EVENTS AND NEWS
Albariño Wines from Rías Baixas Make Historic Pilgrimage to New York City
April 30, 2007
The aromatic and elegant Albariño wines from Rías Baixas, Spain, ushered in spring last Tuesday, April 17th at a grand tasting in New York City’s Café St. Bart’s, adjacent to the famed Saint Bartholomew’s Church. Capturing the essence of the Camino de Santiago, an annual pilgrimage across Spain to the city of Santiago de Compostela in the region of Galicia (where R?as Baixas is located), a seminar and tasting offered press and industry guests the chance to discover the exceptional Albariño grape on its journey from the vineyard to the table. The event was part of the on-going campaign in the U.S. to promote Rías Baixas Albariño wines, and to demonstrate their versatility with a wide range of cuisines, beyond traditional seafood pairings.
The event began with a technical seminar led by wine writer and educator, Doug Frost, Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, who primed the guests on the region, its wines and their impressive penetration of the U.S. market over the past three years. Exports of Rías Baixas Albariño to the U.S. (its #1 export market) increased by 40% from 2004 to 2005, and showed a further 35% increase between 2005 and 2006, while the number of exporting wineries jumped from 32 to 55.
The seminar panel included three producers from the region: Ana Quintela from Pazo de Señoráns, Katia Álvarez from Martín Códax, and Juan Gil de Araujo from Palacio de Fefiñanes, who presented nine different Albariño wines illustrating the diversity of terroir and wine styles being produced today in the region. Guests were treated to a tasting of three older Albariños, wines with three, four and six years of age, dispelling the myth that Rías Baixas Albariño needs to be consumed within a year of release. The panel also included US industry experts, Joshua Wesson, CEO of Best Cellars, Inc., and Terry Coughlin, General Manager of New York City’s upscale Indian restaurant, Tabla.
Wesson commented on the recent consumer trend of drinking wines which are "naked—without any clothes or heavy-handed adornment of oak or residual sugar.” He said, “The glory of Albariño wines is that they fall in this category, being delightfully refreshing and a pure expression of the Albariño grape.” He also characterized the wines as somewhat chameleon-like, referring to the diversity of styles produced by Albariño, and as having a slight umami or savory, ‘yummy’ characteristic.
Coughlin shared a restaurateur’s point of view, “Albariño is an amazing grape to pair with Indian spices as well as spices of other ethnic cuisines. It’s ‘a no-brainer’ for sommeliers to recommend Albariño as the ideal companion with a wide range of dishes.” He added, “Albariño has a beautiful note of crispness [that] carries the natural flavors of the dishes. It makes a dish greater, elevating the palate to a higher ground to achieve purity of both the dish and the grape.”
Live bagpipe (or gaita) music, evoking the region’s Celtic origins, created a transporting experience, and led guests to the walk-around tasting, where nineteen producers showcased the newest vintage – 2006 – a top quality vintage, characterized by less rain than usual, resulting in superb ripeness and concentration of flavors. Throughout the afternoon guests explored the breadth of Rías Baixas Albariño wines on offer, with their luscious aromas of honeysuckle, citrus, peach, and pear. While fruity, they are completely dry with lively, refreshing acidity. Guests also tried their hands at matching the wines with an array of ethnic dishes, from Chinese dim sum to Indian lamb vindaloo, and the more classic Galician tapa of baked scallops with Serrano ham.
“It is exhilarating that the US market is finally realizing the potential of Albariño wines and has taken a special interest in pairing them with a variety of cuisines, beyond the traditional pairing of these wines with Spanish and seafood dishes,” stated Katrin Naelapaa, Director of Wines from Spain.
About the Rías Baixas Albariño US campaign Formed in 1988, the DO Rías Baixas is the most important Denomination of Origin in the Galician region of northwestern Spain. The DO was formally established in 1988 and owes much of its acclaim to the white Albariño grape, which has been elevated by many in Spain to cult status, a trend that is now spreading to US shores. For more details, visit www.riasbaixaswines.com.
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