Varietal Character
Albarino
Albarino…you’re a clever fellow who’s managed to stay hidden from the public eye for far too long. Your low key attitude and green attire has allowed you to discretely blend in with the lush surroundings of your coastal Iberian home. Alas you were finally spotted, perched high on a pergola above rows of crops on the family farm. Your recent arrival in North America has done little to sway your disposition. You remain the unassuming farmer -- a perfect match for Oregon and California. For the most part, but changing, the American public remains unaware of your presence as you do your thing well camouflaged amidst the Pacific mist.
Appellations Growing Albarino Grapes
Appellations producing the most Albarino wines:
Albarino Grape Details
The name Albarino may not register with many wine enthusiasts in North America, but in its native Spain this vine is recognized as perhaps that countries best white grape varietal. In Spain, Albarino is grown almost exclusively in the cool environs of Galicia. Where its best expression comes in the form of the wines of the Rias Baixas D.O. Here Albarino is planted in granite and chalk soils in vineyards only a stones throw away from the Atlantic Ocean. The climate here is cool and wet. To minimize the risk of rot, vines were traditionally trained on pergolas to ensure good air circulation. When the grape has been properly nurtured, the resulting wines are powerfully aromatic, with strong mineral like character and bracing acidity. Not surprisingly, given these attributes, many pundits have proposed a genetic relationship between Albarino and Riesling. The grape is also widely grown in northern Portugal’s Minhos region where it is known as Alvarinho. In Minhos, Alvarinho is blended with a number of other indigenous varietals to produce that region’s heavily exported wine known as Vinho Verde. The varietal has only recently been planted in North America, but is rapidly gaining acreage in such far flung corners as Southern Oregon, Virginia, California’s Lodi AVA,Suisun Valley AVA,Santa Barbara County and the Los Carneros AVA. Given North American wine consumers are becoming more willing to experiment with new grape varietals one should expect acreage of Albarino to continue to increase rapidly in the years to come.
