Adegas Santiago Ruiz

Rua do Vinicultor, Santiago Ruiz, s/n, 36760 San Miguel de Tabagón, Pontevedra, España | +34 986 61 40 83 | bodegasantiagoruiz.com

Santiago Ruiz was born in the small village of San Miguel de Tabagón, near the mouth of the Miño River in O Rosal, and grew up around wine. After a career in the insurance business, he began experimenting with Albariño after he retired. Ruiz is most famous for modernizing his process with stainless steel tanks and refrigeration. He sought advice from top Spanish wineries, particularly Miguel Torres, and shared what he learned with neighbors—his motto was: "cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness." He launched his own winery in 1984, just before the creation of the Rías Baixas D.O. in 1988, and used a hand-drawn map of the area around the winery as his label.

After his death, his daughters, especially Rosa Ruiz, continued the family business. Later, it partnered with Rioja’s Bodegas Lan to scale up production while keeping Rosa involved.

The Wines

Santiago Ruiz

The winery’s flagship bottling is made from mostly Albariño with small percentages of Loureiro, Caiño Blanco, Treixadura, and Godello from estate vineyards in O Rosal. Grapes are hand-picked and each variety is fermented separately at a controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the wine is aged on lees for four months before undergoing the final blending.