Bodegas Forjas del Salnés

Rodrigo ‘Rodri’ Méndez began making wine in the Salnés valley in the early 2000s, and has been a consistant source of quality in Rías Baixas ever since. Rodri named his project Forjas del Salnés (Forges of the Salnés) after the ironworks run by his grandfather Francisco Méndez, who founded Do Ferreiro with Rodri’s uncle Gerardo Méndez and helped to launch DO Rías Baixas in the 1980s.

Now, Rodri carries on the family legacy of tending vines in the villages of Meaño, Sanxenxo, and Barro. Forjas del Salnés sources grapes from 12 hectares of vineyards, some of which they own and others rented from local growers. In the mid 2000s, Rodri began experimenting with making red wine in a region that to this day produces 99% white wines. He enlisted star winemaker Raúl Pérez, who is helping him tease out the expressions of grapes like Caíño Tinto with whole cluster fermentation, light extraction, extended time in used oak, and a focus on varietal aromas. In 2011, Rodri started a separate line of wines under his own name with several whites and reds made from various plots around the Salnés Valley along with a Pinot Noir made in Bierzo with Raúl Perez.