Stories from the field – Paloma Rodríguez Moure

Her training in Fine Arts and her subsequent specialization in Sommellerie and Viticulture have allowed her to understand wine from a perspective more closely linked to emotional experience and to the knowledge and defense of the Ribeira Sacra as a collective landscape.She understands tradition not as a boundary, but as a starting point, committing to viticulture that respects and preserves the identity of the territory, but also to contemporary tools that help to communicate and experience wine in a more intimate, creative, and sensitive way, giving value and visibility to the rural environment.

For Paloma, wine is a tool that allows real links to be created between the individual and the landscape, posing questions that invite us to understand the cultural, natural, and human complexity of the space we inhabit.

She has developed initiatives such as the Wine Sound Library, an archive that collects the sounds of the vineyard and the winery throughout the year, and collaborations that link art, nature, and wine as tools for narrating the territory from different perspectives.

In July of this year, Paloma was recognized by EDA Drinks & Wine Campus as one of the Young Wine Talents of 2025. This recognition is a great encouragement and a show of support for her work in defense of the territory, sustainable viticulture, and the recovery of native varieties in the Ribeira Sacra.

• Could you tell us about your career and how you got involved in viticulture?

Our connection to viticulture stems from a combination of family heritage and personal vocation.  

This helped us in our subsequent training in oenology, viticulture, and sommelier studies, as well as in understanding the different subzones that make up Ribeira Sacra.

Today, ten years later, we continue to contribute our different perspectives and training to the family project. We have managed to combine respect for tradition and our family’s work with new ideas and approaches, always with the aim of keeping alive the founding identity of Abadía da Cova and our area.

• What are the biggest challenges you face in the field in relation to the health and resilience of your soil?

The biggest challenge is undoubtedly the extreme geography of the Ribeira Sacra, which prevents us from using machinery, forcing us to do all the work manually, which greatly increases production costs.  

Our vineyards are on terraces with slopes that in many cases exceed 70%, which carries a natural risk of erosion, especially during periods of heavy rainfall that are increasingly characteristic of each vintage. Added to this is climate change, with prolonged periods of drought followed by torrential rains. This variability directly affects the structure of the soil and its ability to retain water and nutrients.

Another important challenge is to keep the soil alive organically, maintain the landscape and the territory, and preserve the old vineyard.

• How do these problems affect vineyard management and the quality of wine production? What are the advantages of improving soil health in viticulture?

The soil conditions both the management of the vineyard and the final quality of the wine. Soil that is poor in organic matter and has problems with erosion and water retention makes vines more vulnerable to water and nutritional stress, which forces us to monitor them much more closely and constantly adjust our vineyard practices.

In terms of quality, soil health is a determining factor. Balanced, living soil allows the vine to develop its roots, naturally accessing nutrients and minerals that will translate into aromatic complexity and balance in the wine.

Soils with good structure and organic matter retain moisture better during dry periods and drain better in times of heavy rain; they are soils with greater climate resistance.

The vines are more balanced, developing their natural cycle harmoniously, producing healthier grapes with better phenolic ripeness.

And, of course, long-term economic sustainability is fundamental. Over time, the need for corrections and treatments is reduced, making the plot more self-sufficient and lowering production costs, which is vital in our area due to the impossibility of mechanization.  

• What practices do you use to maintain or improve soil health in the vineyards?

· Plant cover, which protects the soil from erosion, promotes water infiltration, and increases organic matter.

· Adding natural compost made from distillation residues and other organic waste from the farm itself.

· Correcting our acidic pH with limestone and organic fertilizers.

· Minimizing tillage so as not to alter the soil structure and avoid compaction, while also respecting microbial life.

· Promoting biodiversity by planting other native species that create a richer and more resilient ecosystem.

· Not using herbicides or insecticides in any of the vineyards or areas of the property.  

• Sustainability is an increasingly common word in the world of wine. What does caring for the soil mean to you?

For us, caring for the soil means understanding that we are working with a living being that has its own rhythms and needs. It means understanding that the soil is not simply a support for the vineyard, but a complex, living ecosystem where microorganisms, nutrients, and other elements interact in balance.

This concept translates into concrete actions: from respecting spontaneous or implemented vegetation cover, to making our own compost, to choosing specific times for field work. Each decision is made considering not only its immediate effect on the harvest, but also its medium- and long-term impact on the vitality of the land and our vineyards.

Ultimately, caring for the soil is an act of consistency with our philosophy, with the land that welcomes us, and with the future generations who will inherit these vineyards. It is the foundation on which not only the quality of our wines and spirits is based, but also the very identity of our project.

• What does being part of LivingSoiLL mean to you, and what motivated you to join this initiative?

For us, being part of LivingSoiLL means being part of a community that understands and shares a philosophy and a way of doing things, sharing challenges and contributing solutions together. It is confirmation that we are not alone on this path. We were motivated to join this initiative by the need to share experiences, learn from other projects, and join forces to research and promote concrete ecological solutions. It is a space for collaboration and work where knowledge is shared, enabling us to move faster and more purposefully toward our common goal: keeping the soil alive and our crops thriving.  

• What motivates you most to continue this work, and what would you like future generations to understand about the value of soil?

What motivates us most to continue is the deep connection we have with our land and the conviction that our work goes beyond wine production. Every day, the vineyard gives us the opportunity to observe and learn. Seeing how the practices we are implementing are bringing life back to the soil, how new species are appearing in the vegetation cover, or how the vines are responding with greater balance and health, confirms that we are on the right track.

We would like future generations to understand that soil is much more than what we see with the naked eye: it is a living legacy, a complex and fragile ecosystem whose care requires patience, observation, and work. We would like them to understand that true wealth does not lie in exploiting the land, but in learning to read its signs and working in harmony with its rhythms.

Beyond the technical aspects, we would like to convey that healthy soil is the basis not only for good wines, but also for vibrant rural communities, resilient landscapes, and a more honest relationship with nature.