In this experience, we’ll confirm the benefits of thalassotherapy, eat next to the sea and get to know a Roman-Galician Iron Age settlement.
We suggest exploring the art of winemaking in O Rosal Valley. The vineyards are set into places of great beauty, in a nature pampered by the mildness of the climate and the influence of sea and river. It is also here where the Atlantic receives the River Miño and where this links us to neighbouring Portugal.
Its frontier character gives it a mysterious air with landscapes that hide prehistoric villages such as Mount Santa Tegra. This proposal invites you to get to know some of O Rosal’s most iconic wineries, but don’t forget to take into consideration some of the many possibilities offered by this subzone and visit the facilities of some of the other Rías Baixas Designation of Origin brands of wine.
More information...
- Terras Gauda Wineries. www.terrasgauda.com
- Quinta Couselo winery. www.quintacouselo.com
- Talaso Atlántico. www.talasoatlantico.com
Our destination is Oia, a municipality in the region of the Baixo Miño, where the O Rosal Valley is located. We’ll reach it via the PO-552 on the coast. Its hotel offerings includes a thalassotherapy hotel, where we can stay if we’re in the mood to pair wine and sea, a formula already tested successfully in these parts.
We recommend arriving at the hotel in the early hours of the afternoon in order to take advantage of the micromineral properties of the seawater in the thalassotherapy hotel’s thermal springs leisure areas. You can also arrange an excursion, a laidback tour of the surroundings or do a fun activity. One good option is to take the short trip to the Monastery of Santa María de Oia, just a few minutes by car from the hotel. While we are admiring its monumental nature and its location at the edge of the sea, we’ll find the place where the story of O Rosal wine all began. The Cistercian monks who have been living here since the twelfth century are credited with the fine art of cultivating the vine on these lands.
After your visit, we suggest an outing following the route of the A Pedreira petroglyphs, petroglyphs at the A Riña viewpoint. From here we’re able to observe excellent panoramic view over the cove and the monastery in Oia. The trail is signposted so that you can follow and identify this ensemble of enigmatic prehistoric petroglyphs drawn using easily discernable lines and bowl shapes.
Back in Oia, we can enjoy dinner in the hotel or opt for the food on offer at local bars and restaurants. Their menus feature barnacle, octopus, crab and sea urchin. They also include recipes made with mountain-grown mushrooms – in season – and different kinds of algae. In addition, the cheeses and sausages from Torroña and the lamb from Santa Comba enjoy well-deserved fame in the area.
We suggest you spend the morning touring delightful spots in O Rosal Valley and discover the art of winemaking with the help of two locally important wineries located where the River Miño meets the Atlantic. We’ll take the same PO-552 coastal road to the town of A Guarda and then continue on in the direction of Tui.
In a half hour, we’ll reach O Rosal, where the Terras Gauda wineries. are located. We see that the terrain is gentle, lying some 50 to 150 metres above the sea level and formed by small, softly rolling hills. The winery is found in this setting, flanked by pine and eucalyptus forests and its wide expanse of vineyards, which are the same ones we’ll visit during our tour.
The winery sits very close to the mouth of the River Miño in the A Guarda area. Due to its location in the valley, it enjoys a unique microclimate characterised by mild temperatures, very few freezes and abundant rainfall. The pampering by the climate and terrain and the labours of its professionals result in wines that have graced the tables of the world’s finest hotels. They’ll explain to us their commitment to marrying the nobility of Albariño to other local varieties such as the Loureiro and the delicate Caíño Branco. The visit concludes with a tasting in their shop.
After bidding goodbye, we’ll continue along the PO-552 and then turn on to a provincial road network in order to reach the Quinta Couselo winery, which takes its name from its location. Our tour runs along an old estate which was in the hands of the Cistercian Order in the twelfth century. Here the vine trellises were installed on a small plot of land. The winery is located in a rustic pazo more than 200 years old that is characteristic of Galician rural architecture. A granary, wagon wheel and tilling implement share space in the garden.
One of the rooms in the winery is dedicated to distilling the Albariño, Loureiro and Caíño bagasses. These new Galician pomace brandies are part of the ancient art of the augardenteiros, transmitted from parents to children. Its production is inspired by the artisan tradition of os poteiros of O Rosal. We see how the winery harmonises this cultural tradition with the fertility of the land, distilling pomace brandies and macerating exquisite products like Mirabelle plums in them.
After the tour, we think about where to have lunch. Fish and seafood or white meat go perfectly with the local wines. Sampling them in the restaurants and tapas bars opposite the Port of A Guarda could be an attractive idea. A typical delicacy here in season is the lamprey, caught in the estuary of the River Miño as they pass through the area when travelling up the river to spawn. If seafood is your weakness, you should know that the town is known as the “capital of the rock lobster” – which has its own festival in July – and is also the reigning queen of an exquisite dessert, the “rosca de yema” (an eggy-custard-filled pastry ring)..
To speed digestion, we’ll take a stroll round the A Guarda port area, where the characteristic seaman’s houses – narrow, multi-story and very colourful – will amaze us. On the southern dike – known as the dique dos mariñeiros (“sailors’ dike”) – it is easy to spend some time observing the fishermen at work and their boats and fishing gear. We must not forget that this activity is deeply rooted in A Guarda. Its fleet is among the largest in Spain working in the capture of swordfish.
Mount Santa Tegra is one of the most significant and bestpreserved examples of pre-Roman fortified city culture in Galicia. This Galician-Roman settlement dates back to the Iron Age, although it lived its heyday in the first centuries before and after Christ with the arrival of the Romans. On the climb to the mountain, we’ll enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the town of A Guarda, the estuary of the River Miño and its mouth on the Atlantic, the O Rosal Valley, the A Groba mountain range and neighbouring Portugal.
For true sportsmen, approved hiking trail PRG-122 leads to the top of the mountain. At every step, we discover a different view of the region, until we reach the first walls of the ancient settlement. We’ll walk on its cobbled streets, among the remains of dwellings, ancient storerooms and workshops and take the opportunity to take a photo of ourselves in front of one of the reconstructed houses which give us an idea of how its inhabitants lived.
Another option is to go by car up the access road to the mountain until reaching the settlement, take a relaxed tour and then continue on to the top. To our right we’ll see a via crucis and extraordinary views over the ocean.
A visit to the archaeological museum will allow us to discover the splendid collection of swastikas found in the excavations, and the finishing of the torcs, the central motif of the exhibition. Of Roman origin, we find anthropomorphous funerary stelae and a significant exhibit of coins. The museum has a shop where you can buy typical hand-crafted pottery, and there are also several restaurants and cafés where you can enjoy a snack. At the end of our tour, we set off towards the hotel in search of dinner and relaxation.
Between breakfast and check-out, we’ll still have time to enjoy a seawater circuit in the facilities of the thalassotherapy hotel. We can relax in the jacuzzi, contrast showers, waterfall jets or on the hydromassage beds. The combined effect of the hydrotherapy and the body-temperature seawater will be beneficial to our health. If we prefer, we can opt for a specific treatment with massages and products based on chocolate, algae, or different flower essences, to relax, make us beautiful or improve our health.
