Vega Sicilia Moves into Rías Baixas
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Vega Sicilia is set to unveil its sixth winery project in the northwestern Spanish white wine region of Rías Baixas it has emerged this week. According to Spanish broadsheet El Pais, the development will see Pablo Alvarez, who heads up the Tempos Vega Sicilia group (which oversees the top Spanish estate and its other wineries) make his first white wine on Spanish soil.
Although the newspaper conceded that Vega Sicilia had declined to comment, rumors surrounding a sixth Vega Sicilia winery have been abroad since September of this year. Back then, El Pais revealed that Alvarez had announced a sixth new project at a family business conference in Rioja that month.
According to northwest regional newspaper Faro de Vigo, the new winery is slated for the Pontevedra town of Crecente, in the Condado de Tea subregion, where it is understood that Vega has purchased seven hectares (17 acres) of vineyard. The same paper reported that the high-profile Spanish winery had been looking to acquire facilities and land in O Salnés, but that this had fallen through.
La Voz de Galicia – a regional news outlet also covering the Spanish northwest – said sources agreed that Vega "could have acquired land some time ago in the subzones of O Condado and O Salnés".
If confirmed, a winery in Rías Baixas would be the sixth major holding for the vaunted group, joining Vega Sicilia, Alión (in Ribera del Duero), Pintia (in Toro), Macán (a joint venture with the Benjamin de Rothschild family in Rioja) and Oremus in Tokaj –the latter currently producing the group's only dry white wines. So far, Alvarez remains tight-lipped on the matter.
