
The Valminor Estate
One of the newcomers, Adegas Valmiñor was founded in 1997 and is based in Rosal and boasts a new, ultramodern winery that produces 25,000 cases yearly of 100% Albariño "Valmiñor". (Note: “Adegas” means “bodegas” [winery] in the local Galician dialect). Owner, Carlos Gomez, makes about 3 different white wines, but Albariño is his speciality.
Carlos Gómez started Valmiñor in 1997 and headed up the project to build and open the new facilities in 2001. A trained executive with extensive experience in the wine business, Carlos founded Valmiñor and has since continued to expand the group's capacity to include Bodegas Ebano in Ribera del Duero in 2004, and more recently acquired a second Rías Baixas producer, Viñas o Torroxal. Today the group also includes a distribution company, as well as an agricultural services organization.
he winemaker Cristina Mantilla has been working as Valminor's winemaker since the very beginning in 1997. She obtained a Chemical Degree at the prestigious University of Santiago de Compostela and post-graduated in Oenology and Viticulture in Madrid. She started working in Rías Baixas but as her experience grows she also works beyond the Galician borders. In 97 Carlos Gómez founded the winery and Cristina Mantilla decided to join and give birth to a new and dynamic project with a very clear idea in mind.
Cristina has been the sole winemaker from the very first vintage of all the wines elaborated at Valminor and the bodega in Ribera del Duero, EBANO.
Cristina has furthered her carreer by producing white wine from 100% Loureiro grapes (skin contact versions) and she made the first ever Rosé style wine in Galicia. She is definitely a pioneer in making unique wines in Galicia.
The Valminor Vineyards
Galicia has a mild climate without dramatic changes in the weather, a soil rich in minerals and excellent conditions for maturing and it makes this valley the perfect place for growing quality varieties like Albariño, Loureiro and Treixadura.
Adegas Valmiñor owns 34 hectares in O Rosal, and uses purchased fruit from two prime growing areas: 40% Cambados and 60% Arbo fruit (a unique micro-climate that is a touch warmer than other areas). The Cambados region is located on the coast and provides acidity and freshness to the wine. Together the two fruit sources make a superb blend. Valmiñor means "minor valley" and today Valmiñor has built a new winery in O Rosal.
Valminor Albarino Rias Baixas is made from 100 percent Albarino.
Albariño is a Portuguese grape, native to the Miño River region, which separates Galicia & the Rias Baixas DO from Portugal. Albariño has a characteristic citrus aroma & high acidity.
Valminor Albarino presents a yellow straw color. On the nose, the wine shows a wide fruity range of aromas, with notes of fresh grapefruit, apricot and melon. In the mouth, Valminor combines fruity flavors and freshness with a rounded acidity, resulting in a balanced wine that boasts an opulent taste and slight spritziness.
Review:
"Elaborate swirls of lime, lemon, passionfruit and white peach entice the nose whilst the pristine purity of acidity and mineral freshness disarms the terroir-driven palate. Salty, linear and tangy, demonstrating Atlantic style at its best."
- Decanter World Wine Awards 2025, 97 pts and Platinum Medal
Belle Glos' first wine under the newly minted West Sonoma Coast AVA and a cellared release, this majestic vineyard brings plum with a slight burnt edge in the glass and boasts aromas of freshly tilled land, a rich oak forest in Autumn, and Crème de Cassis. Once on the palate, the acidity sparks a fire of smoked caramel and cinnamon spiked cranberry sauce. The silky-smooth texture gives way to a long and balanced finish that leaves your senses wanting more.
Review:
Located in the westernmost section of Sonoma County, this rugged, elevated, marine-influenced sub-AVA is the newest in the region. This almost nine-year-old wine immediately delivers a memorable experience through its perfume of jasmine, gardenia, and tangelo; on the palate, notes of brown-sugared cherry join a parade of orange peel and crushed stone. Grainy yet juicy strawberry weaves into vanilla and cedar as white pepper keeps the palate primed for more flavor.
-Tasting Panel 97 Points
Bertani Valpantena Amarone is made from 80% Corvina Veronese, 20% Rondinella.
The best grapes are selected so that only the healthiest and ripest bunches are sent to the drying rooms in the historic winery at Grezzana, where they are laid out in single-layer crates. In mid- January, the grapes are destemmed and crushed, then fermentation starts, at first at a temperature of 39°F- 41°F, which then reaches 72°F in the final stages.
WINEMAKING
The vines are vertical-trellised and Guyot-trained, with a planting density of 2024 plants per acre. Hand harvest is carried out in the middle of September.
This amarone is produced in the Valpantena hills, north of Verona. The soils are calcareous-marl in the east and calcareous-clay in the west, rich in iron.
TERROIR & VINTAGE NOTES
Bertani’s impact on Veneto wine making, particularly in Amarone production, is so considerable that ‘Bertani’ and ‘Amarone’ are nearly synonymous. Their 150+ year history is dotted with groundbreaking initiatives and royal accreditation. While respectful of their past, Bertani strives towards innovation, using progressive techniques and equipment allied with extensive experience and a deeply felt respect for tradition to provide wines of uncompromising quality.
On the nose, marked and intense aromas of very ripe cherries, sour cherries, spicy and nutty notes typical of the Valpantena. Good follow-through of red fruits on the palate, with supple tannins to give depth. This full bodied wine pairs well with rich dishes, mature cheeses and strong-flavored meats.