FOUR GENERATIONS OF DREAMERS
Children of the land and the memory
Traditions aren’t improvised and can’t be faked; they are the ripe fruit of dreams, and of the sweat and effort of those who dream them.
Guardians of the<br>
Galician soul
Grape by grape, harvest after harvest, for four generations the history of Valdesil has been forged on the foundations of a family legacy made up of a mosaic of small vineyards – pezas – spread across the most extreme slopes of the Valdeorras valley in the Sil River basin, and an approach to vine growing based on utmost respect for the land.
Over these four generations, we have reclaimed vineyards that were doomed to disappear and preserved ancient grape varieties which had long been ignored.
And on this one-way journey, we have created legendary wines that arouse emotions, transcend our understanding and have become permanently entrenched in our memory.
Set among wild, tough, uneven and breath-taking terrain, Valdeorras is home to a whole world of terroirs of extraordinary variety and richness, giving each of our wines their singular character.
Our pezas are perched on extreme, challenging slopes exposed to the whims of the changeable, wild weather that gives each vintage a unique personality.
Throughout our history we have had to face the most challenging forces of nature: frosts, hailstorms, droughts, wildfires, incessant rainfall, extreme summers, harsh winters, inclement springs and ill-fated autumns, devastating blights…
And even though it’s never been easy to withstand the challenges of fate, our pride in being the last guardians of an extreme, romantic and audacious form of viticulture more than makes up for all the effort that has got us where we are today.
The extraordinary<br>
is never born<br>
of the ordinary
The roots<br>
of a dream
In the late 19th century, our company was the result of the union of two families deeply rooted in the ancient winemaking tradition of the Sil valley: the Prada family, originally from the village of Córgomo, and the Gayoso family, from the village of
Portela.
Out of this alliance came a common heritage of historic vineyards planted exclusively with ancient Galician varieties, into which, for four generations, the family has poured its love of the land and
respect for nature and engaged in organic, traditional and and respectful viticulture producing legendary wines. These are wines that emphasise the power of the soil and the extreme conditions inhabited by our plants, achieving a perfect symbiosis between the spiritual and human dimensions that stormily shape our vines over time.
Our legacy consists of a mosaic of small plots of old vineyards – pezas – that cling to the most extreme slopes of the Valdeorras valley, and the teachings that have been handed down from generation to generation on a way of understanding the land, work and life.
This legacy, with its aroma of rain and nostalgia, is the combination of a territory and a memory
We inherit a treasure from our elders and learn not only the art of making wine, but also the determination to carry on when adversity does its best to throw you off your stride
They never gave up, and their courage forms part of our family legacy We continue to make the wine they dreamt of – a wine made from the grape varieties born in these lands, as generous as they are tough We use the same techniques. With the same dedication. and the same passion.
Wedded<br>
to the spirit<br>
of the land
Valdesil
Where we come from
La primera viña
Nuestro bisabuelo, José Ramón Gayoso Santín, planta la primera viña monovarietal de uva Godello en Portela, Pedrouzos. Nace la leyenda.
1885
PIONEROS EN LA COMERCIALIZACIÓN DE LOS VINOS DE VALDEORRAS
A partir de la inauguración de la línea de ferrocarril que une Galicia con Palencia desde finales del siglo XIX, llegan a Valdeorras comerciantes provenientes de ciudades gallegas como Santiago o A Coruña en busca de vinos de calidad de pequeños productores del valle.
Ya desde estos primeros tiempos, la familia se ha labrado una reputación que la sitúa como uno de los productores locales de mayor prestigio por la gran calidad de sus vinos, y se convierte en pionera en la comercialización de los vinos de Valdeorras con destino
a las grandes ciudades gallegas.
1910
EL VIÑEDO DE O CHAO
Manuel Gayoso recibe en donación el viñedo de O Chao por su dedicación y entrega como profesor del seminario de las Ermitas.
Se trata de uno de los viñedos más antiguos de Valdeorras, cultivado al menos desde mediados del siglo XIX. Localizado en una de las laderas que rodean el Santuario, era uno de los viñedos predilectos de la orden eclesiástica que lo cultivaba. Un viñedo que reúne las tres cualidades que hacen de algunos vinos verdaderas leyendas: un entorno natural superlativo, un poso místico consecuencia del legado espiritual del asentamiento primitivo, y la mano del hombre que a lo largo de la historia cincela los muros de piedra entre los
que crecen las vides.
1941
UN NUEVO IMPULSO
Francisco Prada Gayoso impulsa, a finales del siglo XX, una segunda etapa de comercialización de los vinos elaborados por la familia con marcas propias: Montenovo, Valdesil y Valderroa serán las primeras en ver la luz.
1988
MIRAR LEJOS, LLEGAR ALTO
Raúl Prada inicia una etapa de internacionalización, a partir de la elaboración de vinos parcelarios de escasa producción, que abre a Valdesil las puertas de los mejores establecimientos del mercado nacional e internacional y convierte a la bodega en referencia de la alta gastronomía. Fruto de esta visión nacen las marcas Pezas da Portela, O Chao, Pedrouzos, Asadoira, Vilariño y Carballeda.
2012
Valdesil
Our people
Jose Ramón Gayoso Santín
FOUNDER
1ST GENERATION OF THE FAMILY
A pioneer in the growing and production of the Godello variety, José Ramón was absolutely devoted to grape-growing. His innate talent and intuition, as well the dramatic vicissitudes of his personal history (his mother died during childbirth, which led to his father suffering from depression and leaving the care of his son to the maternal grandparents) help to account for his astuteness, his daring visionary capacity and his place in history. He tackled the tragedy of phylloxera with astounding vision, restructuring the family estate with uncanny wisdom despite his young years. His character has left an enduring mark on the personality of our wines: elegant, expressive and, as time has gone by, legendary.
Francisca, Manuel and José Gayoso Díaz
2ND GENERATION OF THE FAMILY
Continuing and maintaining the legacy of their father in the growing and production of Godello wines, the three siblings planted a number of small plots of land –pezas – around Pedrouzos in the village of Portela, which is today a historical testimony to the consolidation of the Godello variety in the valley, as well as the work they carried out and their devotion to grape-growing. They laid the foundations of the family spirit of the winery, placing value on their work together, joining forces, sharing progress and working the land with a focus on the next generation.
Francisco Prada Gayoso Díaz
CHAIRMAN
3RD GENERATION OF THE FAMILY
After a successful business career, Francisco returned to Portela with a clear goal in mind: to make fine Galician wines with their own brands using the precious historic family heritage, meaning a decisive move away from bulk production. His grand dream and obsession was to break down the existing international barriers to Galician wines and to produce a great Galician red. In 1996 he began exporting to the United Kingdom, becoming the first winery from the Valdeorras valley to export its wines. In 1992 he launched Valnereida, a red that revolutionised the Galician red wine market through a single variety, María Ardoña, which had been rescued from oblivion. From 1989 to 2011 he launched the brands that have marked the recent history of the winery: Montenovo, Valdesil, Valderroa, Valderroa Carballo, Pezas da Portela and Pedrouzos.
Raúl Prada Luengo
MANAGING DIRECTOR
4TH GENERATION OF THE FAMILY
After more than 3 decades training and gaining experience in all kinds of work at the winery, he eventually joined his father in the decision-making process, driving the internationalisation of the family winery and the implementation of the brands that the family developed based on single-vineyard wines: O Chao, Asadoira, Valteiro, Carballeda and Vilariño.
The care he has taken to preserve the family heritage, educating and passing on the knowledge gained over four generations in grape-growing management, as well as the important work carried out to genetically isolate the family clones, is all fundamentally aimed at safeguarding the ancient varieties and traditions of the valley.
With a presence in more than 30 countries, strengthening customer relations is his real leitmotif, in addition to the revitalisation of a unique natural environment, the Sil valley. His boundless passion and respect rub off on all those who visit our little paradise year after year.