Albariño is the primary grape used to make dry white wine in the Rias Baixes (Lower Inlets) section of the Galicia region of Northwestern Spain. Considered by many to be Spain's premier quality white wine, Albariño is also known in Portugal as Alvarinho and often used as a component of Vinho Verde. History suggests that Burgundian monks from the Abbey of Cluny who came to Galicia at the invitation of Alfonso VII of Asturias in the 12th and 13th centuries brought the Albariño grape to Spain from France. Albariño yields a wine with a seductive perfume of citrus, grapefruit, lemon peel and white peach, with pronounced floral and almond notes. The grape’s high extract carries these impressions onto a vivid palate which remains light, elegant and fresh due to the wine’s elevated acidity. Albariño is very rarely given oak contact, but full malolactic fermenation is typically practiced. This grape's inherent tartness should be embraced in youth, for wines made from albariño do not age well, and the vibrant aromas begin to noticeably fade within months of bottling.
Until very recently, relatively little Albariño wine was produced, and it is only within the last decade or so that this wine has become available to any significant extent outside Galicia. Very few acres are planted in California, and interest in growing and producing Albariño in our area began only in the mid-1990s. Bob Lindquist, of Qupé, had about 150 acres planted in the Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Los Olivos and has released some under the "Verdad" label. Bryan Babcock has also experimented with making Albariño from the Santa Ynez area. Michael Havens planted three acres in Carneros in 1996. He felt there was some ecological parallel in the region's cool and windy conditions that also exist in Galicia, Spain. Under the Havens label, he produced about 400 cases from the 2001 vintage.

With summer upon us I am on a quest to expand my palette in white wines as I tend to always reach for the reds....