A small church and a long road

 Let’s be honest. Today is one for the likers of green edged roads and quiet contemplation. We have a church at the end of it which gets 4.6 stars. I think it deserves more. It is one of the perfect little rural churches, hunered down in a valley, with a tiny graveyard to serve its small community. Igrexa de Santa María de Montán dates back to the Romanesque, with documents from the monastery at Samos referring to it having relics from St Andrew and St Michael. By 1665 St Mary had taken over the place.


Not much else to do so let's talk wine. You’d think there would be more of a cider vibe but Galicia has several regions put to the grape. The River Minho hosts many of the growers and stretches to the Leonese border. Most other regions are towards the west coast. With over 1300mm of rain and 2000 hours of sun a year the region produces 5.7 tons of grapes an acre, one of the highest yields in Europe.



Since the 14th century, plant cuttings have been exported to the rest of Europe. Exports of wine, however, did not really get going before the 16th century, At the turn of the 20th century many of the region's vineyards were replanted with low quality hybrid vines and some plantings of the Sherry grape Palomino that didn't produce as well in the cooler climate of Rías Baixas. In the 1970s growers began to replant native varieties like Albariño. The Rias Baixas white wines are among those which export best today.




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