Surroundings
THE SALNES Valley
Bouza do Rei is situated in Ribadumia in the heart of the Salnés valley, between the estuaries of Arousa and Pontevedra, the largest coastal plain in Galicia. It is one of the most fertile areas of land, and is considered to be the historic Albariño sub-region presenting the flattest orography. In fact, the vines are normally grown on small hills which rarely rise to more than 100 metres above sea level.
The terrains of the Rías Baixas wines are under the influence of the Atlantic climate: in autumn and winter they frequently receive warm fronts from the tropics, which usually result in heavy rains, with yearly averages of around 1300 mm and mild temperatures. Spring comes early and is free from frost. The summers are dry, though they tend to be mild due to the proximity of the sea and the protective influence of surrounding mountains. Generally speaking, the soil has a high level of granite and is relatively sandy, rich in organic material, slightly acidic, permeable and deep (except on the hills), thus favouring the cultivation of grapes with a pleasant flavour.
History
The history of the winery has been a continuous process of growth in all regards.
Over the years the winery has undergone a series of successive expansions until reaching its present size.
- Our own, controlled plantations have gradually increased from an initial 20 hectares to the current figure of 100 hectares.
- In 1984 the harvest gave some 40,000 litres of wine, whereas we now produce some 900,000 litres.
- From the local, provincial marketing of our first wines to the current situation, where our winery exports to more than twelve different countries.
NATURE AND ATLANTIC SOUL
production process
The production of a good wine starts with the raw material: the Albariño grape. Our Quality Control process begins with the exhaustive monitoring of the vines and the techniques used to grow them. Bodegas Bouza do Rei extracts its wine harvest from the best land in Salnés, with vineyards which are more than twenty years old.
Midway through September, depending on the ripeness of the grapes, we start the grape harvest, adhering to our objective of maximum quality from harvesting to the entry of the grapes in the winery. Once there, we remove the stems. This procedure results in a series of benefits: on the one hand, it reduces astringency and increases the elegance of the wine; on the other, it results in a noteworthy improvement in the marc distillations. We then perform a gentle pressing. As the grape juice is obtained it is placed in settling tanks, where the unfermented grape juice is left to settle for the time required for the decantation of all impurities. Once it has been decanted, the grape juice is fermented for a 3 week period in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks.
Then, the wine is filtered in a series of different stages. Prior to bottling, the wine is subject to microbiological filtering. Once the wine has been bottled, the bottles are stored in accordance with a series of strict regulations for the ideal conservation of the wine. To achieve this, our cellar is totally insulated and the product awaits its final journey in the best possible conditions. Our winery uses the most modern technology available in the elaboration of our prestigious wines: pneumatic presses; cooling equipment, filtering and micro-filtering equipment; and stainless steel tanks for the elaboration and conservation of the wine.