Rías Baixas DO; Rías Bajas DO [REE-ahs bi-SHAHS (BAHhahs)]

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Rías Baixas DO; Rías Bajas DO
[REE-ahs bi-SHAHS (BAHhahs)]

A DO area in northwestern Spain’s Galicia region, adjacent to Portugal’s northern border. The word Rías refers to this region’s numerous estuaries, similiar to fjords, that reach inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Rías Baixas (also called Rías Bajas) refers to the lower or southern part of the region. This area consists of five distinct districts: the Condado de Tea, O Rosal, Ribeira del Ulla, Soutomaior, and Val do Salnés. The best-known white wines are made from Albariño (ALVARINHO), although other white varieties grown include Caiño Blanco, LOUREIRA, Torrontés, and Treixadura. The Albariño vines are low yielding; the grapes are thick-skinned and don’t produce a lot of juice. This combination produces somewhat expensive wines that not only are highly prized by Spaniards but have gained considerable international recognition as well. Wines labeled “Albariño” must contain 100 percent of this variety. Wines labeled with one of the district names but not the variety name must contain some Albariño (in most cases 70 percent), which can be blended with one of the other white grapes. The area’s red wines are made from a variety of local grapes and are not at all highly regarded.