Offbeat Spain: Albariño & other north west whites

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See our Guide to Luis' tour of offbeat Spain.

Spain is predominantly a red wine country, at least in the minds of most. Albariño from Rías Baixas and Rueda are the two whites that Spaniards know of and drink with any frequency. Rueda is located in Castilla, very close to Ribera del Duero and is an isolated white wine producing appellation with its own grape, Verdejo, quite different from the Verdelhos of Portugal. Rías Baixas is in Galicia, in the northwest of the country, an Atlantic coastal region where the Albariño grape originates and thrives.

All north-western appellations –...