Spain's spectacular wine region navigated by boat
In the Ribeira Sacra's dizzyingly high landscapes, near-vertical vineyards are perched above rivers. The stunning scenery – and the resulting wines – are an oenophile's dream.
A mosaic of stone and trees, the mountains stretched out toward the horizon while below me the river sliced through this unyielding mass of granite as if it were made of sponge. Peering down the pitched slopes of the Sil Canyon from the Cabezoás overlook – more than 700m high – I gained new respect for the incredible power of water (while thanking the sturdy beams that were holding me up).
Vertiginous views are a hallmark of the Ribeira Sacra, a collection of small towns that mostly hug the Sil and Miño rivers in Galicia, Spain's north-westernmost region. Galicia is often referred to as "green Spain" for its verdant landscapes, the product of frequent rainfall compared to elsewhere in Spain, but it's these two rivers that have shaped the Ribeira Sacra, the region’s most inland corner. The name means "sacred riverbank" in the Galician language, a nod to both the topography and the area's long monasterial history, dating to Roman times.
It's not the easiest terrain to cross, filled with narrow winding roads that wrap around hills and cut through stands of chestnuts and oaks. As I left Cabezoás, I headed west to the region's main monastery, Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil, about 7km away as the crow flies, but nearly double the distance by car. Nested high above the Sil River, Santo Estevo has been beautifully restored and is now part of Spain's national network of paradores (state-run hotels often housed in historic structures). Although it is first mentioned in documents from the 10th Century, the monastery is believed to be several centuries older than that. It includes three cloisters, a church and the monks' quarters, and I couldn't help but wonder how they built such a massive compound back then on the rim of a mountain
Those monks definitely had an eye for prime real estate, but the miradoiros (scenic overlooks) I passed along the way provided a different kind of religious experience. Like Cabezoás, they jut out over the edges of cliffs, mocking gravity and offering vistas that will fill your heart or stop it cold, depending on how you feel about heights. Water has forged its own green cathedrals here, more monumental than even the most spectacular structures built by humans.
In fact, the Ribeira Sacra was declared a biosphere reserve in 2022, and it is Spain's only nomination for Unesco World Heritage status in 2024. The application revolves around the central place of water in this landscape. Beyond the production of hydroelectric power, the rivers have propelled a long history of milling – corn and other grains – but it's the nearly vertical vineyards along their banks that play a starring role.
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Winemaking took off after the arrival of the Romans and the monastic orders that followed them. The region's predominant grape is Mencía, traditionally used to make fresh, young reds, though winemakers are increasingly adding a little Brancellao, Sousón, and Caíño, and even aging some of these earthy, aromatic blends, as well as producing beautifully floral whites starring the Godello grape. For a long time, wine quality suffered here, hindered by rural poverty and tangled land-inheritance laws, but the Ribeira Sacra's star has risen sharply over the past decade, with connoisseurs now seeking out its boutique bottlings.
It is also a naturally sustainable wine region, as no other approach would work over the long term. Because of the terrain, grape growers must harvest by hand, carrying heavy crates on their shoulders, as they advance carefully down row after acrophobia-inducing row of vines. To help with this gruelling work, a few vineyards use rails, along which grapes can be moved in small motorised containers – either up toward narrow clearings where they can be loaded onto a truck, or down to the river for boat transport – but this is not an option for most.
How to visit
The tourism board runs three free shuttle bus routes, with stops near several monasteries, wineries and piers where you can access city-run ferries. The ferries leave from Monforte de Lemos and Belesar, offering a loop of the Sil or Miño canyons. You can also sign up for private boat tours with Quinta Sacra or Turismo Pantón, which include visits to wineries and other attractions.
Established as an official wine region in 1996, the Ribeira Sacra holds "heroic viticulture" designation, awarded by an Italian nonprofit that promotes and protects mountainous wine regions around the world. To qualify for the title, your terraced vineyards must have a minimum altitude of 500m and a gradient above 30%. When I met winemaker Puri Díaz Ferreiro, she casually referred to local vineyards as paredes (walls), which makes sense when you consider that a 70% slope is not unusual. She rightly marvelled at what must have gone into creating these terraces. "It was an immense job to build these walls and ensure they don't collapse. They've lasted for centuries."
Most wineries here are small operations, like Díaz Ferreiro’s Val do Frade, based in the town of A Pobra do Brollón. Working alone, she grows grapes on two half-hectare plots, one of them perched on a luxuriantly green ridge high above the Sil River. During harvest, she hires extra hands to move her grapes to the Adegas de Vilachá complex 2km away, where she produces just 3,000 bottles per year of a young red made with Mencía. Now an ethnographic centre, these rustic cellars date to medieval times and were traditionally used by families to make and store wine for their own consumption. Every midday, folks would head there on foot, via a narrow path, and bring home enough wine for the day's meals. While the complex has 42 separate cellars, just 12 are currently in use, and Díaz Ferreiro's is the sole commercial operation.
Her vineyards can only be accessed on foot, from above. While I found the lush highland scenery to be breathtaking, I wanted to get closer to the water, so I headed west to the village of Belesar to meet Martín Martínez. Established in 2020, his Ecosacra winery is what's known locally as an adega de garda (storage winery), where wine that's been made elsewhere is kept in cool, north-facing cellars. More than three centuries old, his adega had been abandoned for 14 years when he bought and restored it, even reusing old wine barrels to make shelving and tables. It's a beautifully rustic space overlooking the Miño River, with an outdoor patio where you can try his wines – a white made with the Godello grape and a red Mencía-dominated blend – while dining on local cheese, charcuterie and empanadas (Galician large-format baked meat or fish pies), accompanied by tomatoes, figs and cherries from his own garden.
TIP:
Where to stay: Spend the night in monasterial surroundings at Santo Estevo, or stay at As Torres da Ermida, a boutique hotel in Monterroso in the former home of an aristocrat.
Where to eat and drink: A wine tasting is included with your tour (in Spanish only) of Val do Frade. Ecosacra's VIP experience includes a boat ride, wine tasting and meal. For a sit-down dinner, visit A Faragulla in Chantada, or nosh at Monforte de Lemos' tapas bars, clustered around Rúa Cardenal Rodrigo de Castro.
To reach Ecosacra, I booked a tour that included a magical journey on Martínez's small boat. As we glided past forested riverbanks so densely green they could pass for Tolkien's Shire, I was humbled by the view of those mindboggling vineyards; it was beyond me how those first grape-growers ever conceived of farming this terrain. But even more remarkable was the canyon itself, a testament to the sheer force of water across geological time.
Ecosacra's name reflects Martínez's commitment to protecting his natural resources. Like Díaz Ferreiro, he takes a low-intervention approach in his vineyards, conserving the soil's health and using no herbicides or insecticides, and his small catamaran is the first hybrid passenger boat in the area. As we chatted, he proudly told me about the otters that were spotted near his private pier. "I spend most days on the river, but I never get bored of this place. It’s paradise to me."
The team behind local event company I-Radia Crea felt the same way when they created 17 Grados, a music festival that highlights the landscape. Named for the vineyards' minimum slope in degrees, the lineup features concerts at a hilltop winery, but the most coveted events take place on a catamaran with a maximum capacity of 100. Listening to music while cruising between the steep walls of the Sil Canyon is a transcendent experience, transporting you physically and metaphorically.
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To protect the very qualities that make the area so unique, government officials are beginning to take a more mindful approach, learning hard lessons from other parts of Spain where overtourism has sparked the rage of local residents. In its promotional materials, the tourism board encourages visitors to arrive by RENFE, the national train system, which stops in the region’s largest municipality, Monforte de Lemos (population: 18,000). There are also free hop-on hop-off minibus shuttles to reduce car traffic during the summer and Holy Week peak seasons; and the most popular attractions – such as the ancient Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil monastery and the wineries themselves – require advance reservations to manage visitor volume.
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It's not easy to balance environmental protection with the real economic needs of the Ribeira Sacra's small towns, which might otherwise be abandoned, like so many in rural Spain. But in a region where survival has long depended on nature, there is still a deep connection to the environment, and many locals are focused on conserving what they've inherited. When Díaz Ferreiro first started growing grapes, some of her neighbours would describe the ways they pruned each plant in their vineyards.
At the time, she couldn't imagine anyone having such an intimate understanding of individual vines, but now she has become one of those people. "I don’t know how to explain it, but it is something that you just have to feel," she said. "We are in contact with the earth, the plants and everything else around us. I’m part of this landscape."
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