June 16, 2023
Karin Rockstad, Spanish translator/English editor, WSET Educator, SWS, FWS, IWS, Albariño Ambassador, Certified Advanced Cava Educator
@garbanzo.grrl
Spanish and Portuguese wine importer Olé & Obrigado (@oleobrigado) celebrates Albariño/Alvarinho in June with a kind of "crawl" with the hashtag #elcaminodelalbarino . In the US, restaurants and retail wines shops in 20 states participate by raising funds for Wine on Wheels (@wineonwheelsnyc), which supports people with disabilities. Wine on Wheels was founded by sommelier Yannick Benjamin (@yannickbenjamin). Olé & Obrigado are donating 10% of Albariño profits in June to the organization.
If your state isn't included in the 20, don't worry! You can still help spread the word by drinking Albariño/Alvarinho. Share your food and wine pairings on social media using the above hashtag, and you never know, maybe next year all 50 states will be involved! Or, if you're traveling in June, hit up a restaurant that is participating!
Here's a quick reminder about some of the specifics of this great wine:
* It's called Albariño in Spanish and Alvarinho in Portuguese, but it's the same grape. It's native to the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula - growing there long before national borders were created.
* This is a dry, light-bodied, white wine with high acidity and flavors and aromas of citrus and stone fruit. It also has a saline, salty characteristic to it. It's grown on mostly granite soils and trained on parrals, or pergolas, so the grapes hang underneath the canopy. This is a wet and rainy area, so training this way helps to keep the grapes aerated.
* Pair this wine with fish, seafood, salads, shellfish, and ceviche. But don't stop there! How about fried chicken, pork belly, or buttered potatoes?! The lovely acid will cut through anything fatty and the salinity will complement anything coming out of the ocean.
And here are a few producers/bottles to check out:
So, I'll watch for you on social media and see what kind of Albariño/Alvarinho crawl you're on this month! It's great way to ring in summer in the northern hemisphere and help out Wine on Wheels too!
¡Salud! Saúde!
