Albarino

Albarino is a grape that is growing very well in Maryland and Virginia and a lot of local wineries are capitalizing on it. A few of the wineries making excellent albarinos are Boordy Vineyards, 61 Vineyards and The Winery at La Grange. Originally a Spanish grape,  it is a high acid, light bodied white wine. You wil get aromas of melon and grapefruit, along with white flowers like lilies. In cooler climates, lemon and grapefruit will be on  the palate and in warmer climates, melon and peach. It grows really well in Spain, with 90% of the vineyards dedicated to the grape, especially along the coast in the famous Rias Baixas region. It is also one of the grapes in the popular vinho verde of Portugal. It is known to pair really well with any and all seafood, along with Thai, Indian and Moroccan foods due to its high acidity. All of this information had an influence on our August 2023 food and wine pairing tasting. Since we were also in Ocean City, Maryland, we went very heavy on seafood for this pairing. Wines on the list were 61 Vineyard's albarino, La Grange's, & Boordy's albarino reserve. Two albarinos from the  Rias Baixas region were also on the tasting for comparison, Pazo de Bruxas and Vaxas.  Food on the menu was salmon burger sliders, cole slaw, spinach and artichoke phyllo cups, mango and apple salsa, crab cake bites, breaded jumbo shrimp, fried artichokes, smoked oysters, pesto burrata and anchovies. There was also sauces and dips of guac, hummus, minty yogurt, honey mustard and sriracha mayo. The first wine we tried was the one from 61 Vineyard. This a a newer vineyard in Demascus, Maryland that planted its first grapes in 2019. It is already winning awards for its wines, getting silver for this albarino at the Maryland Governor's Cup in 2022. On the nose, we got notes of green fruit, honey, & citrus with a  slight floral aroma. We tasted apple and melon but mostly honey. It paired the best with the minty yogurt, mango salsa, anchovy and artichokes. The Winery at La Grange is in Haymarket, Virginia. Their albarino was much less floral on the nose but gave us more green apple. On the palate, we got apple and melon. Based on color and taste, we thought it may have even seen a little oak but the notes say it was only aged in stainless steel so maybe that was more honey or toasted nuts. It paired best with the crab cake and shrimp. Boordy's was aged six months in hungarian oak. On the nose we smelled orange peel and cucumber. The oak gave it a nice wet stone, minerality flavor while also still bringing through citrus flavors of tangerine and mango. This wine has won numerous awards, including in San Francisco and Finger Lakes competitions. It paired best with the salmon burgers and the burrata. Then we moved on to the  Spanish albarinos. Paxo de Bruzas was probably our least favorite but still had very interesting aromas of apple and melon but also earthy, grassy notes. On the palate, it almost had an effervescence feel to it which may have just been a higher acid content.   Then the finish was a little creamy which may indicate it saw a little bit of oak. It paired  best with the burrata and anchovy. We enjoyed the Vaxas much more. It had floral,  earthy, and orange zest aromas. It was very balanced and also a little creamy so maybe it too saw some oak. It did have the darker color, as well. It paired best with the salmon burger and spinach and artichoke phyllo cups. All in all this was a very enjoyable tasting that highlighted great albarinos growing well not just in Spain, but also right here in  Maryland and Virginia.