The “Experiencia Verema Vigo” brought together last week thousands of industry professionals, wine lovers and connoisseurs, as well as users of the Verema.com website.
Opening the event, LAN and SANTIAGO RUIZ wines were tasted by the attendees in a degustation titled “ A story never told”, where we had the chance to explain our working culture and winemaking philosophy.
Luisa Freire, winemaker for Santiago Ruiz, opened the event underlining the importance of the work in the winery’s own vineyards, which are located close to the mouth of the Miño River and enjoy a privileged microclimate thanks to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean.
To understand the role played by each of the varieties making up the unique Santiago Ruiz blend, samples of wines made with the Loureiro and Treixadura grapes from the 2016 vintage were tasted. The combination of these and other native varieties to Galicia is responsible for the uniqueness of the wines from the “O Rosal” subzone and also of many of the accolades reaped by the winery’s founder, considered a visionary that was ahead of his time.
Luisa mentioned her outmost respect for Santiago Ruiz’s heritage and her constant search to reflect the founder’s spirit in every vintage with the help of Rosa Ruiz, Santiago’s daughter and also one of the main people responsible for the sustainment of this legacy. The grand finale was a tasting of Rosa’s very own “Rosa Ruiz 2015” a single variety Albariño wine that is a product of a long tradition of experimentation and observation..
Moments later the participants travelled to
Rioja with winemaker María Barúa, who tasted through
the LAN wines. LAN is a bodega whose history is also tied to a major Spanish river: the Ebro. The
Viña Lanciano vineyard is located in a spectacular meander of the
Ebro River, a river that has a critical influence on the wines sourced here. The vines are planted in land reclaimed from the river, as proven by the round alluvial rocks that top the soil. The importance of the land for
Bodegas LAN since its foundation and our firm intent on sustainability were the salient features of the presentation.
María Barúa spoke of this “story never told ”; of the singularity of tank number 12 -where the wines that will make up LAN D-12 are made-; of the pioneering use of Russian oak in LAN A Mano ( LAN Ed. Limitada) ; of the painstaking care for each vine in the vineyard; and of the manual selection of grapes that is partly responsible for CULMEN’s elegance.
We feel honored to have been first at bat in this #VeremaVigo and lucky to share it with a great group of industry professionals and wine lovers. Thank you for letting us share our “A story never told”.