The Ribeira Sacra in Spain isn’t the easiest area to explore as a visitor-the narrow winding roads (often not big enough for two cars) lined with head high shrubbery, perpetual blind curves and inability of GPS to function in many of the areas when you need it most when you need it most can be somewhat frustrating at first. But, it‘s worth the minor inconveniences to get the opportunity to visit such a beautiful, and culturally unique region of Spain.
My suggestion is… don’t make a lot of plans per day in the Ribeira Sacra. Choose a couple of destinations and allow for getting lost along the way. And pick up more than one map, once in the region, if you haven’t purchased one before your arrival.
Be prepared, with a full map, knowledge of which direction you’re headed (North, South, East, West), and a little patience.
Visiting Historic Monasteries
El Monasterio Santo Estevo
The Monastery of Santa Estevo de Ribas de Sil was originally founded in the 9th century and added to between the 12th and 18th centuries.
It sits in the hills of Ribeira Sacra in the Ribas de Sil area, and offers a respite from the outside world.
While it is no longer an active monastery, the Santo Estevo monastery now offers travelers the choice to sleep at a beautifully refurbished historic monastery, as one of Spain’s paradores.
Santa Cristina Monastery
The Santa Cristina Monastery in the Ribas de Sil (located in the Ribeira Sacra region of Galicia in Northern Spain) is a 12th century monastery built by Benedectine monks.
The monastery was active over three centuries, and is perched high in the Ribeira Sacra hills, surrounded by forests and views.
It’s an incredibly peaceful and tranquil site.
Visiting Wineries
My first warning to any who are planning to go ‘wine tasting’ in Ribeira Sacra is to be aware that you may not be able to reach anyone by phone to book an appointment and, even if you do, there might not actually be anyone there when you arrive for that appointment. Of course, this is all assuming that your GPS has even successfully gotten you to the wineries you’ve made appointments with.
My suggestion is that if you would like to taste as many Ribeira Sacra wines as possible while IN Ribeira Sacra that you do the following:
1) Visit the Ruta do Viño da Ribeira Sacra information center
Located in the center of the tiny city of Monforte de Lemos (which, though tiny is one of the biggest ‘cities’ in the Ribeira Sacra region) the Ruta do Viño da Ribeira Sacra is both an information center (with maps and information on all of the wineries in the region as well as helpful staff) and an entryway to the next door wine bar and restaurant where you’ll find the best selection of local wines I saw anywhere in the region.
I recommend asking the bartender to allow you to purchase tasting size portions of each wine (instead of 1/2 or full glasses) so that you can curate your own Ribeira Sacra wine tasting. Trust me, you won’t make it to anywhere near as many wineries in-person as you think you will when you arrive in the Ribeira Sacra, so stopping to taste a really great selection of wines from many small Ribeira Sacra producers at this wine bar is probably going to constitute the most extensive tasting of Ribeira Sacra wines you’ve ever/will ever get to experience.
When I visited I tasted at least nine or ten wines (that I’d never before seen or tasted anywhere else and didn’t really ever see again outside of Galicia) , mostly mencia, and enjoyed getting to ask the bartender questions about each producer (me in my imperfect Spanish and he in broken English/Spanish-it worked!).
2) Visit Adega Alguiera
Adega Alguiera or Bodega Alguiera is one of if not the best known Ribeira Sacra winery outside of Ribeira Sacra (in the U.S.). While not a huge winery, they make a handful of different brands/labels (which is unusual for this region), but at the winery you’ll find only their flagship Algueira, Brandan, and Pizarra label wines.
*My favorite wines at Algueira have always been their Brandan godello (bright and fresh with minerality and tension) and Pizarra mencía, which is an absolutely stunning example of what mencía can be.
Like almost all wineries in the Ribeira Sacra, region, Bodega Algueira only accepts visitors by appointment. However, unlike most wineries in the Ribeira Sacra wine region, Alguiera is set up to facilitate eno-tourism so you don’t have to worry about them not being there when you arrive. The family is always on site during business open hours.
They take tasting appointments in their Adega/Bodega but also have an on-site restaurant (next door on the same property) which is very good. I recommend making a reservation for both a tasting and for lunch at O Castelo.