• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Vindulge

BBQ and Grilling Recipes with Wine Pairings

  • Home
  • About
    • About Mary
    • Portfolio
    • TV Appearances
    • Work With Me
  • Cookbook
  • Wine
    • Food and Wine Pairing
  • All Recipes
  • Travel
  • Resources
    • Fundamentals For Learning How to Grill
    • Guide to Pellet Grills – Common Q and A
    • Best Pellet Grill – MAK Two Star General – Versatile American Made Pellet Smoker
    • Blogger Resources
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop Wines
  • Cookbook
  • All Recipes
  • Travel
  • Wine Guides
  • Blogging Resources
  • Connect with us!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    You are here: Home » Food and Drink » Albariño Wine Guide

    Albariño Wine Guide

    October 15, 2014 By Mary 2 Comments

    Sharing is caring!

    2 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Albariño is a refreshing, dry, and aromatic white grape with northwest Spanish roots, that is great with a variety of foods and also on its own. Find out what makes this wine so great and why you should be drinking this white wine year-round. 

    Pouring a glass of Albarino wine

    One of my favorite white wines to drink with a variety of foods is Albariño. I’m constantly writing about it and hailing it as a versatile food wine, explaining to folks that it can pair with anything from salads, to seafood, chicken, pasta, and pizza. There’s a reason for this. But first, what is Albariño and where is it from?

    Jump to:
    • What is Albariño Wine
    • Albariño’s origins — Rías Baixas
    • Albariño outside of Spain 
    • What does Albariño taste like?
    • Food Pairing for Albariño
    • Recipes to Pair with Albariño
    • Albariños to Try

    What is Albariño Wine

    Albariño is a white grape variety with origins in the Rías Baixas region of northwest Spain (though you can find lots of examples outside of Spain as well. But we’ll get back to that in a minute). The grape produces wines that are light to medium-bodied, aromatic and with in acid with lots of stone fruit and citrus flavors.

    Albariño’s origins — Rías Baixas

     
    Rías Baixas Map

    original photo source

    Rías Baixas (pronounced “ree-ahs buy-shuss”) is a region in Galicia, located in northwest Spain. It is a lush, green, and fairly rainy region along the Atlantic seacoast, directly above Portugal. Rainfall here is high, getting anywhere from 45-70 inches of rain. And y’all thought Oregon was wet and green! Albariño not only can survive in this environment, but it thrives here due to its thick skin and resistance to mildew.

    For a wine to be labeled Rías Baixas, the grape composition must be at least 70% Albariño (with Treixadura, Caiño Blanco and Loureiro also permitted). Albariño, however, makes up 90% of the total plantings in the region and is pretty much synonymous with Rías Baixas.

    Albariño outside of Spain 

    Rίas Baixas may be the birthplace of Albariño, but it is also grown extensively in the Vinho Verde region of Portugal (where the grape is known as Alvarinho) and can also be found in other New World regions (Australia and Argentina), and also here in the United States in California’s Central Coast, Virginia, Texas, New York, and also right here in Oregon (where you’ll find one of my favorite local producers of Albariño – Abacela – and more and more producers experimenting with this awesome grape variety).

    What does Albariño taste like?

    Style: dry white wine, high in acid, light bodied, low in alcohol, highly aromatic.

    Flavors: peach, apricot, honeydew, pineapple and citrus fruit (lemon, lime, grapefruit).

    Additional Characteristics: salinity and minerality (from coastal regions).

    Overall you can find a mix of wines that are citrus driven, bright, and acidic, to a more lush juicy fruity style (with ripe peaches and apricot), which are more round in the mouth with a savory and briny side. All of these characteristics make for a great food wine.

    Food Pairing for Albariño

    This wine is often hailed as a great summer wine. Why not? It’s refreshing, bright, and can be a great appetizer or picnic wine. But I believe that it’s so much more than just refreshing wine reserved for hot months. It is one that can stand up to anything from appetizers, soups, seafood dishes (both light and heavy), pastas, pizzas, and even roasted chicken. Sommeliers love it for being the perfect wine for fresh seafood (especially mussels and halibut), but I also love it with grilled pork, salads of all kinds, and grilled pizza.

    Recipes to Pair with Albariño

    Grilled Mussels in a cast iron pan with broth and toasted bread.
    • Classic Ceviche
    • Grilled Mussels
    • Grilled Cod with Wine Garlic Butter Sauce
    • Grilled Fish Tacos
    • Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Lime Crema
    • Smoked Pork Tenderloin
    • Grilled Pizza with Pear and Prosciutto
    • More Albariño recipe pairings can be found in our cookbook, Fire + Wine

    Albariños to Try

    • Terras Gauda ‘Abadía de San Campio’ (Rías Baixas, Spain) — $20
    • Pazo de Senorans Albariño (Rías Baixas, Spain) — $25
    • ‘Albariño de Fefinanes’ (Rías Baixas, Spain) — $25
    • Terras Gauda O Rosal (Rías Baixas, Spain) — $24
    • Martín Códax Albariño (Rías Baixas, Spain) — $12
    • Burgans Albariño (Rías Baixas, Spain) — $14
    • Abacela Albariño (Umpqua Valley, Oregon) — $20

    « Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon Recap
    What is Champagne? »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kate @ Indulgent Wellness says

      October 16, 2014 at 3:10 pm

      These summery recommendations make me want to rewind the clock to August…not this dreary, rainy week we’ve been having in the midwest. UGH! So glad to have found your blog – your recommendations sound very approachable…not stuffy like some wine blogs! Looking forward to following along!

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 16, 2014 at 3:20 pm

        I hear ya! I put gloves on for the first time today. Brrrr!
        And I’m so glad you found my blog! Thanks so much for the comment 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Mary-Cressler-Sept-2015-smI'm Mary, a wine/food/travel writer, Certified Sommelier, mom of twins, former vegetarian turned BBQ fanatic, runner, and founder of Vindulge and author of Fire + Wine cookbook.  Thanks for stopping by!

    Learn More...

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

    Fire and Wine Cookbook Cover.

    Get Ready for Summer

    Smoked Brisket

    What’s on our Grill

    The Best Gluten Free Drop Biscuits – 5 Ingredients

    Smoked Hot Honey Ribs Recipe

    Vegetarian Chorizo Recipe with Cauliflower

    Hot Honey Pizza on a serving dish

    Hot Honey Pizza with Prosciutto and Ricotta

    More

    As Seen On

    Products we love

    taking the temperature of a porchetta roast on the grill
    We use Thermoworks Signals BBQ Alarm to monitor the internal temperature of the meat while it’s cooking, then double check with an instant read thermometer, like the Thermapen One.

    Vindulge Wine Club

    join the wine club side bar

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Portfolio
    • TV Appearances
    • Work with Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Vindulge

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
    viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    2 shares