A magical place in the Avia Valley (Ourense, Galicia)
A rich landscape shelters the six-hectare vineyard planted almost half a century ago by Galician grower Arsenio Paz, who set out to rescue Ribeiro's traditional grape varieties.
History
A pioneer in reviving native varieties in the Avia Valley, Galician grower Arsenio Paz was one of the key figures in the revival and modernisation of the Ribeiro Denomination of Origin.
In the 1970s, Arsenio and his wife, Chon Labrador, bought a magical spot called "A Vilerma", a country estate where they could make "a little good Ribeiro wine for friends".
His drive to rescue the traditional grape varieties led him to farm the vineyard professionally. He spent years observing each vine, studying and understanding it, and immersing himself in his own variety-recovery project.
With deep respect for this place's history and roots, the Pariente family acquired A Vilerma in 2024 and took up Arsenio's baton. They continue to build on this inspiring legacy every day, working to give Ribeiro wines the place they deserve by showcasing their terroir, vineyards, and the revival of their native varieties.
Varieties
Within the estate's six hectares of vineyard, white varieties dominate,
in keeping with Ribeiro's historic tradition of blends such as treixadura, loureira, godello, albariño, lado and torrontés. Red grapes also appear in smaller proportions, including brancellao, sousón, caíño tinto, ferrón, and tempranillo.
Ribeiro
Ribeiro is divided into three valleys formed by its three main rivers: the Miño, the Avia (home to VILERMA) and the Arnoia. It is a landscape of slopes, banks, and terraces, favoured by a distinctive microclimate.
The Avia Valley has a complex topography. Mountain ranges and high plateaus shelter it to the north, while its west-facing slopes give the vines the right sun exposure and airflow for the native Ribeiro varieties to ripen.
Natural barriers also protect it from Atlantic storms, giving it a transitional oceanic-Mediterranean climate: humid and mild, with a marked and beneficial annual temperature range, the lowest rainfall in Galicia and no rain during the ripening season.
Ribeiro's age-old pattern of smallholdings shapes the area's viticulture. Inheritances divided again and again over generations have created a landscape of tiny terraced plots, known locally as socalcos, lying between 200 and 400 metres above sea level.
