Let’s travel virtually to ‘Green’ Spain this month (#WorldWineTravel)

2021 is the year of Spain for the World Wine Travel (#WorldWineTravel) group of virtual globe-hopping bloggers. Last month we visited the Castilian plains of north-central Spain where hot, dry summer heat bakes vines and winters can be brutally cold.

Grab your raincoat and galoshes and say adios to this climate. We’re headed to Galicia, otherwise known as “Green Spain,” this time around. Located on the moist Atlantic Ocean in northwest Spain, Galicia stays wet and cool much of the year. Lush-green rolling hills are more like Ireland than the rest of Spain.

Grapevines were originally planted here more than 2,000 years ago by the Romans and helped along by 12^th-century monks. Wines from this region are generally light, aromatic and acid-driven white varieties. Albariño is the most classic – and popular – example of this region’s wines.

As you might imagine, Galicia looks mostly toward the sea for its cuisine. Sounds perfect for pairing with high-acid whites, right? In Galicia, the old adage often rings true: “What grows together, goes together.”

Five major wine regions

• Rías Baixas – The name means “lower estuaries” and refers to the small rivers that cut through the landscape. This is the best-known part of Galicia and consists of five non-contiguous sub-regions: Val do Salnés, Ribeira do Ulla, Soutomaior, O Rosal, and Condado do Tea. Soils are fairly uniform throughout the sub-regions and dominated by granite. Styles differ, but generally Rías Baixas wines are crisp, minerally, and tends to consist entirely of Albariño. Over 90% of the region’s vineyards are planted to this grape. Typically, Albariño is made to drink young and fresh. But increasingly producers are experimenting with oak aging and malolactic fermentation.

• Ribeiro – Wine Enthusiast regards Ribeiro as the comeback kid. An hour inland from Rías Baixas, this region is slightly warmer than its neighbor and produces both red and white wines. Treixadura is a white grape used in Ribeiro to make a fuller-bodied wine than Albariño. Ribeiro also produces dessert wines (Viño Tostado) using the appassimento method of drying harvested grapes. Reds are typically made from Caiño and are high in acidity with strong tannins.

• Ribeiro Sacra – Northeast of Ribeiro, the landscape gets so steep that vineyards are planted on terraced slopes much like they are in the northern Rhône Valley of France. An elevator is needed to get grapes to the main road from these schist-based vineyards. Ribeiro Sacra is best known for Mencía, a red that it shares with the Bierzo region of Castilla y Léon.

• Valdeorras – Easternmost of the Galician regions, Valdeorras doesn’t see much maritime influence, but it does get plenty of rainfall. This slate-mining region has become well known for medium-bodied, minerally white wines from the Godello grape. Some producers barrel-ferment their wines. “When Godello is done like this,” Wine Enthusiast notes, “the wines smell and taste more like white Burgundies from Meursault or Chassagne-Montrachet than any other white wine made in Spain.”

• Monterrei – Considered an emerging wine region, southernmost Monterrei is named for the nearby, castle-topped “King’s Mountain.” With a warmer, more continental climate than the rest of Galicia, wines tend to be fuller-bodied. Whites are made from Godello and Treixadura and reds from Mencía and Bastardo (a.k.a. Trousseau).

VinePair covers Galicia extensively in its definitive guide. You’ll find more details about the five wine regions and the grapes grown there.

Want to join us in Galicia?

Simply follow the easy instructions below. (Please note: about a dozen bloggers are traveling to Rías Baixas virtually and receiving samples through our sponsor, Gregory + Vine. But you can open any bottle of wine from Galicia to participate in the #WorldWineTravel event.)

Blog post: Send your title, blog url and Twitter handle by Tuesday, April 20, to be included in the preview post. Email Linda at lbwhipple@gmail.com, or drop your title and info in the designated post thread via the Facebook event in the #WorldWineTravel Group. We’ll be posting updates to this event, including chat questions and links to other blogs.

Need to join the group? Everyone is welcome! Let me know you’re interested, and I’ll connect you with the site administrator.

We ask that blog posts for this event be published either on Friday, April 23, or Saturday, April 24, prior to the chat (see below). Please use the #WorldWineTravel tag in your title.

Twitter chat: Our live Twitter chat about Galicia is set for Saturday, April 24, at 8 am PT/11 am ET. No need to have published a post to join the conversation — just an interest in learning and sharing. Simply tune into the #WorldWineTravel hashtag during the hour we’re chatting. Hope to see you there!