Godeval’s Godello: The Grape a Winery Saved to Save a Wine Community
In the 1960s, the people of Valdeorras suffered. The Spanish Civil War and years under Francisco Franco had depressed the economy in this corner of green Galicia. The distinct language of Gallego was banned and swapped for Castilian Spanish. Rural flight led to abandoned vineyards. The remaining farmers had largely replanted with productive but unremarkable varieties like Palomino, after another scourge, phylloxera, decimated vines at the turn of the century.