Sip & Savor

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lbariño

lbariño is fast gaining favor with local winemakers. And this interest could largely be credited to Paso winemaker Damian Grindley and his passion for this vibrant and crisp Spanish white wine.

His dedication to this variety led Grindley to launch the one-day seminar, Albariño Summit, in 2016 at his Brecon Estate winery in Paso’s Adelaide region. In 2017, there was a seminar at Derby Wine Estates followed by a grand tasting at Broken Earth Winery, and in 2018 the Summit was held at CaliPaso winery. After that, the event went dormant, and then came the COVID-19 lockdown.

To jump-start interest in the Albariño Summit, both Damian and Amanda Grindley, along with their Brecon team, hosted the Albariño Industry Night at their winery this past July. Some 25 albariño producers from Paso and SLO Coast gathered together and poured the refreshing wine ideal on this warm summer evening.

So, what sparked Grindley’s interest in this Spanish white?

“It’s kind of a wild ride,” he exclaimed. Strangely enough, this interest began in Australia and then continued here when he arrived in Paso. “I met someone who was making albariño from Spanish Springs,” Grindley said of the noted two-acre albariño vineyard located in Pismo Beach. Brecon is among the three wineries sourcing fruit from this vineyard, the other two being Stephen Ross Cellars and Peloton, both in the SLO Coast AVA. Brecon’s first vintage of 2012 nabbed 95 points at the California Mid-State Fair in 2014.

“We’ve continued to make it every year, from one to three bottlings,” Grindley said about the three vineyard sources of the bottlings — Spanish Springs and Edna Valley’s Paragon and Jack Ranch vineyards. Bright, citrusy flavors leap out of the glass of Brecon’s flagship albariño; the True Acacia Head is luscious on the palate, and the newly released Last Sandwich is blended with a splash of viognier.

Since albariño is a drink-now wine, it’s released within a year or two of harvest. Amidst the group of 2020/2021 brought by most participants, there was a 2018 Derby Wine Estate’s honeydew-scented Project Espana from its westside vineyard. Rava Wines’ non-vintage sparkling wine was a burst of deliciousness with crisp green apple notes and a creamy finish. The small production of some 154 cases was produced from its Wildhorse vineyards in Monterey County, noted co-owner Lauren Rava.

Ulloa Cellars’ owner/winemaker Nancy Ulloa’s bright and engaging persona spills into her wine expressions: her 2021, sourced from Paragon vineyards, has banana taffy on the nose and cry-baby sour cherry ice on the palate.

Other refreshing albariños were offered by Niner Wine Estates from its Jesperson Ranch in Edna Valley, Kaleidos’ crisp, stainless steel-fermented; and Castoro Cellars’ Oakenshield and Bethel Road wines from its estate’s organic vineyards.

There was a range of albariños with flavors ranging from stone fruit flavors to bursts of citrus from wineries such as Vino Vargas, Bodega De Edgar, Barr Estate, Shale Oak, Donati Family Vineyards, MEA, and Diablo Paso.

While most Central Coast winemakers source their albariño grapes from SLO Coast AVA, specifically the Edna Valley region, namely Bassi Ranch, Jesperson Ranch, Sawyer Lindquist, and Spanish Springs, there are a handful of vineyards in Paso with minuscule albariño plantings. On the west side, there’s Derby and Castoro Cellars; and on the east side Bovino, Barr Estate, Pear Valley, and Vina Robles’s Huerhuero Creek.

The zesty crisp albariño is native to Spain from the northwest corner of Rias Baixas in the province of Galicia. Exuding aromas of grapefruit and pineapple, the zesty, minerally-driven wine makes for an ideal summer drink. Here along the Central Coast, albariño’s taste profile makes it a match made in heaven with California’s coastal bounty.

On the trail of Central Coast albariño a few years back, I reached out to Alan Kinne, a veteran Paso winemaker and albariño trailblazer. Kinne is credited for planting this variety in Middleburg, Virginia, back in 1996, followed by a small test vineyard plot in Calistoga in northern California. Kinne, former director of winemaking at Paso’s CaliPaso Winery, revealed that he brought these initial cuttings back from his travels to Galicia in northwest Spain and from Northern Portugal, both home to this variety.

Kinne later planted albariño in 2001 in Edna Valley’s Jack Ranch, cuttings of which were taken by the Niven Family for its Paragon vineyards, now regarded as the leading grower of albariño in California with some 45 acres planted.

Over time, the wine’s popularity has grown in California. What began as a two-acre planting at the turn of the century has expanded to over 657 acres, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s 2021 California Grape Acreage Report.

Albariño has clearly taken root along California’s Central Coast.

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