{{Short description|Variety of grape}} {{redirect|Albarin blanco|another Spanish wine grape that is also known as Albarin blanco|Albillo}} {{redirect|Alvarinho|the footballer|Alvarinho (footballer)}} {{Infobox grape variety | name = Albariño / Alvarinho | color = Blanc | image = Cacho.JPG | caption = Bunch of Alvarinho /Albariño grapes | species = ''Vitis vinifera'' | also_called = Alvarinho and other synonyms | origin = Galicia and Portugal | hazards = <!-- Viticultural hazards --> | regions = Minho, Portugal; Galicia, Spain | notable_wines = Vinho Verde (Vinho Alvarinho), Rías Baixas }}
[[Image:Albarino Vineyards.jpg|right|thumb|Albariño grapes on a slope near the river Sil in Ourense, Spain]] '''Albariño''' ({{IPA|gl|alβaˈɾiɲʊ}}) or '''Alvarinho''' ({{IPA|pt|alvɐˈɾiɲu}}) is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia (northwest Spain) and in Northwest Portugal (Monção and Melgaço, Alto Minho) where it is also used to make varietal white wines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/economia/anselmo-mendes-defende-denominacao-de-origem-para-alvarinho-de-moncao-e-melgaco_n1248986 |title= denominação de origem alvarinho|date= 31 July 2020}}</ref> Albariño is the name for the grape in Galician. In Portugal it is known as Alvarinho, and sometimes as Cainho Branco.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Navarro Ortega |first=Teresa |date=2024-12-20 |title=La historia completa del vino Albariño: sus orígenes y expansión por el mundo |url=https://www.noticiasdelvino.com/vinos/2024/12/20/la-historia-completa-del-vino-albarino-sus-origenes-y-expansion-por-el-mundo-21934/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Noticias del Vino |language=es}}</ref>
It was once thought that Albariño/Alvarinho was brought to Iberia by monks from the monastery of Cluny in the twelfth century, but recent studies point to Albariño/Alvarinho being native to Galicia/Portugal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boisimo.gciencia.com/2020/07/21/asi-se-descubriu-a-orixe-galega-do-albarino/ |title= Así se descubriu a orixe galega do albariño|date= 21 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boso |first=S |date=June 26, 2020 |title=Morphometric comparison of current, Roman-era and medieval Vitis seeds from the north-west of Spain |journal=Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=300–309 |doi=10.1111/ajgw.12439 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Both the Galician "Albariño" and the Portuguese "Alvarinho", derive from ''albo''<''albus'', meaning "white, whitish".<ref>''Gran Diccionario Xerais da Lingua'' and [https://digalego.xunta.gal/digalego/Html/index.php?op=ver&id=2416&opcion=entrada&entrada=albariño%20-ña ''Diccionario Galego'' de Ir Indo]{{Dead link|date=April 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} for Galician; ''Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa'' and [http://www.estraviz.org/alvarinho ''Dicionário Estraviz'' de Sotelo Branco] for Portuguese</ref> It has also been theorized that the grape is a close relative of the French grape Petit Manseng.<ref name="Clarke pg 167">Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 167 Harcourt Books 2001 {{ISBN|0-15-100714-4}}</ref>
It should not be confused with Alvarinho Lilás<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iniav.pt/fotos/editor2/identidade_das_castas_de_videira_portuguesas.pdf| title= A identidade das castas de videira portuguesas| date= 9 November 2020}}</ref> (Madeira), Albarín Blanco (Asturias in Northern Spain), Albillo Real, Azal, Caiño Blanco (O Rosal in Galicia and Portugal), Galego Dourado, Savagnin Blanc (Galicia, France, Australia), or Verdeca (Puglia in Italy).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Jancis |title=Wine Grapes: A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2013 |isbn=9780141968827}}</ref>
==Major regions== Spain produces Albariño to a significant degree in the Rías Baixas DO, as well as in Barbanza e Iria.<ref name="Clarke pg 36">Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 36 Harcourt Books 2001 {{ISBN|0-15-100714-4}}</ref> In Portugal Alvarinho is common in the Vinho Verde region, but it is only authorised to be grown in Monção and Melgaço.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ivv.gov.pt/np4/%7B$clientServletPath%7D/?newsId=8617&fileName=DO_Vinho_Verde_CVRVV_FINAL.pdf | title=Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho}}</ref> In other locations such as Ribeiro, Lima, or Braga it is often mixed with other grapes such as Loureiro, Godelho, Cainho or Borraçal, Arinto or Treixadura to produce blended wines. Such blends were common throughout Galicia too until about 1985; when the Rías Baixas DO was established in 1986, Albariño began to emerge as a variety, both locally and internationally.<ref name="ws2002">[http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Archives/Show_Article/0,1275,3941,00.html Split Personality] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040604235408/http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Archives/Show_Article/0,1275,3941,00.html |date=2004-06-04 }}, a December 2002 ''Wine Spectator'' article (registration required to read archived article)</ref> Its emergence as a variety led the wines to be "crafted for the palates of Europe, America and beyond and for wine drinkers who wanted clean flavours and rich, ripe fruit" and led to wines completely different from those produced across the river in Portugal.<ref name="ws2002" />
Albariño is now produced in several California regions including the Santa Ynez Valley, Clarksburg, Napa, Edna Valley and Los Carneros AVAs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.appellationamerica.com/grape-varietal/Albarino.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010231525/http://www.appellationamerica.com/grape-varietal/Albarino.html |archive-date=2008-10-10 |title=Albarino}}</ref> Albariño is also produced in Oregon, first by Abacela Winery<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abacela.com|title=Abacela|website=www.abacela.com|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> in the Umpqua Valley AVA,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umpquavalleywineries.org/about/history/|title=Umpqua Valley Winegrowers - The Umpqua Valley|website=www.umpquavalleywineries.org|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> and in Washington state.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.jamesonfink.com/getting-to-know-oregon-and-washington-albarino/|title=Getting to Know Oregon and Washington Albariño|date=16 July 2014|website=jamesonfink.com|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>
Albariño is also grown in Uruguay and is produced as a varietal by Bodegas Garzon.
Albariño has also attracted the attention of Australian winemakers, several of whom produce varietal wines. However, it was discovered that grape growers and wine makers in Australia had been supplying and selling wrongly labelled Albariño for over a decade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iglesias |first=David González |date=2024-06-07 |title=Galicia arrasa en los premios Baco cosecha 2023: Listas de vinos premiados |url=https://www.campogalego.es/galicia-arrasa-en-los-premios-baco-cosecha-2023-listas-de-vinos-premiados/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Campo Galego |language=es-ES}}</ref> A French expert visiting Australia raised questions in 2008, and DNA testing confirmed that the grapes thought to be Albariño were in fact French Savagnin and almost all wine in Australia labelled as Albariño is Savagnin.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/04/15/70855_horticulture.html | title= White wine fiasco | last= White | first= Leslie | date= April 15, 2009 | work= The Weekly Times | access-date= 2010-05-11 | archive-date= 2012-11-18 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121118092903/http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/04/15/70855_horticulture.html | url-status= dead }}</ref>
left|thumb|Albariño wine from Galicia.
==Wine characteristics== The grape is noted for its distinctive botanical aroma with a citrus undertone, very similar to that of Viognier, Gewurztraminer, and Petit Manseng, suggesting apricot and peach. The wine produced is unusually light, and generally high in acidity with alcohol levels of 11.5–12.5%.<ref name="Clarke pg 36"/> Its thick skins and large number of pips<!--What does "pips" mean in this context?--> can cause residual bitterness.
==Viticulture== right|thumb|A Spanish Albariño. For hundreds of years, Alvarinho/Albariño vines could be found growing around the trunks of poplar trees and in bushes along the outside margins of fields—a practice which some growers still use in Portugal's Vinho Verde region. In the middle of the century, however, growers made big investments and became professional grape growers.<ref>Garrido, João; Mota, Teresa.Manual Técnico, Comissão de Viticultura dos Vinhos Verdes, 2004</ref> In Vinho Verde, the vines are typically trained on high pergolas, which encourages over-cropping, often leading to grapes that are unable to exceed more than 8.5% potential alcohol.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Grapes and Wines|last = Clarke|first = Oz|publisher = Pavilion Books|year = 2008|isbn = 978-1-862058354|page = 36}}</ref> When grown in a vineyard, the vines need to be wire trained with large canopies to accommodate the 30 to 40 buds per shoot that is typical. The grape responds well to the heat and humidity though the high yields and bunching of clusters usually keep the grapes within the margins of ripeness.<ref name="Clarke pg 36"/>
==Synonyms== Alvarinho/Albariño is also known under the synonyms Albelleiro, Alvarin Blanco, Azal Blanco, Galego, Galeguinho, and Padernã.<ref name=":0" />
==See also== {{portal|Wine}} *List of Portuguese grape varieties
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Wines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albarino}} Category:Galicia (Spain) Category:White wine grape varieties Category:Grape varieties of Spain