It is the time of tasting last years and older vine. Yes, the season of vine festivals has started.
These are usually weekend events and are great if a) you don’t drive b)you don’t mind noise and c)you can test about 10+ different reds and/or whites before breakfast.
Last Sunday Chantada started the season with a two day event and we managed Sunday to go there. Chantada is a nice small town roughly between Monforte and Lalin.
 
If one parks near the market place a nice walk leads along a small river into the old town.
Along the way is an old restored watermill. So we entertained our brains before entertaining our livers.
The beginning of the fiesta is unmissable and before we get to the serious things we wander about the street market that surrounds the festival.
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Let the tasting begin! Some figures: Chantada region has 400+ vine growers and 20+Adegas (Bodegas or vine producer) of which 19 were present and kept the visitors fluid levels up.
PULPO the national Galician dish tends to taste better with every bodega one visits. The whole experience is accompanied by either canned, live or cat bag pipe music.
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Tempting as they looked we avoided the afters and headed via the back roads to Belazar and onto to A Cova for a more substantial meal surrounded by mimosas in full bloom.
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The restaurant on top of the beach is opened each weekend. They serve good food and as we are there quite often the cook often finds some tasty morsels that are not on the menu.
Another perfect day.
Expat
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Tuesday, 4 March, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Hi, an interesting site which I pop and look at now and again. We are buying a house near Sober and I’ve heard lots of people talk about the “beach” but wonder where it is. Do you have any idea? We are coming over this month and one of my projects is to find the river beach! Any directions would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks and once again I enjoy the blogs.
Jacky
Thursday, 6 March, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Hi Jacky
thanks for your comment.
The beach is in Concello Panton (Freirra side). From SOber N120 Orense. Off Fereirra. First round about to Eire. Go through EIre and Nadal. You see a house on a cross road. To the left signposted Fluvial Praia. On an intersection keep to the left and keep going down. It’s than sign posted A Cova. Alternatively drop in and we show you the way (It’s how we learned where it is). Cheers Expat
Friday, 21 March, 2008 at 9:53 pm
There are 26 Bodegas according to the Ribeirasacra website.
http://www.ribeirasacra.org/
They do not state how many land owners there are, this could be because not all of the owners contribute to the Do Ribeirasacra
Monday, 24 March, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Ruben
gracias por su coment.
I’m sure there are many small land owners and people like us who simply give their surplus to neighbors. Like in Sober not all the adegas seem to find it nessesary to participate in fiestas. But it still makes a nice “wet” day
Martin