At the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula lies the Spanish region of Galicia. The land offers the visitor beautiful, intensely green landscapes, high forested hills, mountains, and vineyards. A shoreline similar to fjords whereby the estuaries are known locally as Rías, provides dramatic coastal scenery.

Galicia has some unique wine regions, like Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras and Rías Baixas. The vineyards built on steep mountains in Ribeira Sacra, generate some wonderful red wines made from indigenous grapes like Mencia and Brancellao. Valdeorras has become well known for its beautifully balanced white wines from the local Godello grape. The wines made in the lush and green coastal zone of Rías Baixas zone of Galicia are arguably Spain’s best white wines. The main grape here is the aromatic Albariño, other varieties include Treixadura and Loureiro. Albariño wines with their fresh, peachy fruit are often drunk young, but then wines made from old vines tend to have excellent capacity for aging. The vines are trained on pergolas, so that the grapes are shaded from the sun during the hottest part of the year, and are far enough off the ground to protect them from roaming wild animals.

Galicia is famous for its great food. The seafood and fish there is hard to match in terms of quality and diversity. Think vieiras (scallops) mexillónes (mussels) xoubas (sardines), centollas (spider crabs) and pulpo – Galicia’s most famous dish may be Pulpo a la Gallega (Octopus dressed in olive oil and paprika). There is also an abundance of local meat dishes, and a tradition of making tasty cured hams and sausages. Rich and buttery local cheeses like the Tetilla are a good match the local white wines made from the Albariño grape, thanks to its spritzy quality and peachy fruit.

Galicia has many beautiful historic sites, with the spectacular city of Santiago de Compostela close to the Rías Baixas wine region a key attraction. This is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in all Spain. It is a famous ancient pilgrimage center and, thanks to a large and lively student population, remarkably unstuffy. There are many great place to eat and drink. Visitors to Santiago will find many excellent bistro-style eating houses to savour Galego food and wine. Stylish as well as traditional wine and tapas bars serving fine local wines are plentiful.

In a densely packed historic town, Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque buildings that grew around the St James Cathedral offer a very atmospheric cityscape – UNESCO World Heritage listed. That said, the city is not stuck in time, it has an exciting modern side too. Through careful architectural additions a modern Santiago has been created with eye-pleasing projects from acclaimed architects Álvaro Siza and Peter Eisenman – like the Galician Center for Contemporary Art and the City of Culture cultural center.

About 60 km south of Santiago, when crossing the river Minho/Miño in southerly direction, one arrives in North Portugal, in the Vinho Verde region. This is a green mountainous area with wooded valleys, settled with stone-houses and grand granite-framed manor houses.

This is also the home of the Vinho Verde (green wine) vineyards. The most common grapes here are Alvarinho (known as Albariño in Spain), Loureiro, Trajadura and Vinhão. The quality of these wines has improved enormously in recent times; leading wine critics and wine lovers to seek out the best of the Vinho Verde wines. Their lightness, fruity aromas and freshness make good Vinho Verde wines a perfect companion for fine food or a delectable aperitif. You may also be pleasantly surprised by the unique red Vinho Verde made from the Espadeiro, Barraçal and Vinhão varieties. This particular wine is widely consumed by locals in traditional clay bowls.

This region offers tasty uncomplicated and honest food. The local corn bread is delicious, and so are the local cured and smoked hams. Dishes like suckling pig cooked in a wood-fired oven, served with a peppery sauce and green salad make a great match with delightful local wines.

South of Vinho Verde lies the Douro valley, where the unspoiled rural countryside becomes increasingly dramatic. The Douro valley in particular may be Europe’s most spectacular wine region, offering the visitor stunning scenery. The deep gorge that the Douro has carved through soft slatey soils allows for magnificent vistas. The steep hillsides are covered from top to bottom with terraced vineyards. They are so steep that to this day grapes can only be handpicked.

Whilst the Valley is historically famous as the producer of port wines, for the last years some of Europe’s best unfortified table wines have also been made here. The best wine estates make both port and table wines and, in a few instances, the estate owners take their table wines more seriously than their port wines. The vineyards are mostly planted with the local varieties like Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Amarella.

Reflecting the dramatic variations in both the orientation and altitude of the land, the characters of the wines produced in neighbouring vineyards can be quite different. The style of the wines also varies enormously depending on the provenance of the grapes and the intentions of the winemaker. There is a real air of excitement in the Douro valley about this extraordinary terrain’s ability to express itself in such a diverse range of wine. It is no wonder that the leading wine magazines  have given high marks to a number of Douro table wines. Even the Bordelaise have been moving in, buying vineyards or setting up joint ventures with some of the local estates.

Porto, adorned with some lovely baroque monuments and outstanding art galleries like the Serralves museum, offers as well some striking modern architecture – world-famous architect Rem Koolhaas’ stunning concert hall Casa de Música for example. For centuries, Porto has been the center of the port wine trade; historic port lodges abound in the Gaia district of the city. Some of these lodges have beautiful azulejo tiled tasting rooms, where one can enjoy various styles of port wines. The city’s wine bars and restaurants, where both the stunning Douro table wines as well as port wines are served, are also never far away. As in any good wine growing culture, excellent food is also prevalent, and Porto’s gastronomical resources are rapidly getting well deserved acclaim.

Classic seafood dishes such as polvo a lagareiro (octopus with baked potatoes), seabass with asparagus or meat dishes like succulent roast kid and slow cooked porco Bísaro (pork from pigs fed only on chestnuts) served with forest mushrooms, are staples here. That said, young chefs are bringing a modern sensibility to Porto’s traditional milieu. They have spent time in London, Barcelona and San Sebastian, and have a firm grasp of the contemporary food lover’s fascination with all things regional, seasonal and local.