Albarino

Albarino is a light-bodied and high quality white wine grown mostly in Spain and Portugal. It’s loved by wine enthusiasts across the globe for its dry taste, high acidity, subtle saltiness and refreshing citrus flavours. If you are a seafood lover, you are in luck, Albarino tastes the best when paired with shrimp, seafood pasta and ceviche.

Albarino Tasting Notes

The white wine is known for its dramatic aromatic intensity, mostly due to the high levels of aromatic compound groups terpenes and thiols. Therefore, it deserves extended sniffing in your wine glass.

When drinking Albarino, expect aromas of lemons, pears, honeysuckle, nectarine and grapefruit. Occasionally, one may also sense slight notes of orange zest and beeswax, with subtle hints of basil and freshly wetted granite. Upon tasting, you’ll instantly notice how delightfully acidic the wine is, along with its saltiness and the tingly finish with a bitter note.

How To Serve Albarino Wines

Albarino pairs incredibly well with light intensity food. Alternatively, the wine can be an excellent aperitif and cocktail. While generally served cold, Albarino changes its flavours from minerally and citrus to richer apricot, apple and pear notes as the wine warms.

Food Pairing with Albarino

Albarino goes well with a variety of different foods of light to middle intensity, thanks to its slight bitterness and high acidity. Albarino can help you explore Vietnamese, Thai and Carribean seafood cuisines.

Where Albarino Grows

Albarino is indigenous to Galicia, Spain, where vineyards get the cooling breezes from the ocean. The grape has many sub-varieties and isn’t always labeled as “Albarino.” For instance, in Spain, most Albarino wines are labeled “Rias Baixas” instead, while Portugal winemakers mostly blend the grape with other white grape varieties to create the famous Vinho Verde.

Lately, it’s been spreading internationally due to the grape being similar in taste to world famous wines like Pinot Gris, dry Riesling and Chenin Blanc. Now it’s not only grown in Spain and Portugal but also in Argentina, New Zealand, Brazil, Uruguay, California.

If you’d like to try a bottle of this incredibly white wine, buy Albarino at the ZYN liquor store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, or online for all your wine, beer and spirits at ZYN.ca!