Alvarinhos e albariños pelo mundo (em atualização)

EUA 

[In Pennsylvania, Stony Run Winery out of the Lehigh Valley won best white wine in the recent 2020 Sommelier Judgement with its 2018 Albariño, one year after Berk County’s Maple Springs Vineyard placed its Albarino from the same vintage among that competition’s top 11 finishers LINK]:

Estado da Pensilvania: "Galer Estate’s winning 2018 Albariño wine was 100% grown at its Home Vineyard in Pocopson Township and produced in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks at Galer Estate’s winery in Kennett Square" (LINK) Some of the best Spanish-inspired wines on the American west coast come from southern Oregon’s Abacela Winery. This wine is great, with Granny Smith apple and lime notes and cutting acidity. (It’s a go-to white anytime I’m cooking and confused about what might pair well with a lighter dish.) https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/what-is-albarino-white-wine/

Alvarinho/albariño. Texas’s sauvignon blanc. Major grape in northwest Spain and northern Portugal, it produces crisp, high-acidic wines in warm climates — a neat trick, since acidity usually mean cool climate. The grape now is permitted in Bordeaux wines as France adapts to warming vineyards (LINK)

"Albariño Is Leading a White Wine Revolution on California’s Central Coast" (LINK)
"The SLO Coast has approximately 20 percent of California’s total Albariño acreage. More than 25 brands from this region and others will be available as the 2018 vintage is released. Leading the way is Tangent Winery, owned by the Niven family. Their Tangent Albariño earned one of only three gold medals awarded at the 2016 Bacchus International Wine Competition in Madrid, Spain. It was the only wine produced outside of the Rias-Baixas region to win this prestigious award." (LINK)

Cave Dog Albariño, Napa Valley 2019 ($35) drinks like a brisk walk along the Pacific coast. Of Spanish origin, the albariño grape has planted its flag on the California wine scene with around 300 acres planted LINK

• Susie Long | Wine Director, Petit & Keet/Cypress Social, Little Rock
• Cadre "Sea Queen" Albarino ($24)
• Coastal environments are key to making the most of Albarino. While typically produced on the Iberian Peninsula, the grape has become trendy for experimental wineries of California's Central Coast AVA. The two regions are similarly influenced by the sea; ocean fog cools and preserves the grape's signature fresh acidity while adding a hint of salinity. Citrus and tropical fruit with strong minerality can be expected from this varietal, truly the queen of the sea. LINK

Estado de Nova Iorque: "Miguel Martin, who grew up in Spain and has experience in Australia and California, too, planted an acre of albariño at Palmer Vineyards in Aquebogue in 2007, reasoning, “We share so many similarities to Galicia and it’s normal that this grape does well in our region.” (:::) Richard Olsen-Harbich, winemaker at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue, planted an acre of albariño in 2011 and finds many aromatic similarities between riesling and albariño, such as “apricots, peaches and other TDN-derived mono terpenes” (a quality often described as ‘petrol’). (LINK)

Long Island :

“I planted the first albariño in 2007 as an alternative to chardonnay, the most popular white grape planted in Long Island,” says Spanish-born general manager of McCall Wines, Miguel Martin. “I believe Long Island may be blessed with similar weather conditions to Galicia. Albariño can handle the humidity very well and our sandy soils are perfect. We don’t share the same topography as Galicia but our climate is very similar.”

Best known in Martin’s native Spain and also Portugal, where it’s goes by alvarinho, albariño makes fresh, fruity-floral white wines that often have a distinct salinity. According to growers on the North Fork, it’s happy here too, though the wines are a bit different, as you’d expect. Martin notes that local renditions have “more ripe peach and tropical citrus than most of the styles I have tried from Vinho Verde, which have a racing acidity and very lean fruit.”

“What is going to make this a staple variety in this region is how well it complements our local cuisine,” he says. “One consistent characteristic that albariño has globally is that delicious saline quality that just screams to be paired with seafood. Give me a bottle of ice cold North Fork albariño on a hot summer day, a bag of deep water oysters, a perfectly ripe lemon and I would be a very happy oenophile.”

A handful of wineries already work with albariño with more going in the ground seemingly every spring. It’s going to become an ever more important grape here.

Local albariño to try: Bedell Cellars, Jamesport Vineyards, and Palmer Vineyards (ABR24)

(Oregon) "Earl Jones of Abacela in Roseburg, Oregon, has been the driving force on the West Coast for albarino. From the start, the albarino he’s produced from his Fault Line Vineyards in the Umpqua Valley is imbued with pinpoint flavors of bright orchard and tropical fruit backed by a refreshing burst of lime"

Albariño grapes do well in the humid maritime regions but also have shown to grow well here in southern Oregon. Michael Moore, General Manager for Quail Run Vineyards says, “Albariño grows incredibly well here, the wines are stunning. I’m so pleased with where we’ve gotten with our wines.” LINK

Maryland The 2018 Boordy Vineyards Albariño is produced from fruit grown on a southeast facing hillside at Broordy’s South Mountain Vineyard in Frederick County, and produces a wine that is “sunshine in a bottle.” The result is a deliciously dry white wine full of white peach and floral flavors underscored by a streak of mouthwatering salinity. $20 https://wtop.com/wine-of-the-week/2020/07/wine-of-the-week-maryland-has-wines-from-albarino-to-zweigelt/ + LINK
IDAHO : The Williamson family has been looking for a distinctively crisp white wine to pour in their tasting room on Idaho’s historic Sunnyslope in the Snake River Valley. Judges at the 2020 Idaho Wine Competition believe the Williamsons made a delicious decision when they planted the brilliant Spanish white grape Albariño as the Williamson Vineyards 2019 Albariño was voted as best of show, topping a field of 160 entries. tri-cityherald.com/living/food-drink/wine/article245099340.html 

Washington: 

Thurston Wolfe Winery 2021 Crawford Vineyard Albariño, Yakima Valley $22.50

https://www.thurstonwolfe.com/visit/

FRANÇA:

In France tradition is absolute king in the wine-making business, so this is unusual. Recently a gamble that worked out for him was re-introducing the Albarino grape to France after an absence of 400 years. The accountants had their heads in their hands but he was determined. (LINK)
"y a gamble that worked out for him was re-introducing the Albarino grape to France after an absence of 400 years. " (LINK)

Bordeaux: Nesse início de ano, o INAO, o Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, que coordena as denominações de origem, autorizou o plantio das tintas (...) Nas brancas, entraram a liliorila, cruzamento da baroque com a chardonnay, e a alvarinho, da região de vinhos verdes, em Portugal, e da Galícia, na Espanha (LINK)

(sul de França) Pays d’Oc in southern France is one of those latter locations, for grapes such as albarino, hailing from damp, cool northern Spain, (---) Sillages Albarino (£11.90, lebonvin.co.uk, drinksandco.co.uk) is a happy surprise, with the expected flowers-and-apricots character, crisp and clean. https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/food-and-drink/ten-french-wines-recommended-this-september-1-6810915

Although the presence of some lovely albariño in the Languedoc does show that the varietal traffic is certainly no longer one way. (LINK)

REINO UNIDO:
They won the Bollicine del Mondo award for best sparkling white wine in 2012 but have since pulled out the Seyval Blanc vines used in this wine and are planting more Chardonnay for the fizz and for their still white are experimenting with the Spanish variety Albarino - a grape never previously planted in the UK! (LINK)

Mar24: The latest statistics from WineGB put the total area of Albariño planted in the UK at just 4 hectares in 2022. Grown across seven sights, Kent has the most plantings of the Iberian variety.

Balfour Winery, based in Tonbridge, Kent, has said it will increase plantings by over 1,000 vines per annum in the coming years. The producer has already sold the majority of its first single-varietal Albariño from the 2022 vintage before putting it on general sale. Fergus Elias, Balfour’s head winemaker, said that while the grape still represents a “very small, single digit of our overall percentage at Balfour”, which also grows Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Bacchus, Pinot Blanc, Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Riesling, Regent, Reichensteiner, Gamay, Pinot Gris. But the winery is planting more each year, and “more of [the] vines are coming into maturity now”. Balfour isn’t alone. Chapel Down, the UK’s biggest wine producer, and Ancre Hill have produced Albariño wines which are commercially available.

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2024/03/is-albarino-englands-next-star-grape-variety/

Nova Zelândia:
"Coopers Creek Select Vineyards Bell-Ringer Albariño 2019 took out the Champion Aromatic award, with the grapes produced by Gisborne grower Doug Bell.

“I am absolutely stoked to have grown the grapes that produced that wine,” Mr Bell said.

“Most importantly for me it shows that Gisborne is right up with the rest and the best and particularly with alternative varieties like albarino.” The judges’ tasting notes said the albariño variety, an evocative name for the crisp white wines from the coastal area of northwest Spain and Portugal, had flourished since planted in Gisborne. “Intense flavours and aromas of lime, rock melon, mouth-watering fresh acidity and a touch of salt right at the end,” the judges said" (LINK)
"Coopers Creek Select Vineyards 'Bell-Ringer' Albariño 2019 is the 2019 Champion Aromatic. A new grape and wine to many of us perhaps, Albariño is a long-time favourite of coastal Portugal and northern Spain. Coopers Creek have been making Albariño for more than eight years and it shows. Initially planted in Gisborne where it has flourished, if you love Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc, then an Albariño is your next big adventure in wine. Crisp and delicious with intense flavours and aromas of lime, rock melon and mouth-watering acidity, this is considered the better food pairing wine and at $21.99, what a champion it is." (LINK)
But if I had to put money on what New Zealand’s next rising star will be, it’s albariño. True, there’s not a lot of it about (not yet, anyway), but it’s delicious, slightly fruitier than you find in Galicia, though equally as crisp and saline, all of which make it as appealing to the pinot grigio drinker as to the sauvignon blanc one https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/mar/13/theres-more-to-new-zealand-white-wine-than-sauvignon-blanc
"Gisborne is well known as Chardonnay wine country but it is also seen as the New Zealand home of albarino, and awards success is a good reminder why. Local grapes were behind 21 medals won at this year's New World Wine Awards." LINK

Forrest, in Marlborough, were the first New Zealand growers to plant albarino, where the varietal took naturally to the rich clay soils. This is sweet on the nose and at the front of the mouth, with a delightful mango finish. Ideal if you’re looking for something a bit different, or a reason to talk about how the Kiwi climate is remarkably similar to certain parts of Spain. https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/food-drink/wine/best-albarino-wines-b1821838.html 
Gordon Russell at Esk Valley Wines in Hawkes Bay is amongst the first growers to make stylish, citrussy crisp wine from the Albarino grape. https://www.hertsad.co.uk/things-to-do/food-reviews/explore-the-wines-of-new-zealand-7923892 

Uruguai: 
Bodega Garzon
Montevideo, Uruguay 2020 (£22.95, jeroboams.co.uk)
Uruguay’s Atlantic breeze-cooled vineyards have much in common with those on the other side of the ocean in Spain’s Galicia, and Bouza’s superbly fragrant mix of white peach, apple, blossom and citrussy cut and thrust is one of many promising versions of the example from the South American country. LINK

GARZÓN SINGLE VINEYARD

ALBARIÑO 2021

Bodega Garzón, Maldonado, Uruguai

(World Wine R$ 321). Branco elaborado

exclusivamente a partir de uvas Albariño,

com estágio entre 3 e 6 meses de 20% do

vinho em barris de carvalho francês. Mostra

notas florais, de ervas e de especiarias

brancas envolvendo sua fruta branca e

de caroço de perfil mais fresco. Mas, é na

boca que merece atenção, com sua textura

firme e tensa, sua vibrante acidez e seu

final vertical e persistente, com toques

cítricos e de umami, que convidam a uma

segunda taça. Álcool 12,5%. EM

Uruguai, Argentina e Chile

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2020/08/albarino-finds-suitable-new-home-in-south-america/

BRASIL:
https://www.segs.com.br/demais/92234-resgate-de-uva-historica-miolo-quinta-do-seival-alvarinho-e-brasileiro-com-essencia-portuguesa.html

(Rio Grande do Sul) O primeiro vinho produzido, com ajuda do enólogo Alejandro Cardoso, foi um Alvarinho com uvas das safras 2019 e 2020, o Revolução. LINK

(Espirito SantO) 

https://www.agazeta.com.br/colunas/nadia-alcalde/uva-tipica-de-portugal-alvarinho-comeca-a-ser-cultivada-no-es-0821

Miolo Quinta do Seival Alvarinho. Vinho elaborado com uvas Alvarinho cultivadas em vinhedos próprios localizados na região da Campanha Gaúcha. Trata-se de uma relíquia liquida, é um vinho único, perfumado, de uma variedade portuguesa muito em voga, mas não muito cultivada. https://www.vinhosevinhos.com/vinho-miolo-quinta-do-seival-alvarinho-750ml.html A uva Alvarinho é emblemática e tem resultado em excelentes exemplares fora de Portugal. O brasileiro Miolo Single Vineyard Alvarinho 2021 é um destaque.  https://www.correio24horas.com.br/noticia/nid/7-vinhos-com-a-cara-do-verao/

A Alvarinho, uva usada como base para ótimos rótulos de Espanha e Portugal, tem rendido grandes vinhos por aqui também. O melhor branco brasileiro, na avaliação do Descorchados, é  o Alvarinho Enos Vinhos de Boutique.

https://es360.com.br/os-melhores-vinhos-do-brasil-segundo-o-melhor-guia-da-america-latina/

Neste projeto, Claude incluiu o vinho Alvarinho da Quinta da Neve na carta de vinhos, o que estreitou relações e aproximou o chef da vinícola.

Espumante Bruto Ponto Nero

https://www.pontonero.com.br/en/ponto-nero-enjoy/

África do Sul:
Newton Johnson in Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley pioneered it locally with a few other producers following suit, namely Nederburg, Springfield and most recently Ginny Povall of Botanica Wines. Povall’s Flower Girl 2019 comes from vines on her Stellenbosch property grafted in 2018 onto rootstock planted in 2009 and winemaking involved fermentation and maturation for six months in concrete egg. LINK 

Canadá:

  British Columbia

AUSTRALIA: In early 2009 a controversy emerged about the identity of the variety of vines in some Albarino vineyards in Australia. It is now confirmed that these vines are in fact a different variety - Savagnin. The problem originated in 1989 when Spanish authorities made a mix up when supplying propagating material to the CSIRO. All of the so called Albarino vines from these sources are now known to be Savagnin. LINK

ESPANHA: The area is Ribeira Sacra, which lies within the larger Galicia region. Albariño is the dominant white variety here and most often gives us light and refreshing wines that perfectly complement the region’s seafood and other simple meals. https://vinepair.com/good-wine-reviews/abadia-da-cova-blanco-2019-ribeira-sacra-spain/