Meín Castes Brancas 2023

The church and wine have a relationship dating back a long way. This relationship, which is rooted in Christianity’s link between wine and the blood of Christ, has its origins in the Middle Ages, in the middle of the Reconquista. Vines were much more than a simple crop. Those planted by Christians were a way of marking territory against Muslims, who were not allowed to drink alcohol according to Islam. Religious orders put in place legislation and measures that would allow them to cultivate vines. These orders worked and protected the vine and the wines. In Spain, one of these bastions was the San Clodio monastery, in the Ourense town of Leiro (in Galicia), the main force behind the D.O. Ribeiro during the Middle Ages. In the shelter of this area lies Viña Meín, the winery currently producing Meín Castes Brancas, a white wine made with this denomination’s traditional varieties. The Viña Meín vineyards lie in the Avia valley, just on the left bank of the river it takes its name f