Javier Gonzalez
Spain
Javier's Wines
- Spain
- 3Â wines
- 3Â styles
Javier made his family's Ribeiro Winemaking dreams a reality
- Javier's vineyard in the Spanish region of Ribeiro is so much more than a plot of land. There's a rhyme and reason behind every detail, from the white grapes it grows all the way through to the finely tuned fermentation process - this is a space dedicated to Javier's family.
- Whilst working abroad in Venezuela, Javier's father, Ramón dreamt of the day he would return to Ribeiro to pick up his ancestors tools and make his ultimate white Ribeiro wine. In 2000 he did just that, purchasing a small plot of land with prime conditions for growing Treixadura and Albariño grapes.
- 13 years later Javier was handed the baton and has been carrying his fathers dream from strength to strength ever since. These personality filled and refined white wines are the result of pure dedication and have quite simply bowled us over!
Vineyard Location
Javier Gonzalez's Story
Javier's Story
I was born, raised and educated in Galicia, while my parents and my older brothers lived and worked in Venezuela. My father Ramón, after many years of work, was able to acquire small plots in the Ribeiro area where he grew up. This was caused by homesickness or nostalgia, a nostalgic feeling that was a particular hallmark of all Galician immigrants. He always wanted to return home and his longtime dream was to make a good white Ribeiro wine. After more than 40 years in Venezuela, my father decided to retire and when he returned to Galicia I was working as an industrial engineer in a renewable energy company. In 2000 he started his project and the land he had bought became prime terroir for growing Treixadura, Albariño and Godello grapes, native varieties of Galicia.
At first I started with the intention of continuing my father's dream, but as I became actively immersed in the whole process I discovered and felt the excitement of creating a product in which you are totally involved, from the beginning with the care of the plant in the vineyard, the harvesting of the grapes, the fermentation of its musts until the final decision to define the style of the wine. Every year the harvest is different and for me it is an exciting challenge to obtain from the land a product through which you can create a wine and turn it into the brand of a certain vintage, with its own style and which will add value to the Ribeiro region.
What I love most about my work is the winery ethos. It is a family project born out of my father's love of his homeland that provides an intimate link between the family and the land of his ancestors who worked the Ribeiro vineyards for years. The project is a return to the origin, to give a value to the area where he was raised and where we were nurtured with the love of his homeland.
In Ramón Do Casar there is a significant fact and that is the production of exclusively white wines. The reason is personal because the founder, my father, was a lover of whites. We are a very young winery that started with two wines, a coupage and a single-variety Treixadura. Later on, we launched three new brands, young white wines lightly aged in wood, in limited editions. We make wines with personality, with a unique and special quality that redefines the Ribeiro terroir with its own identity and in our own style.
I experience the same passion when I make each one of our wines. They are five completely different projects with their own style and each has its own particular reason for its creation. With our wines, the great challenge that we have pursuing has been achieved, paying tribute to the Treixadura, the most noble variety in the Ribeiro, raising its great potential to the very top.
Any tales of joy or sorrow along the way?
The most special memory was the moment when my father tasted the wine of our first vintage, from the tank for the first time. He was 86 years old.
The saddest moment is related to our third venture. My father was very involved and had great expectations with a small project with the Treixadura grape: to create a young wine slightly aged in French oak barrels. He died a few months before the wine was ready. It became our third brand and in honour of my father we called this wine NOBRE.
Most memorable moment making wine?
A highlight was the creation of the Lento wine, vintage 2016. Our fourth project and first experimental production of late harvest by noble botrytis. It was a great experience despite its difficulties. An amazing wine and one that fills us with pride for being capable of continuing it as a brand.
Every year we have a memorable moment. It is the instant in which you feel the satisfaction of having done a good job in the vineyard, a good job in the winery and you get as a result a great quality in the wines.
Are there any reasons why our customers' money can help you?
We are a small family business that has very limited resources at best, so this period with the Covid has been particularly difficult.
With your contribution you will help us to amortize the commitments acquired with the purchase of vineyards and the construction of the winery and to continue developing the technology in the equipment.
But above all, it would allow us to continue my father's dream, the family project and enhance the Treixadura grape to its fullest expression.
