Do Ferreiro
Rías Baixas | Galicia
Do Ferreiro is a small family winery in the heart of Galicia’s coastal Rías Baixas region, highly regarded as one of the world’s finest producers of albariño.
Introducing the Producer
A Family Legacy in Rías Baixas
Do Ferreiro is the life’s work of Gerardo Méndez, who helped to found Denominación de Origen Rías Baixas in 1988. In the years since, Gerardo has become well-known for his outsized contribution to the region as both a leader in quality winemaking and an incredibly generous and knowledgeable mentor.
Today, Gerardo’s son and daughter, Manuel “Manu” Méndez and Encarna Méndez, have joined their father at the helm of the winery, cementing Do Ferreiro’s reputation as a benchmark albariño producer and a leader in Rías Baixas.
History & Origins
From Blacksmith to Winemaking Pioneer
In the early 1980s, there were almost no professional wineries in Galicia, and Rías Baixas was no exception. The vast majority of people grew grapes alongside potatoes and corn on a patchwork quilt of tiny plots, divided by generations of Galician inheritance law that split land equally among all heirs. Grapes were made into wine at home for personal consumption, or sold to a few local cooperatives.
In the midst of this, Gerardo Méndez’s vision that the albariño grape could produce a world-class wine was not the majority opinion. His family didn’t come from a winemaking background: Gerardo’s father, Francisco “Pepe O Ferreiro” Méndez, was a blacksmith whose family owned several plots of albariño around their house in the tiny hamlet of Lores. Most of his neighbors didn’t understand why someone would work so hard for their grapes, risking their harvest by using indigenous yeasts and waiting to harvest until each bunch was perfectly ripe.
Determined to uncover albariño’s potential, Gerardo made his first wine—without labels—in 1973. When his first labeled wine was released a decade later, Gerardo named it Do Ferreiro, or “The Blacksmith’s” in Galician, in homage to the family profession.
As Do Ferreiro albariño started to achieve fame outside of the region, even those who doubted Gerardo realized that he had been a visionary all along. Aspiring growers began to seek his advice in both farming and winemaking. The incredible raw material and uncompromising dedication to quality formed a legacy that continues today with Gerardo, his son Manu, and his daughter Encarna, all working together to craft Do Ferreiro.
Producer Bio
The Next Generation of Do Ferreiro
Today, Manu and Encarna Méndez carry on their father’s uncompromising commitment to quality, even to new, uncharted territory.
Encarna is responsible for the management of the winery and for organizing the incredible array of moving parts it takes to farm 175 separate tiny plots to a world-class standard. She is intimately involved in every aspect of the production process from grape to bottle and ensuring the quality of Do Ferreiro.
Manu took over from Gerardo as winemaker in 2015, and balances his responsibilities in the vineyard and winery with a successful career as a musician. His instrumental post-stoner band, Kaleikia, explores the sonic expressions of their landscape and experiences.
We’re still just beginning the long journey of discovering Galicia’s winemaking potential, but this is a journey that Manu and Encarna are uniquely equipped to explore. In Galicia’s unforgiving climate, greatness is carefully crafted and the landscape demands respect and hard work. The future is exciting, and as Galicia works to claim its place as one of the world’s great wine regions, we’re thankful to have as our guide the generous Gerardo Méndez and his incredible family.
Process & Philosophy
Faith in Terroir
In addition to his work in founding DO Rías Baixas, Gerardo has also been a pioneer in recovering old vineyards, introducing organic farming, and restoring traditional trellising methods.
Do Ferreiro farms over 175 tiny plots of albariño by hand, all in the Val do Salnès subzone of Rías Baixas. The valley’s proximity to the ocean, ideal climate due to the natural protection by mountain ranges, and decomposed granitic soil have given it a reputation as the ideal zone in Rías Baixas for growing albariño of profound depth and beauty. The blend of these plots is what makes up Do Ferreiro Albariño.
Gerardo is known for his absolute faith in the local pergola training system, known as emparrado, which he has adapted and refined over the years to allow more sun into the canopy, allowing for even ripeness and naturally lower yields. He lets his chickens roam through the vineyards the way his ancestors had done in the past, providing both natural pest control and contributing valuable nitrogen to the soil.
Grapes are harvested by hand with great scrutiny, with manual sorting in the vineyard, bunch-by-bunch, as opposed to using a sorting table. Such is the dedication to quality that the farming and daily tending to vineyards is where the time and investment is spent.
The winemaking is straightforward with no makeup. Gerardo has always been a proponent of using the indigenous yeasts present in his vineyard for fermentation, long before it became a trendy marketing push.
With a decade’s experience as lead winemaker under his belt, Manu is pioneering a terroir rediscovery in Rías Baixas, isolating plots and exploring how different soils, elevations, and exposures can affect albariño. His soil series—Lourido, Adina, Dous Ferrados, and Tomada do Sapo—completely redefine the concept of Rías Baixas albariño, demonstrating that terroir here is multidimensional in the same way that it is in all great wine growing regions of the world.
Cepas Vellas
The Oldest Vineyard in Rías Baixas
The Méndez family house is in the hamlet of Lores, at the foot of the Armenteira mountain range, facing the Ría de Arousa. Directly in front of the house lies the famed Cepas Vellas vineyard, just over one hectare planted with over 200-year-old vines. Each vine is uniquely pruned to suit its personality. Since the 1995 vintage, this historic plot has been vinified and released separately in the very best vintages under the name Cepas Vellas, or “old vines” in the Galician language. Cepas Vellas has become a legendary, defining white wine of Spain for its intensity, transparency, and ability to improve with age for an incredible period of time.
Orujo de Galicia
Distilling the Essence of Rías Baixas
The Méndez family have been working tirelessly for the last twenty years to resurrect an ancient family tradition of producing handcrafted orujo, a pomace brandy obtained from the distillation of skins and lees left after pressing grapes. While orujo is common across northern Spain, it has a special association with Galician gastronomy.
Do Ferreiro’s orujo is made using pomace from the Cepas Vellas vineyard, and is also used to make the herb-infused Licor de Hierbas and the coffee-flavored Licor de Café.
Products
Spirits
Do Ferreiro Orujo de Galicia
Do Ferreiro Licor de Hierbas de Galicia
Do Ferreiro Licor de Café de Galicia
Wine
Do Ferreiro Albariño Rías Baixas 2024
Do Ferreiro Albariño ‘Cepas Vellas’ 2024
Do Ferreiro Albariño ‘Adina’ Selección de Fincas 2023
Do Ferreiro Albariño ‘Lourido’ Selección de Fincas 2023
