Camino del Vino. Part 5 Bierzo

Camino del vino Bierzo: Walking the Camino is not only a religious, sportive or spiritual experience, it is also a good opportunity to get acquainted with Spain in terms of food and drinks. Merel has a passion for wine, is a member of a wine society and regularly writes about wine and her preferences. In Albergue Villares de Orbigo, Merel has put together the wine assortiment and this produces fantastic and very affordable wines that we serve to our guests and with which we try to distinguish ourselves.

When you walk the Camino Frances you pass through several wine regions. If you want to go well-informed about wine, read the articles that Merel has written and enjoy all the beauty that Spain and the Camino have to offer. So enjoy your camino del vino!

Part 5: Bierzo

Also called the gateway to Galicia, it is a fertile plain that is opened up by mountains.

The vineyards are around Ponferrada and the surrounding mountains provide shelter for a moderately temperate climate with many hours of sunshine and less rainfall than Galicia. The best red wine is made from the Mencia grape and the best white wine is made from the Godello and Dona blanca grapes.

The original winemakers were pilgrims. Much of the current wine production still takes place in old-fashioned concrete cuves covered with a layer of synthetic resin. Large bodegas use stainless steel tanks. Wood is also fermented in the small bodegas.

The white wines are fresh and enjoyable and the rozados powerful. The red wines can be excellent, they have an impressive aging potential. They form a transition between the light wines from Galicia and the heavyweights from the Duero valley.