Wedged between Galicia and Castile in north-western Spain, Bierzo is a winemaking region with a long history and a native grape, Mencia. Mencia and Bierzo almost disappeared from the winemaking map altogether, before staging a comeback in the 1990s. Luna Beberide belongs to that era. The bodega was founded by Bernardo Luna in the Bierzo town of Cacabelos in 1998 with the help of Mariano Garcia, family friend and long-time winemaker at Vega Sicilia (and later founder of Bodegas Mauro). In the early days they experimented with more than 25 different grape varieties. Time, experience and the terroir of Bierzo have pared most of those away. Nowadays, under Bernardo’s son Alejandro, the focus is very much on the local varieties Mencia and Godello. Viticulture follows organic and biodynamic methods. The Godello is aged for six months on the lees in stainless steel tanks. The young Mencia comes from chalky clay soils on south-facing slopes, and a proportion of stems are used in the fermentation to bring freshness and aromatics. (NT 31/07/25)