hall, which will be held from 6 to 10 of March in Expourense.

To start with the promotional events that will lead the Regulatory Council of the DO Valdeorras appellation and several of its wineries to visit different countries and international Fairs, Ourense will be the first place where the public will enjoy the quality and international prestige of the wines of Valdeorras.

With its own stand in the "2013 Xantar" fair of Ourense, the Regulatory Council will take part in several events along with other regional products, showing all the essence of the galician land.

Thus, on Thursday 7 at 1pm and with the support of the Ministry for Rural Affairs, a tasting of the wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation will take place next to ANFACO and Cea bread.

On Saturday 9 at 7pm there will be a presentation of the DO Valdeorras wines only aimed at the first 20 attendees who book their presence by application to the organization, calling to the phone 0034 988 366 030.

Do not miss the event




Monday, February 25, 2013

The wine "Godello A Coroa" wins for the second year running the Swedish Monopoly Network.


The godello wine of the "A Coroa Winery", attached to the DO Valdeorras appellation, reaffirms its position in the Swedish market when winning for the second year running the Swedish Monopoly Network.

The fact of achieving the highest recognition from this market for two consecutive years is described as "exceptional" by System Bolaget - Swedish state organization that governs the monopoly -, since rarely a winery gets the highest score twice.

The Winery of the DO Valdeorras appellation, which sells 50% of its production in some of the most important international wine markets - USA, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland , Germany, Sweden - qualifies this fact as a great opportunity to continue reaffirming its position in Sweden and the Nordic market.

The offer of System Bolaget, aimed to the Galician wines and which got the answer of 33 wineries, ended with a scoring of 23 out of 27 votes for A Coroa, putting the winery in a comfortable position with a wide margin of difference regarding its competitors.

The state company System Bolaget, or monopoly, is unparalleled in any other place in the world. It has more than 2,300 registered trademark products from 40 different countries, including beer, wine and spirits. In addition, its suppliers have in stock about 8,500 products available upon request at any store in the country and it launches about 2,000 new products annually.


Currently System Bolaget has 418 stores and over 500 agents that cover smaller communities. Employees are qualified people and good experts in food and drink, who offer the best service to customers. They all perform a thorough preparation and all products, regardless of their origin, are entitled to the same treatment.

System Bolaget is defined as a company dedicated to the sale of alcoholic beverages responsibly, while seeking to provide a first-class service. This is achieved by a controlled access through a limited amount of stores, of opening hours and of sales regulations.


The winery A Coroa is delighted of being once more part of the cast of products that form the Swedish monopoly, since it means its wine has passed through strict quality controls and also a professional tasting, in which the best wines are chosen among all those that arrive at the headquarters of the Swedish company.

According to the Commercial Director and Exports Manager of the winery, Marta Sertaje: "for a familiar winery as it is A Coroa, the fact of being in this market once more is a unique opportunity to reaffirm our presence abroad. Last year about 50% of our production was exported and over the 10 years that our wines have been in the market we have broken records in sales".


Bodega A Coroa, though being a familiar winery, counts on a modern winemaking equipment. A rational viticulture that uses well the personality of its variety Godello and always looks for quality is the philosophy that guides the work in A Coroa, where they are convinced that wine is mainly achieved in the vineyard.

Its elaboration is focused on a careful and rational treatment of the grape, which makes use of the best technology and respects the diversity of the land, being the first winery attached to the DO Valdeorras appellation that makes a controlled production in its vineyards.

The international prestige of the A Coroa wines comes endorsed by numerous awards. Among them, the following are the most important of 2012:

Best Wine - The New York Times Selection - Blind tasting

Gold Medal - World Selection of Wines of Canada

Gold Medal - International Wine Competition of Lyon

Silver Medal - Best Spanish Wines for USA

"Gran Mezquita de Oro" - Mezquita Awards 2012

Grand Gold - Galician Wines Guide

Gallaecia Distinction 2012

Silver Bacchus 2012 - Awarded by the Spanish Tasters Union





Monday, February 4, 2013

The wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation reinforce their presence in the Brazilian market.


A batch of 24,000 bottles will travel from the cooperative-winery 'Jesus Nazareno’ bound for the Brazilian market, along with high expectations of expansion in one of the emerging and most interesting markets for the wine industry.

A batch of 24,000 bottles of 'Menciño' is the way through which the wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation will be launched onto the Brazilian market. This was announced last week by the president of the cooperative-winery 'Jesus Nazareno', Manuel Fernandez, who explained that the Export Department of the company is, at this time, finalizing the details of the business deal.

As said by its president, the cooperative of O Barco and the vast majority of the wineries of the DO Valdeorras appellation bet on foreign markets a long time ago, being this the reason of their presence in countries like USA, Germany, Holland and Switzerland. He also added that finding new clients is not limited to foreign markets and that the cooperative-winery 'Jesus Nazareno' has been working for year with major national food chains, with very encouraging results.


The great time of the wine cooperative is endorsed by sales data; "This month we have sold 20,000 Euros more than last year" said Manuel. In this sense, the high prestige that the wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation have achieved abroad in recent years is confirmed, mainly based on the good balance of between quality and price.

To the high quality of the wines is added the increase in sales, which has been possible due to the high production of the winery. According to the data provided by its chairman, about 1,8 million kilos of grapes came in its facilities, not being the available deposits enough big to store that must and having to keep a consignment of 70,000 liter into several complementary tanks.


The great expansion of the winery over recent years has led the amortization of the new facilities, causing that the board of directors is looking into the possibility of distributing the capital and allow the entrance of new partners.

The consumer's acceptance of the wines of the DO Valdeorras appellation, along with the current socio-economic situation, have led the recovery of vineyards which for years haven't been worked, being these replanted with native varieties of Valdeorras.


This consolidates an expansion plan which bases its evolution and development on the production of top quality wines at competitive prices.

Manuel Fernández became the president of  "Jesús Nazareno" in 1986 and will remain in his charge four years more, after the associates ratified his position as head of the cooperative two weeks ago.
The short term plans of "Jesus Nazareno" contemplate the recovery of the old facilities of the cooperative, those from which the first wine of the company came out in 1963. Despite of this, this is a possibility that the governing board is still looking into and besides, the difficulties in finding funding are hindering its execution. However, the implementation of the project in several phases would allow to a more likely investment.

In this way, slow but surely,- like the process of elaboration of the good wine-, the wineries of the DO Valdeorras appellation continue to expand their prestige and recognition both nationally and internationally.





Monday, January 21, 2013

The DO Valdeorras appellation wines begin the new year with awards and presentations


The DO Valdeorras wines begin 2013 in the same vein as 2012: getting the highest prizes in international competitions and introducing new wines that will surely give lots of good things to talk about.

This week the weekly news of the Mother of the wine focuses on two awards presented to Adega O Cepado that, with a Gold and a Silver medals, achieves a crushing at the Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition 2013, that it is also completed with the presentation of the new Godello wine on lees of da Pinguela winery, "Vento".

Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition 2013, held last January 10, 2013, made public the results of the wines and spirits tasting of the world in its 2013 edition. For this contest, the O Cepado Winery submitted two samples: O Cepado Godello 2011 and O Cepado Mencia 2011, both awarded with medals.

CEPADO GODELLO 2011, GOLD MEDAL Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition 2013



CEPADO MENCIA 2011, SILVER MEDAL Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition 2013


The Catavinum World Wine and Spirits Competition (CWWSC) is organized and developed by Catavinum in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain).

During the competition, a total of 1,839 wines and spirits of more than twenty countries were tasted and, among them, the O Cepado wines shone brightly.







For its part, and as we announced last week from the Mother of the Wine, da Pinguela Winery presented its new wine "Vento".

Da Pinguela Winery, endorsed by the prestige obtained at the Salon of the Best Wines of Spain "Peñín Guide 2013", launches its new range of godello on lees.

Fermented on lees in barrel, the Godello variety grape behaves in a special way, creating complete wines. So this is "Vento", the new wine of Adega da Pinguela and submitted by the grower of the winery, Francisco Núñez, with a perfect balance between fruit and wood. "Vento" is a wine with a long life in bottle, deep and that remains longer, as the wind.






Monday, January 14, 2013

The Regulatory Council and the wineries of the DO Valdeorras appellation present their projects for 2013


The maintenance of the fees for 2013, the new promotional events, the tribute to Horacio Fernández Presa, the presentation of the new wine of Adega A Pinguela and the collaboration of the wineries of DO Valdeorras appellation  with some Galician cultural collectives determine the beginning of year in Valdeorras.

The last plenary session of the Regulatory Council agreed to maintain the same qualifying  prices of previous years for the 2013 vintage, being this the eighth consecutive year without changes in the fares.

According to its the President, José Luis García Pando says: 'we cannot ask the wineries for a greater effort since we are able to support ourselves and, so far, we are fine'.

Therefore, the compromise that emerges from the Wineries and the Regulatory Council with the Valdeorras' wine consumers remains in offering an outstanding and internationally recognized product at the best price.

In turn, the Regulatory Council has confirmed two new international presentations for 2013. Switzerland and Japan are the planned destinations to go on with a policy of international promotion that, so far, has already brought remarkable successes in demanding markets such as the American and the Belgian in 2012.



Meanwhile, one of the "souls mater" in the recovery of the Valdeorras Godello variety and Chief winemaker of the Winery Godeval, Horacio Fernández Presa, received the last friday a deserved tribute to his career. 

Horacio Fernández Presa

La Casa Grande de Viloira (O Barco de Valdeorras) was the venue chosen for the act, in which José Domingo Posada Enriquez gave a lecture on ´The future of wine. The wine of the future´.


The interactive presentation of the week comes from Da Pinguela winery, that will stage a new wine with the seal of quality of the DO Valdeorras appellation in the coming days.

Da Pinguela winery, which has achieved a remarkable success in the Venue of the Best Wines from Spain, "Peñin Guide 2013', will give the chance to all its followers on Facebook of knowing its new wine exclusively.

Remember, only on the Facebook fan page of Adega da Pinguela






And to conclude this first article of 2013, we echo the participation of two wineries of the DO Valdeorras appellation at the III Winter Solstice Tasting of the cultural association of music and dance ´Flores Mareliñas´.
  
Adega A Coroa gave up its Godello 2011 and Adega Roandi did the same with its latest creation, the sparkling wine "Brinde", in an act that reinforces the cultural union of music and dance with the spirituous manufactures of the land.

Through this collaboration, the wineries of  DO Valdeorras appellation show their commitment to the cultural heritage of Galicia, in close harmony with some of its ludic demonstrations such as music and dances.