Pazo de Rubianes

Vineyards coexist with an enchanted camellia garden in one of Galicia’s oldest estates.

The origins of bodega Pazo de Rubianes are linked to the defensive tower of the same name built in the XIIth century by D. García Caamaño. An important figure in Galician history, in 1441 he founded “Villa de García”, currently known as Villagarcía de Arousa.

Built in the XVth century, the winery and the stables are the oldest original elements of the estate, and they have been repurposed for commercial and wine tourism usages. In the XVIIIth century, the then derelict building was rebuilt by a French architect which remodeled it in a château style that distinguishes it from most traditional Galician pazos. Nowadays, the Pazo de Rubianes estate has an extension of 70 hectares, in which vineyards share space with a world-class camellia garden with over 800 different varieties, recognized as a “Garden of Excellence” by the International Camellia Society.

The estate is located in the Salnés county, one of the best areas for growing Albariño, Galicia’s most important white variety. The area has a centuries-old tradition of grape growing, which was brought to an abrupt end by the phylloxera plague at the beginning of the XXth century. Vine cultivation was only resumed in the 1990s, when Don Gonzalo Ozores de Urcola, the eighteenth head of the Casa de Rubianes, started to replant the vineyards.

Spread across 25 hectares of gentle hills with shallow granitic soils, the vineyards of the Pazo de Rubianes winery are oriented to the south-east, an excellent exposure whose qualities are nicely encapsulated in a local saying: “Ós viñedos do Marqués dalle o sol ata de noite” (the sun kisses the vineyards of the Marquis even at night.)

A traditional winery, bodega Pazo de Rubianes uses technology only as a means for producing the best possible wines, not as an end in itself. Yearly production is around 60,000 litres, which go into three different bottlings of varietal Albariño wines: Pazo de Rubianes, 1411 and García de Caamaño. The quality of the wines and the beauty of its incomparable camellia gardens have made Pazo de Rubianes one of the most visited wineries in Galicia.

Year of foundation: 1411
Address: Rúa do Pazo, 7
City: Rubianes
Province: Pontevedra
Zip code: 36619
Country: Spain
Phone number: 34 986 510 534
www.pazoderubianes.com
Guided visits? Yes
Wine tourism services? Yes