BC Albarino Tasting

Albarino one of Spain's gifts to the white wine world and one of my favorite white grapes. Albarino is not very common outside of Spain and Portugal, but is now starting to pop up in the USA, Uruguay, and now BC. I was happy to see a couple of wineries experimenting with this refreshing and delicious grape.

Albarino is a fresh neutral grape that pairs well with seafood and vegetarian dishes. Originally from the northwest corner of Spain and made famous by the Rías Baixas region. These wines can be expensive in Canada and there are few around. (Spain everywhere $5.00!) Discovering two Albarino's in BC after indulging in Spain was a sign I couldn't ignore so I convinced myself into a fall trip to the Okanagan. I have always enjoyed the wines from Stag's Hollow, and was excited to try Terra Vista's full flight of white wines. I blind tasted the the two BC Albarino's up against one from Spain to see how they would compare.



Terra Vista Vineyards- Albarino - BC - 2015 - $24.90

This wine is their second vintage and has so much potential, as does their blend of Albarino and Verdejo called "Fandango". The fruit comes from the Naramata Bench and the wine won gold at the 2016 National Wine Awards.

The nose had notes of citrus, white peach, some melon with a hint of floral and wet rocks. Dry with the high crisp mouth watering acidity bringing citrus, fall flowers and a textured minerality on the palate. It had the highest acidity and alcohol but was really well balanced and was the favorite at dinner later that evening.




Stag's Hollow - Albarino 2015 - $20.25

Stag's Hallow has 30% aged in 2nd fill French oak barrels adding some depth to the flavours; with the majority aged in stainless steel. The fruit came from Okanagan Falls and this was their first release of Albarino.

This wine had lemon, green apples, apricot, a slight floral note with a little toasted coconut. On the palate it is dry, med body, with high acidity, but a little hot, with nice flavours of lemon, minerality, and a few toasted vanilla oak notes.





Abellio - Rias Baixas - Albarino - 2015 - $21.00

Rias Baixas wines range greatly in quality and this comes in as a entry level for the few available to us here in Canada. This would pair well with lighter seafood or a fresh salad lunch. It is dry with crisp acidity, with a deeper colour than the two BC wines, and just a touch of salinity to it.

This wine had notes of lemon, pear, some green herbaceousness and a subtle floral note. On the palate there was some refreshing lemon rind with peach and a nice minerality.




After the tasting my preferred wine was the one from Terra Vista as it was showing the freshest with the most complexity. I have one more bottle left of the Terra Vista that I want to taste with a premium Rias Baixas and perhaps one from Uruguay. As for the Stag's Hollow, I've cracked my second bottle and when tasted by itself it is a very lovely wine. But beside the other two the slight oak tended to mask the soft nuances of the variety. That being said, it paired well with our smoked cheese risotto and salmon last week and I would buy again. I recommend seeking both these BC wines out as they are a nice treat away from your everyday whites.


Thank for reading, and happy sipping!