DISCOVER THE HISTORY OF HACIENDA UCEDINOS

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LOCATION

Found in the southeastern, landlocked corner of the province of Ourense, the Valdeorras region is one of the gateways to Galicia from the rest of the interior of the Iberian Peninsula.
 

TERROIR

The region is sculpted by a deep, fertile valley where the sun shines and the Sil river flows peacefully through the magical landscape of granite boulders and slate outcroppings. In these red and black soils grow age-old chestnut trees, olive trees and grapevines.
 

HISTORY


Crossed from east to west by the Roman road titled Via XVIII or simply Via Nova (New Way), which connected the Roman cities of Astorga and Braga, Valdeorras was both a destination and a stop along the way for the Roman legions who came to exploit the region’s gold ore deposits.

The Romans found in Valdeorras a sheltering microclimate that combines aspects of the Mediterranean and Oceanic climates. Cold winters, hot summers, and mild springs and autumns saw the first grape vines planted and the first wineries built, upon fairly varied terrains.
 

TERROIR


There is a notable variety between the three types of terrain: firstly, those that lie atop slate, with silty and muddy, rocky, shallow soil; those that lie atop granitic rock formations, with deeper and sandier soils; and those that lie above sediments and terraces, dispersed with plenty of rounded stones and pebbles.

Since Roman times the grapevine has been one of the economic pillars in the Valdeorras region, even surviving the constant and intense blights of the second half of the 19th Century. The vineyards were able to withstand the Oidium and powdery mildew blights, but the onslaught of the Phylloxera aphid was a real trial by fire.
 
HISTORICAL CHALLENGES
 

This insect wrought havoc so severe that more than 95% of the vineyard cultivation area in Valdeorras was infested, and almost the entire grape harvest was lost for several years. The gravity of the situation was exacerbated by the vineyard monoculture that was practiced at the time; there was a lack of economic alternatives as we would find today.
PROTECTED DENOMINATION OF ORIGIN

Despite the region’s long-standing viniculture tradition, and meeting all requirements, Valdeorras was not established as an Appellation of Origin (D.O. in Spanish) until 1945. Even so, 12 years passed before the Valdeorras Appellation passed the first regulation, and another 20 until the current regulation was finalized.
 

INDIGENOUS VARIETIES

New regulations in 1977 established as authorized varieties the following: Garnacha or Alicante, Gran Negro, María Ordoña or Merenzao among the reds, and Palomino or Jerez and Dona Blanca among the whites. The chief varieties are considered to be the autochthonous Mencía and Godello varieties, red and white respectively.
 

WINERY HISTORY

Hacienda Ucediños is a family-run winery founded in 2008, with the work philosophy to produce excellent-quality wines in one of the most up-and-coming, developing regions in the wine industry: Valdeorras.
 

PRODUCTION


With a 50,000 L productive capacity, our winery is home to the Valdeorras Appellation’s most representative varieties, Godello and Mencía. Almost 50% of the grapes we use are homegrown in our own vineyards, and the quality of the grapes is the prerequisite of our winemaking. We employ a combination of different oenological methods, which when blended produce exceptionally complex wines.
Those grapes that we purchase are the outcome of a painstaking selection of vineyards and grape growers, fitting the production standards carried out by our winery. Among these vineyards there are decades-old plantations, located on sunlit slopes around the region (O Barco de Valdeorras, Larouco, and Viladequinta).
Our winemaking process relies on an extremely thorough selection of grape bunches, followed by the aforementioned employment of different production techniques and methods.