CRDO Monterrei History
The archaeological remains found in the district such as presses, grape presses excavated in rock and Roman vases give evidence of these having participated in wine-making in Monterrei.
Since the last years of the 9th Century, vine growing spreads in the entire district by the hand of religious orders, because wine was used as a tribute to pay monasteries and feudal lords.
Hiorical Splendour
During the Middle Ages and part of the Modern times, Monterrei had a great impact in Galician and Spanish economic, political and cultural aspects. For this reason, D. Federico Justo Méndez, author of the book “Brotes de raíces” said: “The Valley of Monterrei´s wines, because of their excellent quality hobnobbed with Oporto wines, commerce in different parts of America. During the times of the 5th Count of Monterrei, who Felipe 2nd gave the title of Viceroy to govern the new Spanish colonies in America, marketing Monterrei´s wines in those regions”.
Recently, it can be highlighted that in the last mid-century Monterrei was a zone that produced big amounts of excellent quality wine.Evidence of this was the appearance in the region of important wineries which had stone presses and big oak casks.
At the beginning of the 60´s Monterrei´s co-op winery is established, with the aim of promoting the correct elaboration and later on commercialization of wines.
At the end of the 20th Century, emigration, closure of the co-op winery and abandoning the fields because of its low profits, almost supposed disappearing the vineyards of the zone, but the administrative recognition of the Designation of Origin and a regulation approval(25th November 1994) and the firm intent of quality wines leaded to revive the district.
Revival
It is therefore, in the 90´s, when a great quality leap forward is given, recovering varieties and making wine.
Plantations in the traditional Greek vase formation are maintained but in many new vineyards a new cultivating system that is set out in trellises and double channels to make land working easier and harvesting are introduced.
All this, adding also technological investment and adopting new wine-making techniques represented a great progress for the districts wine-making sector.
As a high percent of local varieties are preserved, wines with specific characteristics, with character are obtained.
