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 tasting Corner
Lately, despite all the talk about redwines rom Priorat and other emerging re-gions, the astest growing Spanish wines inthe U.S are Albariños. “Our statistics orwine or the Albariños rom Rias Baixashave been quite spectacular over the lastew years,” says Katrin Naelappa, directoro Wines rom Spain, which represents thewines in the U.S.While 2008 gures are not yet avail-able, all anecdotal reports rom Spain indi-cate another record will be reached whenexports are totaled. Signicantly, the onlyproblem producers currently seem to ace isthat, even with expansion, no one is able tosatisy the demands o American importers.How big is the Albariño boom? In 2007,exports to the U.S. alone hit 1.75 millionliters, up almost a million liters since 2005,and altogether accounting or more than hal o the world’s consumption. In the last 10years, the region has consistently increasedits acreage under grapes and increased itstotal number o wineries rom 132 to 194.From a lean 2007 harvest, about 127 millionliters, the U.S. accounted or about a quartero the world’s consumption and more thanhal o total exports.
Popularity Contest
Driving the trend is the average winedrinker’s choice o Albariño as a new alter-native to Chardonnay, says Doug Frost, au-thor most recently o the
2008 Wines fromSpain: Far from Ordinary Wine Guide
, whobelieves the sudden popularity is helpinggrab attention.“Part o its allure is this newness, likePinot Grigio was a scant ew years ago,”he says.According to Wilred Wong, cellar mas-ter or the 100-unit Caliornia-based Bever-ages and More!, Albariño is well placed tocontinue its meteoric rise in popularity.“It’s a star. It’s a antastic wine and itseems to be reaching more and more o ourconsumer base and tickling their ancy. Ithas the aromatics that you don’t always ndin Chardonnay or even Sauvignon Blanc;that white fower and ruit character, butmore body and weight,” says Wong.Like Riesling, adds Frost, Albariñowines can be very
terroir
-led, with theadaptability to maniest a sense o placein its aromas and favors, revealing minutedierences throughout the sub-zones (seesidebar). But as ruit-laden and aromatic asAlbariño can be, unlike Riesling, it’s nearlyalways dry. “So there you have it: a new and
SingularSensation
Albariños from “Green” Spain’s RiasBaixas are taking the white wineworld by storm
Photos and Text ByJack Robertiello
T
he signs of vinous prosperity are everywherein northwest Spain. In the lush, coastal wineregion of Galicia called Rias Baixas, theepicenter of the international Albariño grape varietalboom, wineries are sprouting like morel mushroomsafter a spring rain – and their wares are just ascherished. Established vintners have been expandingtheir facilities at a dizzying pace, with workersnoisily hustling to erect new fermenting tanks andbottling lines even as green, grape-laden trucksrumbled up to their doors last fall.
Don Olegario Abariño grapes.
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