Rías Baixas DO
Galicia's cool, Atlantic-influenced white-wine region, the benchmark home of crisp, aromatic Albariño.
About Rías Baixas
Rías Baixas, strung along the Atlantic estuaries of southwestern Galicia, is Spain's foremost source of distinctive white wine and the spiritual home of the Albariño grape. Granted Denominación de Origen status in 1988, the region's cool, wet maritime climate, granitic soils and ocean breezes yield wines of bright acidity, saline minerality and aromatic stone-fruit and citrus character. Albariño accounts for over ninety percent of plantings and must make up one hundred percent of any single-varietal bottling. Traditionally trained on high pergolas (parras) to promote air circulation in the humid climate, the vines produce wines that pair naturally with the region's seafood. Organised into subzones including Val do Salnés, Condado do Tea and O Rosal, Rías Baixas has grown from a patchwork of local cooperatives into Spain's most successful white-wine export story since gaining DO status.
Terroir & regulation
Principal producers
- Pazo de Señoráns
- Bodegas del Palacio de Fefiñanes
- Martín Códax
- Bodegas Terras Gauda
Editorial notes
Albariño is mandatory at 100 percent for single-varietal labels and makes up the overwhelming majority of plantings; the region is defined by its cool Atlantic climate.