Rias Baixas
Rias Baixas is one of the coolest and wettest wine regions in Europe.
Striking that it is a wine region in the South, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Spain. In Galicia, where a Celtic population originally lives, a Celtic language is spoken and the bagpipe is one of the traditional instruments, it is mostly green and humid, thanks to the 900-1500 mm of rain that falls annually. Fortunately, that rain is compensated by more than 2,200 hours of sunshine during the growing season! The vineyards of the DO Rías Baixas, where the Albariño plays the leading role, lie on the slopes along the rivers that flow here to the sea, creating deep inlets. In addition, there is a small share of other grapes: Treixadura, Caiño Blanco and Loureiro.
Wine, fish and shellfish
Probably needless to say that fish and seafood play an important role in the kitchen here. Add to that the white wines that have great terroir on the poor but very mineral-rich soils and the temperate climate, and you understand that it is no punishment to stay in Rías Baixas, despite the rain. The cooling ocean, the rain, the sun hours, the mineral soils, supplemented by the characteristics of the grape variety and the sometimes-traditional way of guiding and pruning the sticks – on pergolas, to give the wind as much chance as possible of the grapes. drying – all this produces extremely interesting and fresh wines, with a beautiful acid structure and minerality. The DO Rías Baixas covers just 8,650 hectares, and more than 6,500 farmers grow grapes there. The plots are extremely small, and the number of wineries is around 200. Only 30 of them produce more than 100,000 bottles per year.