Wine: Quinta el Refugio

MOST of us think of red wines made from Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache) when we think of Spain, but this week I want to highlight one of my favourite white wines.

Rias Baixas is the main wine growing region in Galicia in north west Spain which is as green and rainy as Ireland (if a little warmer) and home to aromatic and lively Albariño grape which manages to be floral and fresh tasting.

Rias Baixas means lower estuary as it is around the lower estuaries that the grape growing is concentrated. The region’s DO (Denominacion de Origen) was created in 1988 and there are now 177 wineries sourcing grapes from 6,500 growers on 4,000 hectares of land. Many of the growers (and quite a few wine makers) are women and it surely cannot be a coincidence that the style of wine produced seems particularly appealing to those with two X chromosomes.