Santiago Ruiz and the quest for excellence

If any one thing defines our winery over the centuries, it is innovation. A tradition that goes back to Ángel Martínez Novas, Santiago's maternal grandfather, who was one of the first to make and label Galician wine as far back as 1860.

A century later, it was his grandson, Santiago Ruiz, who took up the reins. A man who was ahead of his time and a true visionary who showcased Galician wines at the end of the 1980s. His tireless spirit lead him to become the first to introduce stainless steel tanks in the region, making a significant improvement to white winemaking in Galicia.

The winery and the vineyard, two settings for innovation

Today, innovation takes place in the modern winery in Tomiño, surrounded by 38 hectares of vines and located just 12 kilometres from the family winery in San Miguel de Tabagón. A setting where the winery develops its knowledge of local grape varieties, such as Albariño and Loureiro, carrying out actions throughout the growth cycle to improve the health of the grapes and the flavour profile of the wines.

Innovation that is also sustainable, with Santiago Ruiz participating in the WETWINE project to progressively reduce the waste generated by the winery with the aim of reaching zero waste effluents.

Experiments take place in the winery as well, in micro-tanks that Luisa Freire, Santiago Ruiz's winemaker, calls "her children", where she carries out various research projects with native varieties. One such series of experiments helped define Rosa Ruiz, a 100% Albariño from century-old vines in the original vineyard in San Miguel de Tabagón.