GREEN SPAIN

Territory

This region is distinguished by a cool and misty climate. For this reason, a focus on earlier-ripening grapes, especially white varieties, is necessary. At the moment, the aromatic variety Albariño has become the most successful on international markets. This dominant grape is grown along the coast, or along the rivers that give Rias Baixas (“lower fjords”) its name. It can vary from crisp and tangy to round and peachy. However, Albariño is not the only grape growing there, Treixadura and Loureiro shouldn’t be forgotten, as well as the many other white grapes that fill the vineyards moving inland: the rich and even complex Godello grape in Valdeorras (around 2000 years ago, Rome was also interested in the place – which is also known as “valley of gold”). Godello and Treixadura (and others) serve the regions of Monterrei and the picturesque DOs of Ribeiro and Ribeira Sacra. The inland region is different from the coastal climate, the temperature rises, allowing for the sucessful development of red grapes. To remain on this topic, the Mencia is considered northwestern Spain’s best red grape. Its lip-smacking raspberry tones and floral aromas are unmistakable, often considered Spain’s answer to Pinot Noir.

Wines

Do you know where you can find the top expressions? On the precipitous mountainside, above the town of Bierzo and the steep banks along the Sil River, in the area of Ribeira Sacra, where the vineyards plummet downward. There, the wine is produced from old vines and the results are as dramatic as the view! Spain’s regions include a great number of incredible wine, but the most famous wine region, Rioja, extends its vineyards in this territory, all the way up, taking up all the space going through the Basque Country, into the Pyrenees or the Sierra Cantàbrica. Climatic challenges are a consistent theme, as is the reliance upon tangy, tart wines ideal with the shellfish and seafood from the well-stocked Atlantic Ocean. But Txakoli (a white wine from the Basque Country, usually light in body and alcoholic) is shockingly tart, lemony, and even spritzy. For this reason the waiters are accustomed to pouring this wine at a great distance above the glass to emphasize the fizz.