The Martinez family has owned a bar in Rías Baixas since 1987, which keeps the family connected to the end consumer and their changing tastes in wine. Prior to opening the winery, the Martinez family would make the wine sold at their bar in Pablo’s grandparents’ house from grapes grown in their backyard. In their home winery, the family would make about 20,000 litres of their ‘Barrantes’ red wine and about 2,000-3,000 litres of Catalan white blend, and only about 800 – 1,000 litres of Alberino.

In 1994, Pablo Martinez began his winery in the plot behind his family’s bar. The plot was previously full of corn and meadows, with a small amount of grapes that varied with Albariño, Caino, Espadeiro, and hybrid vines. What vineyards the family had at the time were small plots spread throughout the area, but the best plots on the property was used for grazing cows. When Pablo began his winery, he replanted the property with vines in a way that used the best plots strategically, focusing heavily on the Albariño grapes. He used the same vines that had always been there while taking cuttings from these vines and planting to expand the vineyard.

Pablo works to make wines of high quality and strong personality, while respecting the characteristics of the Albariño variety and the tradition of the Rías Baixas area. Pablo only produces about 40,000 litres of wine per year, with the main focus of producing wine for his bar and using what’s left over to sell to the national and international markets.

The winery is a family operated business, with everyone in the family contributes to the process from picking the grapes to making the wine. The Franxamar Atlantic White, which is the wineries most popular wine, is named after Pablo’s late father, Francisco Xavier Martinez, and his memory lives on within the winery.

The Wine

2021 Franxamar Atlantic White

Colour: Bright and light golden in colour.

Nose: Medium intensity, with varietal aromas of apricot, pear and apples with a background of hay and fennel.

Palate: The mouth is full and intense, with a greater weight and fullness than a typical wine from this region and a slightly lower acidity, making for a very friendly, easy-drinking but typical Albariño.

Pairings: The perfect wine for a warm, summer’s day. Pair it with seafood– squid, fish, and shellfish, chicken, or a salad.