![]() Is it a real winery? Is it a fake wine? It would not be the first time I’ve found a dubious-and-probably-fake “imported” wine here in Turkey. And I cannot find any information at all about this winery. However, winemakers experiment more and more with lees and/or oak ageing, spontaneous fermentation, and malolactic fermentation/conversion.Īlbariño generally results in wines with high acidity and a streak of “minerality.” An aromatic grape, wines offer up aromas of stone and tropical fruits, citrus, and flowers. The classic style of Albariño remains stainless steel fermented and aged. This necessitates workers to stand on grape bins to reach the bunches during harvest. Not just any pergola! Called “ parra” in Spanish, these are supported by granite posts and built up to seven feet high. While use of the more common double cordon is on the rise, the traditional training for Albariño is a pergola. With all that damp to keep the region green, vines have to be carefully cultivated to prevent rot and mildew. The DO’s soils, dominated by highly mineral granite and schist, also add the wine’s character contributing that mineral-salinity note we know and love. Mists and fogs from the ocean keep the area cool which helps Albariño retain crisp and racy acidity. Proximity to the Atlantic Ocean heavily influences “Green Spain.” Rainfall is high, temperatures moderate, and the region gets lots and lots of sunshine. Val do Salnés (the birthplace of Albariño).But Albariño, clocking in at something like 90% of the production, still reigns supreme here. However, EU law does not recognize denominations for specific grapes only so when Spain joined the EU in 1988, the name was changed to Denominación de Origen Rías Baixas. The first denomination for the region came in 1980 with a denomination not for the region…but for the grape itself! La Denominación Específica Albariño. I say ‘history’ but it all happened pretty recently. Rías Baixas is a DO ( Denominación de Origen) in Galicia, an autonomous province in northwest Spain, with a pretty interesting history. Luckily, a native Spain-Spanish-speaking friend clued me in on how to say it: “ ree-yas bye-shas.” So that ‘x’ in Galician and in Castilian Spanish totally throws me for a loop. I learned Mexican Spanish which, over the years, has been flavored with El Salvadoran, Colombian, and Peruvian. If you’re like me and you learned Spanish in the US, likely you learned North or Central American Spanish.
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