The Wine
El Bierzo is linked to the culture of wine since Roman times. It was when a generational chain was born that has been transmitting the art of growing grapes and obtaining wine up to the present day. It is this traditional knowledge that makes the wines of Bierzo to be among the most valued in national and international markets.
El Bierzo is a large tectonic basin watered by many rivers and surrounded by mountains that protect and delimit it geographically. It has geographical, morphological and climatological characteristics that, together, make it a unique area, with great contrasts between the mountains and the valley. The vineyards are located on terraces close to rivers and terrains with an average altitude between 450 and 1,000 meters. The microclimate, without major fluctuations during the year, halfway between the continental and the Atlantic climate, favors notably the cultivation of the vine.
Bierzo is located on the Camino de Santiago. The Wine Regulating Council of Bierzo is committed to maintain quality standards and promoting its wines in the markets.
Mencía and Godello, native varieties
In Bierzo, different types of high quality grapes are produced, adapted to the characteristics of the soils. The recognized varieties are Mencía, Godello, Garnacha Tintorera, Doña Blanca and Malvasía. Mencía produces red wines and Godello white wines. These are the main varieties.
Resources
El Bierzo conjugates everything - or almost everything - of what a traveler of the 21st century wants: rivers that rush from the mountains to the great valleys; vineyards heirs of a millenary tradition; a history marked by the Romans and their great civil works, buildings and other manifestations of Mozarabic culture and monacal art and knowledge.
Land of templars, crossed by the Camino de Santiago, where beauty is the work of nature. You can continue your road, stop ... or lose yourself!
El Bierzo is:
- Enology
- Gastronomy
- Santiago's road
- Nature
- Medieval architecture
- Large Villas
Heritage
Wild nature and medieval architecture on the Camino de Santiago
Large medieval villas.- The Jacobean Way crosses El Bierzo from east to west for seventy kilometers. Along this interesting way, we find villas that were born as a result of medieval pilgrimages, which helped them to achieve a splendor that still shines with pride.
Camino de Santiago.- This is the most pleasant part of El Camino, it invites you to take a breath and enjoy in the stillness of a forest, in a medieval village crowned by a monastery, or anywhere else to refresh your eyes. Perhaps, after seeing so many vineyards, it is time to stop and taste the wines and the gastronomy of Bierzo, and to chat in pleasant company, or to take a deep breath and spend the night on El Camino del Bierzo.
Nature.- Diaphanous rivers, paradise of trout; almost virgin paths, among chestnut oaks, holly trees or beeches with multicolored autumns; mountains furrowed by paths that lead to small monasteries and hermitages; the immense beauty of places such as Las Médulas, a World Heritage Site; or the Ancares, Biosphere Reserve.
Wild life.- El Bierzo has a virgin natural wealth of extreme importance for two endangered species: the capercaillie and the brown bear. Both have been able to recover in part thanks to the work of various organizations, such as the Brown Bear Foundation, or the Life program, co-funded by the European Union to recover the habitat and population of the capercaillie.
Festivals
A host of festivals: processions, mediaeval markets, saint’s days and cuisine.
Here is a selection of the festivals that visitors can find throughout the year along the Route: in January the feast of Saint Thyrsus (in Villafranca del Bierzo); in February the Festival of National Exaltation of the Botillo (in Bembibre), the Produce and Agricultural Fair at Villa de Bembibre and the Festival of the Botillo in Fabero; in March, the Hunting Dogs Fair (Camponaraya) and Gastronomic and Tapas Days (in Fabero), in April a Wine Fair and Festival of the Fifth Anguish are held in Cacabelos.
With the coming of spring and the good weather the months are filled with activities, celebrations and festive events in towns along the Route. In May there’s the Fair of the Cross of May (Cacabelos), the Andalusian Horse Fair (Camponaraya), the Antique and Second-Hand Books Fair (Ponferrada), the Feast of Saint Isidore (Villadecanes Toral de los Vados) and the Hunting Dogs Fair (Villafranca del Bierzo). Meanwhile in June, the Produce and Agricultural Fair (Carracedelo), the Procession of Our Lady of the Cliff (Congosto), the Night of the Templars (Ponferrada), the Procession of Saint John (Toreno), “Toral in Train” (Villadecanes Toral de los Vados) and the Feast of Saint Anthony (Villafranca del Bierzo).
When summer comes round, many villages celebrate the days of their patron saints. In July there’s the Mediaeval Market (Bembirre), the Procession of the Grass (Candín), the Feast of Saint Christopher (Cubillos de Sil), the Celtic Market and Magic Night (in Fabero), the Festival of the Carp in Santa Marina del Sil (Toreno), the Feast of Saint Christopher (Villadecanes Toral de los Vados) and the Feast of Saint James (Villafranca del Bierzo). In August among the most interesting are the Procession of the Way of Saint James (Camponaraya), the Harvest Festival (Cacabelos), the Garlic Fair in San Miguel de las Dueñas (Congosto), the Summer Festival (Fabero), the Procession of Our Lady of the Rosary (Igüeña), the Procession of Our Lady of Peñafurada and Our Lady of the Flames (Igüeña), the Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows (Molinaseca), the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows (Páramo del Sil), the Procession of the Virgin of Trascastro (Peranzanes), the Wine Fair (Ponferrada), the Procession of Ferradillo (Priaranza), the Feasts of the Assumption and Saint Roque (Puente de Domingo Flórez), the Feast Day of Saint Roque and the Great Fair (Torre del Bierzo), the Festival of Saint Mary Magdalene (Vega del Valcarce) and the Fair of the Way of Saint James (Villafranca del Bierzo). In September you find the Intercultural Market (Bembirre), the Feast of Saint Michael (Cacabelos), the Crafts and Antique Furniture Fair (Camponaraya), the Ceramics Fair and Fair of the Holm Oak (Ponferrada) and the Feast of the Holy Christ of Hope (Villafranca del Bierzo).
In the final quarter of the year, in spite of the arrival of the cold weather, the region of El Bierzo continues its activities and festivals. In October there is the Procession of the Guardian Angel (in Balboa) and the Fair of the CooperaLeón Cooperative (Camponaraya). In November they celebrate the Fair of Slate (Puente de Domingo Flórez) and in December the most important festivities are the Fair of Associations (Camponaraya), the Solidarity Street Market (Fabero) and the Craft Fair (Ponferrada).
Gastronomy
The excellence of Bercian gastronomy is given by two factors that make it unique: the great richness of its orchards and fruit trees, and the character of its wines, made with the native varieties Godello and Mencía. All of them are protected as "quality figures".
The gastronomy of Bierzo advances towards the vanguard with traditional products of the highest quality.
El Botillo.- It is the most peculiar product and the protagonist of the gastronomy of the region. It is made with portions of rib, tail, spine, shoulder, cheek and tongue.
Roasted peppers from Bierzo.- they are the perfect garnish for many meat and fish dishes. One of the most famous traditional dishes is empanada, made with typical Berciano bread that is stuffed to taste, with ingredients such as ham, cooked potato, chorizo, peppers and onion fries.
The beef of Bierzo.-Its flesh is pink and bright, with white fat, slightly moist, consistent and tender texture. It is recognized as a Guarantee Mark.
Other products of great quality and also protected as "quality figures" are the pippin apple, the conference pear, the cherries and the chestnuts.
Activities
Wine-linked tourism activities.
Tasting workshops.- The people that visit Bierzo can enjoy with formative tastings and open the senses towards a new perception of wine. The visit to the wineries that have transmitted a thousand-year-old tradition from generation to generation to produce wines of new expression, is necessary for achieving a complete knowledge of the region.
Restoration.- El Bierzo surprises with the high quality of its natural products. Discover the most traditional cuisine or the new trends of vanguard cuisine in conjunction with the wines of the D.O. Bierzo
The night in El Bierzo.- It is the moment in which the Camino de Santiago becomes the Way of the Stars. Live the night and be surprised by the light and the stillness of dawn in any of the places of El Bierzo.
Trails between vineyards and forests. - The visitors can enjoy hiking and biking routes through the vineyards of Mencía and Godello, the two native Bierzo varieties that make our wines a unique and differentiated product. You can also venture into silent forests that lead to hermitages and monasteries and visit Los Ancares, Las Médulas, the Hayedo de Busmayor and hundreds of interesting places.
How to get there
The El Bierzo region is located in the north-west of the province of León.
The A-6 dual carriageway crosses El Bierzo from east to west, the main Madrid to Galicia route. There are also daily railway connections with all the main Galician cities, and others to Barcelona, Irún, Madrid and León.
León Airport has daily flights to Madrid and Barcelona. Further away, Valladolid, Asturias airports and Lavacolla international airport in Santiago de Compostela, less than 250 km from Ponferrada, provide access to major national and international destinations.
Wine and Activities
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