Unusual Grape Varieties Used For Sparkling Wine: The Albariño

We all know the three varieties used to produce Champagne, that in the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and the Meunier. An adaption of the blend is made in several new world countries such as Australia or South-Africa. Further than that the Gleira grape gains popularity with the production of Prosecco and we find the blend of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-Lo to produce the Spanish sparkling wine of Cava.

But, set aside the French Crémant or Sekt, other wine regions of the world are slowly representing their proudest grape variety in a unique sparkling way!

A few years ago, I was visiting the area of Rias Baixas, which is a sub-region of Galicia, situated in the North-Western part of Spain. The typical grape variety is of course the Albariño grape with its touch of pickled lemon, overripe lime, refreshing minerality and its saltiness, due to the location close to the Atlantic coast. The subregion of the Rias Baixas enjoys a very mild Atlantic maritime climate, with summers hardly going above 30 degrees Celsius and almost no temperatures going below zero. This will allow the Albariño to retain its natural acidity and elegance, which makes this wine so popular.

However, in the latter years there has been an emerging of new styles and experiments with the grape that will lead to new dimensions in the tasting profile and food matching possibilities. Like the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, the Albariño does really well with the aging on the lees, creating a medium-bodied character and boosting the aging potential up a few years! Now you can find Albariño that has sometimes been aging on the leas for up than 5 years, leading to a highly complex, ripe and a more creamy mouthfeel. Some Albariño will even be aged on oak. It is remarkable that throughout these additions, the grape of Albariño will never be stripped of its identity as a crisp, fresh, salty wine.

Some winemakers even step up the innovation and create a sparkling Albariño! Using the Methode Traditionelle with a minimum aging on the lees after second fermentation for about 9 months. This will increase the creamy mouthfeel and add to structure with a touch of almonds and the well-known notes of toasted bread, leading to persistent bubble and lively acidity long in the aftertaste. Still even after this process of the second fermentation within the bottle, most winemakers will succeed in preserving the identity of the grape and display the beautiful aromas of white peach, cantaloupe melon, lemon and of course the touch of sea salt. This leads to beautiful potential food matches such Pulpo a la Gallega, percebes, oysters, cured salmon and razor shellfish!

When visiting the Rias Baixas, make sure to keep an eye out for this new movement of local sparkling wines!

Images belong to Anthony Mulders – De Beir. Glass of Bubbly was granted permission to use them.