One of the main activities on the riverbank, together with the chestnut harvest, was the production of wine. The vines were, and still are, planted in pataos (terraces), a localism of our parish, Sacardebois, as Eligio Rivas Quintas states. This layout of the land makes the work very difficult. As the farms are so steep, to hold the land, these fences were made and one or two rows of vines were planted. The most abundant was the one with one row. It is known as “heroic viticulture” because of its difficulty.
There were not many grape varieties. In the reds, along with mencía, garnacha and mouratón, there was our alcabril which, as Martín Sarmiento’s dictionary states, is a term of the parish of Sacardebois, and therefore, it may be a variety of the area, today practically disappeared.
In the white wines we find godello, cojón de gallo and sherry. For table grapes there were muscatel and náparo. As a rootstock for grafting there was the carmelita, a brave vine from which they sometimes took advantage of the grapes that it gave as wine for the house, it was somewhat earlier than the others.
The work in the vineyards in the last century was very hard, because unlike today when none is done, in those days the land was given three digs. The first, between February and March, was called escaravella. It consisted of making piles by turning the clod of earth upside down so that the rotten grass would act as fertilizer. These mounds were called cavañóns. The second was called cava. It was done in the month of April and consisted of pulling up the weeds and renewing the cavañóns. The third, called rendar, was done in June, following the saying: “Por Santa Marina no caves la huerta ni rendes la viña” (July, called the month of Santa Mariña). It consisted of spreading the soil of the cavañóns to make the ground more uniform and to dry the weeds.
The sulfate that was used was copper sulfate that came in stones. To be able to use it, it had to be previously put in a cloth bag inside a pot of water so that it dissolved. Then lime had to be added to it, which had been burned at least one month before.
This lime served two functions: it served as a disinfectant and helped to thicken the stock so that the sulfate would stick better to the leaves of the vine. Two or, at most, three coats of sulfate were applied between June and July. July was never exceeded. In this month precautions had to be taken because it could burn the grapes. Two or three coats of sulfur were also applied. The sulfur came in powder form and was applied with the bellows.
Pruning began in December but especially in January and February. The vines were pruned in the goblet type, not guyot as it is done today.
