Coral do Mar Rías Baixas Albariño 2023

The cool, northwestern Spanish region of Galicia guarantees crisp, fresh, fruity, and elegant wines. Take, for example, this delicious Albariño from Rías Baixas.

It's made by Manuel Mendez of the friendly family winery Pazo do Mar. This winery has its vineyards further inland, so the Atlantic influence is less and the grapes can ripen a little more than they would closer to the coast.

Manuel harvests his Albariño grapes by hand. Some of the grapes come from the Rías Baixas subregion of Condado do Tea. After harvesting, the grapes are briefly macerated on the skins, destemmed, and pressed. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks using native yeasts. Before bottling, the wine is aged on the yeasts for a while.

It produces a flavorful white wine with notes of citrus, apricot, white flowers, and a salty touch. Best enjoyed as the locals do: paired with anything fresh from the sea.