Heroic Viticulture: The Art of Defying Gravity
Terraces with gradients of more than 80% where every grape is picked by hand, in a landscape carved out of living rock over centuries.
The Amandi Challenge: The Essence of Heroic Viticulture
In the heart of the Ribeira Sacra, in the prestigious Amandi sub-zone, we defy gravity with every harvest. Talking about heroic viticulture here is no metaphor: it means growing vines on dizzying terraces with slopes that often exceed 80%, carved by hand into gorges of schist and granite.
In this privileged microclimate, bathed by the Mediterranean midday sun and cradled by the course of the river Sil, our native grape varieties reach an exceptional ripeness and an unmistakable mineral character.
At Adega Frieira there are no tractors or mechanical harvesters. Every task in the vineyard, from winter pruning to topping and harvesting, is done by human strength and with millimetre-perfect balance on narrow terraces suspended over the abyss of the Sil canyon.
The Four Elements of Amandi
The unique combination of rock, river, sun and ancestral know-how that makes our wines inimitable.
Schist and Granite
Poor, stony soils where the vine roots dig deep in search of moisture, bringing unrivalled minerality and tension.
The Sil Canyon
The river acts as a colossal natural temperature regulator, softening climatic extremes and reflecting light onto the slopes.
Mediterranean Microclimate
A south-facing aspect that guarantees constant sunshine for full phenolic ripeness of Mencía and Godello without losing acidity.
Native Varieties
Mencía, Merenzao, Sousón, Brancellao, Godello and Treixadura, selected and propagated by massal selection from our 1899 vineyards.
