While not a household name on the level of sauvignon blanc, albariño has been gaining in popularity.
As people who sell wine for a living, enjoy it at home and travel in search of great wine experiences, we’re confident in saying albariño has reached a prime moment. Sommeliers love it and consumers are asking for it regularly.
The James Beard Award-winning restaurant Miller Union in Atlanta is pouring albariño by the glass, as is Chuck’s Fish, a chain seafood restaurant near the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Every Atlanta bottle shop we surveyed carries at least three distinct albariño wines.
The surge in the popularity of sauvignon blanc wines from France this century has opened the door for more mineral-forward, acidic whites such as albariño.
The grape hails from the coastal Rías Baixas region in northwest Spain, which is cooler and more verdant than most Spanish wine areas. The cooler temperatures preserve a bright acidity in the wines and the proximity to the Atlantic, combined with soils derived from medieval salt flats, imparts a delightful element of salinity to most wines from the area.
While albariño has been available in the U.S. for decades — mostly represented by a handful of larger producers — the access here in Georgia has grown significantly over the past several years. And a focus on sustainability, organic practices and regenerative farming seems to go hand in hand with our favorite producers of this grape.
The cool, Pacific-influenced vineyards of coastal California have started to embrace albariño, with wines from Amevie and La Marea worth trying. However, for now let’s stick to the grape’s home region for exploration:
Granbazán Etiqueta Verde 2024. Long considered one of the benchmark wineries of Rías Baixas, Granbazán was founded in 1981 by a local family that made its money in the tinned fish business. The winery was part of the quality revolution of Rías Baixas wines and still places great importance on sustainability. This is a classic Salnés Valley-style albariño — complex, with layers of citrus and an undeniable oceanfront terroir.
Forjas del Salnés Leirana 2023. We consider this the baby bear of Salnés albariño. It has the unmistakable minerality of its area, yet is approachable in its bright, peachy aromatics. It’s quite dry but very versatile.
Nanclares y Prieto Labrego da Viña 2023. Alberto Nanclares and Silvia Prieto are darlings of the natural-wine world, garnering universal respect for their expertise and precision in winemaking. These wines are not the easiest to find but are worth seeking out, as they age beautifully (if you can refrain from drinking them right away). The Labrego da Viña uses grapes from 10 different plots in the Salnés area, with vines ranging from 15 to 95 years in age. Medium-bodied, and with racy acidity, this is on the richer end of the albariño spectrum.
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