Inside the Wine Lists of Galicia’s Newest Michelin Starred Restaurants

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

Move over, Rías Baixas—two new Michelin stars are putting Galicia’s less-traveled interior on the map. Spain’s 2026 Michelin ceremony awarded one-star designations to Restaurante Miguel González, in Ourense, and Restaurante Vértigo, at Bodegas Regina Viarum in Ribeira Sacra.

Although it’s the second star for chef Rafa Centeno, who earned his first Michelin star for Maruja Limón in Vigo in 2010, Vértigo’s achievement is a historic first for the province of Lugo: until this year, it was the only province in Spain never to have earned a Michelin star. Vértigo is also the first winery restaurant in Galicia to be awarded a star, putting it in an exclusive club with the likes of Refectorio at Abadía Retuerta in Ribera del Duero and Marqués de Riscal in Rioja.

The star for Miguel González isn’t technically its first; chef-owner González had held a star since 2020, but temporarily lost the designation when his restaurant changed locations.

I talked to the wine directors of Galicia’s newest Michelin-starred restaurants to explore their wine programs, understand the philosophy behind them, and discover what they’re most excited about in Galician wine.

Sofia Emidio — Head Sommelier & Wine Director, Vértigo

Photo courtesy Sofia Emidio

Seven years after exchanging Galicia’s coast for its interior, Sofia Emidio is set on staying for good. “Lugo is this slightly forgotten province of Galicia,” she says. “We’re inland, a bit more under the radar, but the amount of things to see here is truly impressive.”

Sofia has been with Vértigo—named for the sensation you get when standing on top of Ribeira Sacra’s famous vineyard-covered cliffs—since it opened a little over a year ago. As you’d expect, she’s had a busy month since the Michelin results were announced. Every service is completely full, and they’re booked out until the end of January, she tells me.

At Vértigo, guests pick from two tasting menus with two options for wine pairing; one uses only wines from Regina Viarum, and the other is Sofia’s choice. “We try to reflect the land and its products in the kitchen, and the wine goes in line with that,” she explains. Besides the wines from Regina Viarum, most of the listings are from Ribeira Sacra, with a few from the rest of Galicia.

“Ribeira Sacra being the main focus honestly gives us a lot of play,” she says. “These are fresh wines, mainly reds, that I always describe as having a rustic touch. But within Ribeira Sacra we have a lot of styles and white wines too, so there’s something for everyone. We don’t have enough space to have everything we want, but my goal is to have almost every winery in Ribeira Sacra on the list at some point. I want it to be a showcase for everyone, a unifier,” she says.

Vértigo is already unifying the province of Lugo behind its first Michelin star. “Last Sunday we had some guests who were from Lugo city, and I remember Rafa going over to the table to talk to them,” Sofia tells me. “When he came back, he said that the man felt as if the star were for him—I mean, he was completely moved, he had tears in his eyes that Lugo finally had a Michelin star. And that’s what we’re getting from everyone, from all over Lugo, they’re receiving it as if it were for them too. That’s what we wanted, honestly. For this to be a restaurant for this province and to be able to make people see that we’re here, that this area is worth coming to visit.”

Photo by Restaurante Vértigo

Most-Ordered Wines?

“What sells the most is wine from the winery itself, right? It’s understandable, because a lot of people come to the restaurant after visiting the winery. There’s a bit of everything, honestly, there are people who are much more classic, who like to go to a fixed safe choice, but there are also a lot of open-minded people who listen to you and we always find something they like.”

A Style You Wish Guests Ordered More: 

“For me, anything from Ribeira Sacra, honestly. There are so many grapes, so many different styles… And if not that, Ribeiro. It’s the oldest DO in Galicia, and there’s a lot to learn from it.”

A Bottle with a Story: 

“I’m going to be a bit Galician, I can’t choose just one in general, any bottle, or any winery. I have a lot of stories about a lot of bottles!”

Where Is the Wine List Going After Getting a Star?

“We’re trying to expand our cellar and maybe do some renovations to have a bit more room, because the storage space we have now is a bit limited. For now we really only have wines from Ribeira Sacra and a few other listings from Galicia. After the holidays, in January, we’ll add the great wines of Spain, and maybe some international wines starting with Portugal, since it’s our neighbor. We’re also going to offer more joint experiences with the winery and the restaurant, and make it a more symbiotic relationship, so that when people come they can have some experience that unifies them both.”

Marcos Eire — Head Sommelier & Wine Director, Miguel González

Photo courtesy Marcos Eire

Sommelier and wine director Marcos Eire has been with Miguel González since the restaurant changed locations in March 2025, after leaving his position as wine director at the Michelin-starred Árbore da Veira in A Coruña to care for his elderly father. 

“I found out Miguel was looking for a sommelier, and I didn’t hesitate,” he says. “I had eaten at Miguel’s three times, I really liked his cooking, I liked him as a person, and he had an appealing wine list, and there aren’t very many jobs that have all three of those!”

The cooking at Miguel González is market-driven—they’re directly in front of the Ourense city market—which means wine pairings have to adapt to what comes out of the kitchen.

“Because we don’t have a set menu, I don’t have a fixed wine pairing,” Marcos explains. “We normally have 12–14 wines open by the glass every day, and I adapt to each guest. I find what works best are white wines with structure and good acidity, light and delicate reds, and sparkling wines. And I’ll also throw in occasional nods to regions like Jerez or Madeira, or wines that are made in those styles but here in Galicia,” he says.

Photo by Restaurante Miguel González

Between 60 and 70 percent of the wine list is local, which for Marcos includes northern Portugal and Bierzo because of shared varieties, climate, and gastronomy. He believes a wine list needs to have a little bit of everything for everyone, “because all kinds of guests come to a restaurant. You have people who like classic styles, more modern styles, natural wines, wines with Bordeaux-style oak... In the end, the list should be balanced and always under the umbrella of honesty and respect for the environment.”

Apart from local wines, the list also includes a small selection of classic Spanish and international wine regions. For Marcos, this lends credibility to the Galician section, and might encourage visitors to drink something local that they might not have tried otherwise.

“If a guest from France or Italy sees we have something from Gonon or Dagueneau or Conterno, they see we know what we’re doing, and they can compare and see that Galicia offers outstanding value,” he says.

Photo courtesy Marcos Eire

Most-Ordered Wines?

“Because we’re in the middle of Ourense, people tend to look for local wines from Ourense’s four DOs (Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras, and Monterrey) and the IXP Val do Miño. Since I’m from Ribeira Sacra, I usually recommend wines from there, along with Ribeiro whites, because since they’re a blend of varieties you have a wide range for pairing.”

A Style You Wish Guests Ordered More: 

“Light reds made from Merenzao or Brancellao. Wine professionals tend to know them well, but people who drink more “classic” wines often don’t. For me, wines like Alanda from Quinta da Muradella are essential for any wine list, but many people don’t know them.”

A Bottle with a Story: 

“We still have a few bottles from the last vintage Emilio Rojo made before his winery changed ownership, and I have a real soft spot for those because they remind me of the person who started that project and what Emilio represented for Galician wine.

The other bottle is a Merenzao from Ribeira Sacra called A Rotea. It’s a sad story, because they only made one vintage in 2022 and then bureaucracy and costs made it impossible to continue. A lot of vineyards in Ribeira Sacra are being abandoned for those reasons. It’s under €50 on our list but it’s honest, expressive, and tells the story of the variety.”

Where Is the Wine List Going After Getting a Star?

“We’re a tiny restaurant with seven tables, so we don’t have huge buying power. We’re building a small cellar to age what we can. My eventual goal is to have fewer producers but more vintage depth, with verticals of one carefully chosen wine per producer in each region. The list is also always evolving, incorporating classic and new producers with honest, clean wines that express landscape and place.”