Finca Viñoa

This is a relatively new and exciting project in the DO Ribeiro in Galicia. It was set up by José González, the eldest son in the González Vázquez family, who also runs Casal de Arman nearby and winemaker José Manuel Martínez Juste with the aid of a group of investors including Carlos Mouriño, president of Galician football club Celta de Vigo.

The idea is to make a single-vineyard, distinctive white from indigenous grapes. The Finca Viñoa vineyard, where the wine takes its name, is an 18-hectare estate with 10 hectares under vine in Banga, in the Avia Valley. It is very close to the country house (locally called “pazo”) owned by the Quiroga family where Galician writer Emilia Pardo Bazán wrote part of her work in the late 19th century. She described the place as “Ribeiro’s balcony” due to the magnificent views of the Avia valley.

The vineyard is really impressive. Its 23 terraces have been thoroughly rebuilt on granite and schist soils with the first vines planted in 2003. Finca Viñoa is a blend of Treixadura with Godello, Albariño and Loureiro. It is a well-defined white with good intensity, citrus and herbs nuances followed by some ninerality (dry stones).

The winery is part of a group of single-vineyard wine projects including Pazo Casanova —also in DO Ribeiro but with vineyards in the Miño Valley— and Quinta do Couselo in Rías Baixas.