Wine region
Rías Baixas
Rías Baixas in Galicia: Atlantic Albariño, grown on granite and under pergolas, gives fresh, aromatic white wines with plenty of acidity.
- Vineyard area
- just over 4,000 hectares in more than 22,000 plots, about 5,000 growers
- Main grape
- Albariño, more than 95 per cent of the grapes; with Loureiro, Treixadura, Godello
- Soil and climate
- almost entirely granite; Atlantic, about 1,500 mm of rain a year
- Subzones
- Val do Salnés, O Rosal, Condado do Tea, Ribeira do Ulla, Soutomaior
- Status
- Denominación de Origen since 1988
- Training
- traditionally on pergolas
The Rías Baixas lie in the south-west of Galicia, in north-western Spain, and take their name from the sea inlets that reach deep inland, the rías. Almost all the vines are in the province of Pontevedra, a small part in A Coruña. Five subzones make up the appellation: Val do Salnés on the coast, the centre of the Albariño tradition, O Rosal and Condado do Tea in the valley of the Miño, the river on the border with Portugal, then Ribeira do Ulla and little Soutomaior further north.
The climate is Atlantic: mild, very wet winters, with on average about 1,500 millimetres of rain a year, and moderately warm summers. The soil is almost entirely granite. Summers are dry, and the fast-draining sandy soils can bring drought stress. Vines are traditionally trained on pergolas, high above the ground, which keeps the grapes away from the damp earth; vegetables and other crops for the family table often grow beneath the canopy. The plots are tiny: over 22,000 plots on just over 4,000 hectares, farmed by about 5,000 growers who do much of the work by hand.
The leading grape is Albariño, with more than 95 per cent of grape production. It brings plenty of acidity and a pronounced aroma: citrus, stone fruit, white blossom and a faintly saline freshness. Loureiro, Treixadura and Godello are used mainly in blends. Loureiro, which recalls bay laurel, marks above all the blends of O Rosal; Treixadura has its natural home in Condado do Tea. Red grapes such as Caíño Tinto and Espadeiro play a small but growing part. In northern Portugal, on the far bank of the Miño, the grape is called Alvarinho.
Wine has been made here for about 1,000 years; Cistercian monks, so tradition has it, advanced wine-growing from the 12th century, for example at the monastery of Armenteira. After the expropriation of the monasteries in the 19th century, wine-growing passed largely to the estates of the nobility, the pazos. The appellation dates from 1988, with a forerunner for Albariño from 1980. Galicia’s oldest gastronomic festival, the Fiesta del Vino Albariño in Cambados, has been held every year since 1953.
The wine is pale, dry and lively, with plenty of acidity. Thanks to that acidity and freshness it goes with seafood, oysters, octopus and grilled fish, but also with fillets of perch or whitefish from a Swiss lake.