Pazo Baión, the goldsmith wines

The pruning work being carried out these days on the estate is done by hand. The objective is to take care of unique vineyards with an average age of more than 40 years and obtain grapes of extraordinary quality and products as Pazo Baion, the goldsmith wines

Viticulture can become an art, as with Pazo Baion, the goldsmith wines. A universe that harbors extraordinary doses of dedication, knowledge, passion… And that, in some cases, hides an artisanal component that elevates the final result, the wine, to another dimension.

Surely to the one evoked by Oscar Wilde when he said that «the soul can be cured through the senses». Our winery has made this one of its hallmarks. Its three elaborations, Pazo Baion, Pazo Baion Gran a Gran and Pazo Baion Vides de Fontán, are the direct consequence of a unique way of understanding this world. A path that places quality above quantity.

These days, one only has to look at what is going on in the vineyard to understand this reality. In a task, more specifically, that perhaps goes unnoticed by general public, but which is of paramount importance in the fascinating journey from the vineyard to the bottle: pruning.

At Pazo Baion, this is a task that is carried out by hand, with a team that knows almost every plant on the property to perfection. This is the way to achieve the goldsmith wines.

Unlike other DOs where it’s common to carry out mechanized pre-pruning work, at Pazo Baion the entire process is done by hand. Plant by plant. With the care that the good things in life receive. Why? Mainly to protect some unique vineyards in the Rias Baixas DO.

Alberto Barral, head of viticulture at the winery, explains that «we must understand we are in a plantation of 22 hectares with an average age of the vineyards of between 40 and 45 years. Therefore, we are talking about one of the most extensive plantations in Rias Baixas and also with a very advanced average age of the vineyards. It’s a unique property”.

Pruning plays a key role in the process of turning albariño into the goldsmith wines. The technicians sacrifice the volume of vines left on each plant to extract the best from the Pazo Baion vineyards, in order to produce different albarinos.

«With pruning, we are not only looking for production, but especially for quality. We are going to leave fewer vines than in plants that might be 15 to 20 years old in order to take care of the vineyard and, above all, to obtain grapes of extraordinary quality», argues Barral.

But also to preserve the life of unique vineyards. Distinct. A living history of albarino wines. With their work, the winery’s viticulture team has managed to extract from the plants a raw material with which to produce three elaborations, Pazo Baion, Gran a Gran and Vides de Fontan, which have conquered the markets for their personality and authenticity.

A result in which the human factor has a decisive influence. The delicate commitment that the winery’s technical team maintains with a singular estate, an added value that ends up being transferred to the Albariño wines produced at Pazo Baion. The goldsmith wines.

Pruning work, for example, is carried out year after year by the same professionals. This accumulated knowledge allows us to know in detail the needs of each vine. The personalized care required to extract its full potential. It is a sort of man-plant relationship.

«We have very experienced personnel. The pruning team is the same every year. It is a very delicate task that we don’t want to pass through different hands. The person who knows the plant best will be the one who works on the plant to take care of it, to maximize the quality of the grapes that we will later harvest». In short, it’s the goldsmith wines.

Strange as it may seem, the cold wave that is sweeping the peninsula these days is an asset for Pazo Baión’s vineyards. The accumulated low temperatures connect with the natural vegetative cycles of the plant, somehow inducing a rest that favors its longevity and health.

The head of viticulture at Pazo Baion explains it very graphically: «The intense cold weather these days favors the vineyard, because right now it is in full vegetative rest. The plant needs a few hours of cold at the end of the year. This will help to cure the wood so that next year it will bear fruit better».

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