Tastings, training sessions and raffles to remember the Monterrei Wine Fair

In order to commemorate the Monterrei Wine Fair, whose traditional celebration has been suspended, due to the current sanitary circumstances and the increase of positive cases of Covid19 in the region, the Regulatory Council of the D.O. Monterrei has scheduled an alternative calendar of activities for the coming days.

This calendar includes training activities, tastings or raffles, among other issues. “We wanted the celebration of the Monterrei Wine Fair to be remembered, because without a doubt it is a special celebration for all of us who make up Monterrei and, sadly for the second consecutive year we have had to suspend it; and although last year it was only on social networks, this year we have taken a step further and have organized face-to-face activities to encourage visitors and our regular consumers to meet, in different types of tasting, a little more of our whites and reds, “said C.R.D.O. Monterrei president Lara Da Silva Rodríguez. He adds that “in a safe and reduced environment, where the maximum is to respect the required health protocols. All this, also thought in support of our hospitality, which will be this year the main showcase of our product and where we encourage the consumer to enjoy this weekend”.

It starts on August 11 with the theoretical-practical day of digitalisation in viticulture, ‘Support to decision-making in vineyards’, organized by the Inorde in collaboration with the D.O. Monterrei and the Council of Monterrei, in the framework of the European project Agriconect Network 4.0. This action will be held at the experiemental farm of Inorde in Monterrei, and is intended for professionals in the wine sector. During four hours (from 10.00 to 14.00) will be shown issues such as meteorological data collection, models of prediction of fungal diseases in vineyards, digital workbook, vegetation maps or water resources management, among other issues.

On the day of August 13, will take place the tasting “Aromas and flavors. Harmonies of fruits and wines”. It will be at 18.00 in the Rural House O Retiro do Conde, and will be taught by Luis Miguel López, technical director of the Regulatory Council. It will seek to identify the fruity aromas in the whites and reds of Monterrei, and for this will be made combinations with fruits and different winemaking in the area. This tasting is intended for a maximum of 10 participants, who must formalize their previous registration in the same one.

On August 14, the territory of the D.O. Monterrei will host the Tourist Train of the Wine Route Monterrei, organized by Turismo de Galicia with the collaboration of Inorde, D.O. Monterrei and Association Ruta do Viño Monterrei. Throughout that morning, participants in this initiative, in addition to visiting the Castle of Monterrei, will attend a small promotional activity carried out by Natalia González, promotion technique of the Regulatory Council. They will receive information about the history and wine tradition of Monterrei, soil and climate characteristics, grape varieties or wine production, among other things. In addition, attendees can taste the whites and reds that are made in the denomination. It will take place in the vineyard of Inorde in Monterrei.

During the 14th and 15th of August the activity “Vertical tastings of vintages of the D.O. Monterrei. The storage potential” will also be programmed. This activity is articulated in four sessions, two per day, and aims to raise awareness of the aging potential of Monterrei wines, as it will allow tasting wines from the current harvest as well as from three previous harvests (not consecutive), both white and red. It will be held in the Old Pilgrims’ Hospital (Castle of Monterrei), in charge of the sommelier Luis Paadín, in the following hours: 12.00 and 18.00 (both on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 August). Each of the four sessions is intended for a maximum of 10 participants, who must formalize their previous registration in the same one.

The inscription both in the tasting “Aromas and flavors. Harmonies of fruits and wines” and in “Vertical tastings of vintages of the D.O. Monterrei. The potential of guard” must be done in the email info@domonterrei.com, before August 13 at 10 hours. In order to access, in addition to this registration, confirmation of the reservation by the Regulatory Council is required, as the places are limited. In addition, and in compliance with measures COVID-19, participants will be required to have a negative PCR or vaccination certificate in order to participate in these tasting activities.

During the weekend of August 14 and 15, the #BrindoconDOMonterrei contest will be promoted again. It will take place on social networks Facebook and Instagram, and aims to upload toast photos with wine of the denomination, labeling the D.O. Monterrei and using the hastag #BrindoconDOMonterrei. Among the participants will be drawn generic wine cases. The competition starts at 00.00 on August 14 and ends at 23.59 on August 15.

Complementary activities in the territory of the D.O. Monterrei

The Verín Museum hosts the exhibition “O viño nos camiños de Santiago”. It takes a tour through the different traces that the wine culture has left in its interaction with the different roads of Santiago. All this through photographs and texts, including the Codex Calixtino, which in Book V contains numerous references to wine. Visiting hours are from Wednesday to Saturday, from 11.00 to 14.00 and from 17.00 to 20.00, and on Sundays from 11.00 to 14.00.

In Oímbra you will find the Route of the Cave Presses and Bodega-Lagar As Barrocas. It is the municipality of Galicia that has more documented cave-presses, and has a signposted route, which allows you to discover these structures, and in which you can know first hand a reconstructed wine press (Xan Preto). In this route is also the Bodega-Lagar As Barrocas (to visit it you must contact the Concello de Oímbra).