DO Rías BaixasAlbariñoFounded 1986Méndez family (Gerardo Méndez)Winemaker Gerardo MéndezVal do Salnes
Gerardo Méndez's family bodega in Meaño, founding grower of DO Rías Baixas (1988). Cepas Vellas comes from a 1.5-ha old-vine Albariño parcel on sandy granite.
Tasting: Cellar visits by appointment focused on the parcels behind the bodega, including the old-vine Cepas Vellas vineyard.
Signature wines: do-ferreiro-albarino, do-ferreiro-cepas-vellas
DO Rías BaixasAlbariñoFounded 1981Pedro Martínez Hernández (also owner of Bodegas Baigorri in Rioja Alavesa, acquired 2017)Val do Salnes
Founded 1981 in Vilanova de Arousa with a chateau-style blue-tiled bodega over the 13.5-ha Finca Tremoedo; Etiqueta Verde and Ámbar shaped the modern Salnes.
Tasting: Tours of the Finca Tremoedo estate vineyard and the blue-tiled French-influenced bodega, with tastings of the Etiqueta Verde, Etiqueta Ámbar and Don Álvaro de Bazán range.
Signature wines: granbazan-etiqueta-verde, granbazan-etiqueta-ambar, granbazan-don-alvaro-de-bazan
DO Rías BaixasAlbariñoFounded 1987Zamora CompanyVal do Salnes
Founded 1987 by Eladio Piñeiro, acquired by Zamora Company in 2002. Best known for the thermochromic blue-label Albariño plus the single-vineyard Finca Valiñas.
Tasting: Cellar visits with tastings of the Mar de Frades Albariño (the thermochromic blue-label bottle), the Brut Nature sparkling and the Finca Valiñas / Monteveiga single-vineyard wines. Bookings via the producer site.
Signature wines: mar-de-frades-albarino, mar-de-frades-finca-valinas, mar-de-frades-brut-nature
DO Rías BaixasAlbariñoFounded 1511Familia Creixell (Cebrián-Sagarriga) , same family as Marqués de Murrieta in RiojaVal do Salnes
Galician outpost of the Marqués de Murrieta (Rioja) family; the pazo dates from 1511, commercial Albariño bottling from 1991, with La Comtesse the aged flagship.
Tasting: Guided visits of the 1511-built pazo and its 12-hectare vineyard, with tastings of Pazo Barrantes and the La Comtesse aged Albariño from the Cacheiro plot.
Signature wines: pazo-barrantes-albarino, pazo-barrantes-la-comtesse
DO Rías BaixasAlbariño, Loureiro, Caíño BlancoBodegas Terras Gauda S.A.O Rosal
Large O Rosal producer on the Tui-A Guarda road; the flagship is a three-grape Albariño-Loureiro-Caíño Blanco blend, with La Mar a rare Caíño Blanco-dominant white.
Tasting: Bodega tours and tastings of the flagship Terras Gauda blend, the single-varietal Abadía de San Campio Albariño and the barrel-fermented La Mar with Caíño Blanco. Booking via the producer site.
Signature wines: terras-gauda-blend, abadia-de-san-campio, la-mar-caino-blanco
DO Rías BaixasAlbariñoFounded 1988Grupo La Rioja Alta, S.A.O Rosal
Galician outpost of Grupo La Rioja Alta, acquired 1988 from the Fernández Cervera family; one of the larger contiguous Albariño vineyards in O Rosal, widely.
Tasting: Guided visits of the O Rosal estate by reservation, with tastings of the Lagar de Cervera and Pazo de Seoane wines.
Signature wines: lagar-de-cervera-albarino, pazo-de-seoane