The Situation

The region of Valdeorras is situated in the Province of Orense, almost in the limits to León and its the natural door to Galicia. It takes up around 3.000 ha. of the river Sil Valley. It embraces areas like: O Barco de Valdeorras, O Bolo, Carballeda de Valdeorras, Larouco, Petín, A Rúa, Rubiá y Villamartín de Valdeorras.

The region finds itself surrounded by a deep, bright and fertile Valley where the river Sil gentle goes by, owner of a magic granite and slate landscape , red and black land with chestnut trees, vines and olive trees.

Valdeorras, is crossed from east to west by the via XVIII or Via Nova that joins together Braga and Astorga, It was a free way land and destination of the Roman legions that came to exploit the gold mines and where under the protection of abenign Mediterranean-Atlantic microclimate, planted the first wine vines.

Soil

The region has a relief between flat and slightly wavy.

The vineyard is cultivated on different materials, the most widely represented are the sediments (tertiary, alluvial terraces, alluvial fans).

The soils are quite varied. Dominated slate and clay, well drained and suitable for growing grapes. They are generally strong acid reaction soils with a maximum water pH 6.1.

The weather

The climate that caresses our vineyards is drier than in the rest of Galicia, blending the Atlantic influence with hints of continentality.

Because of the orientation of the river Sil and the plantation of vines in the South face, it’s possible to have about 2700 sunlight hours during one year.

Even with all of those hours of sunlight we also have a lot of rain. The amount of rain varies between 850 and 1000 mm. per year.

The average temperature is quite high with 11ºC, oscillating between the different seasons of the year because of its altitude and the continental climate.

Designation

The Denomination of Origin Valdeorras was recognized by a Ministerial Order and the Regulating Council which was created on the 24th of February 1977, and it’s placed in the Region of Villamartín de Valdeorras.

This Denomination of Origin was born with the objective to guarantee the quality of the wine from this zone and to work in the recuperation of local varieties like the Godello and the promotion of plantations of varieties like Mencía.