Albariño or Alvarinho (aɫvaˈɾiɲu) is a variety of white wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

 grown in Galicia (northwest Spain), Monção

Monção

Monção is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 211.3 km² and a total population of 19,738 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 33 freguesias , and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo....

 and Melgaço

Melgaço

Melgaço is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 238.1 km² and a total population of 9,579 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 18 parishes, and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo...

 (northwest Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

), where it is used to make varietal

Varietal

"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

 white wines.

Albariño is actually the Galician

Galician language

Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...

 name for the grape. In Portugal it is known as Alvarinho, and sometimes as Cainho Branco.

It was presumably brought to Iberia

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

 by Cluny

Cluny

Cluny or Clungy is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France. It is 20 km northwest of Mâcon.The town grew up around the Benedictine Cluny Abbey, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 910...

 monks in the twelfth century. Its name "Alba-Riño" means "the white [wine] from the Rhine" and it has locally been thought to be a Riesling

Riesling

Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

 clone originating from the Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

 region of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, although earliest known records of Riesling as a grape variety date from the 15th, rather than the 12th, century. It is also theorized that the grape is a close relative of the French grape Petit Manseng

Petit Manseng

Petit Manseng is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France. It produces the highest quality wine of any grape in the Manseng family. The name is derived from its small, thick skin berries. Coupled with the small yields of the grapevine, most Petit Manseng farmers...

.

It should not be confused with the Alvarinho Liláz grape of Madeira.

Major regions

Spain produces Albariño to a significant degree in the Rías Baixas

Rías Baixas (DO)

Rías Baixas is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the province of Pontevedra and the south of the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain...

 DO

Denominación de Origen

Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...

, especially in the town of Cambados

Cambados

Cambados is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. It is known for its famous white wine, Albariño.- Culture :Fishing is a major industry in this coastal area of Galicia...

. It is also common in the Vinho Verde

Vinho Verde

Vinho Verde is a Portuguese wine from the Minho region in the far north of the country. The name literally means "Green Wine" , referring to its youthful freshness that leads to a very slight green color on the edges of the wine. The region is characterized by its many small growers, which...

 region of Portugal, but it is only authorized to be grown in Monção and Melgaço. In other locations such as Ribeiro

Ribeiro

Ribeiro is a surname common in Galicia, Portugal and Brazil. It is also a wine-making region of Southeast central Galicia.* Jose F Ribeiro Providence RI*Adriano Leite Ribeiro, Brazilian football striker born 1982*Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor...

, Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

, Braga

Braga

Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...

 or Valdeorras

Valdeorras

Valdeorras is a comarca in the Galician Province of Ourense. The overall population of this local region is 28,984 .-Municipalities:*O Barco de Valdeorras, capital of the comarca*O Bolo*Carballeda de Valdeorras*Larouco* Petín* A Rúa* Rubiá...

 it is often mixed with other grapes such as Loureiro

Loureiro

-Places:* Loureiro , a civil parish in the municipality of Oliveira de Azeméis* Loureiro , a civil parish in the municipality of Peso da Régua...

, Godello

Godello

Godello is a white variety of wine grape grown in northwestern Spain, in particular in Galicia. The Gouveio found in northern Portugal is thought to be the same grape variety....

, Caiño

Caino

Caino is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy located near Valle del Garza. It is bounded by other communes of Nave and Lumezzane....

, Arinto

Arinto

Arinto or Arinto de Bucelas is a white Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Bucelas, Tejo and Vinho Verde regions. It can produce high acid wines with lemon notes.-Synonyms:...

 or Treixadura to produce blended wines. Such blends were common throughout Galicia too until about 1985; when the Rías Baixas DO was established on an experimental basis in 1986, Albariño began to emerge as a varietal, both locally and internationally. Its recent emergence as a varietal led the wines to be "crafted for the palates of Europe, America and beyond and for wine drinkers who wanted clean flavors and rich, ripe fruit" and led to wines completely different from those produced across the river in Portugal.

Albariño is now produced in several California regions including the Santa Ynez Valley, Clarksburg, and Los Carneros AVAs.

In recent years Albariño attracted the attention of Australian winemakers, several of whom are now producing varietal wines. However, it has recently been discovered that grape growers and wine makers in Australia have been supplying and selling wrongly labelled Albarino for over a decade. They thought they were pouring money into the market for the Spanish grape, only to discover they were incorrectly sold cuttings of the French Savagnin

Savagnin

Savagnin or Savagnin Blanc is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into the famous vin jaune and vin de paille.-History:...

 grape instead.

A French expert visiting Australia raised questions in 2008, and DNA testing confirmed that the grapes are in fact French Savagnin. Almost all wine in Australia labelled as Albarino is Savagnin.

Wine characteristics

The grape is noted for its distinctive aroma, very similar to that of Viognier

Viognier

Viognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...

, Gewurztraminer

Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...

, and Petit Manseng, suggesting apricot

Apricot

The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...

 and peach

Peach

The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...

. The wine produced is unusually light, and generally high in acidity with alcohol levels of 11.5–12.5%. Its thick skins and large number of pips can cause residual bitterness.

Viticulture

In the beginning of the 20th century, Albariño vines could be found growing around the trunks of poplar trees and in bushes along the outside margins of a field. However, in the middle of the century, the growers made big investments and became professional grape growers. When grown in a vineyard, the vines need to be wire trained with large canopies to accommodate the 30 to 40 buds per vine that is typical. The grape responds well to the heat and humidity though the high yields and bunching of clusters usually keeps the grapes within the margins of ripeness.

Synonyms

Albariño is also known under the synonyms Albarina, Alvarin Blanco, Alvarinha, Alvarinho, Azal Blanco, Galego and Galeguinho.