Rias Baixas

The history of this Denomination of Origin dates back to 1980, when it appeared for the first time in the BOE; after several modifications and reforms, its regulations were ratified in the Order of July 21.

Rías Baixas is probably Galicia’s best-known Denominación de Origen (DO). It’s located in the province of Pontevedra and part of southern Coruña in the south and west of Galicia, and it’s one of the five DOs that you’ll find in Galicia.

Rías Baixas is most famous for the white grape which makes up around 85% of plantings in the DO and which produces wonderfully crisp and fragrant white wines. But there are other grapes grown here – including some reds – which we’ll come to later.

In terms of wine growing Rías Baixas has around 4,000 hectares of vineyards. When you consider that Spain has around 950k hectares of vineyards in total, you can see that Rías Baixas is a very small region. And individual holdings are small as well - often no more than a hectare and split between 3 or 4 small plots. So, this is definitely a region of small producers.

Within the DO there are 5 sub-zones:

Val do Salnés
Condado do Tea
O Rosal
Ribeira do Ulla
Soutomaior

Val do Salnés is the major area of production with Condado do Tea and O Rosal some distance behind.

The appellation of origin Rías Baixas covers the following types of wines & grapes:

The grapes of Rías Baixas

In terms of grapes, Albariño is the dominant grape of Rías Baixas. This grape is perfectly suited to the region’s climate and soils and its ability to maintain acidity whilst offering plenty of aroma and fruit flavor means it makes exceptional wine.

But you do find other white grapes varieties in Rías Baixas.

You’ve got Loureira, which tends not to get used on its own so much, but its aromas and flavors – you get a sense of bay leaf or laurel which is where it gets its name from – means it’s a good wine for blending, often with Albariño.

And there’s also Treixadura, which produces wines with freshness, acidity and a touch of green apple flavor. And you’ll often see other white varieties like Godello, Caiño Blanco and Torrontés.

White varieties:

- Albariño - Caíño blanco - Loureira blanca (Marqués) - Treixadura

Red varieties:

- Caíño red - Espadeiro - Loureira red - Sousón

The climate of Rías Baixas

The climate in Rías Baixas is cool & maritime, with much less variation in temperature than you find in places like Rueda for example. And it’s a damp climate with annual rainfall of up to 1300 mm a year. Because of all that rain, you’ll often find vines being grown on pergolas to keep them higher off the ground. That gives them better aeration and helps to avoid fungal disease that is often a risk in damp climates.

Rías Baixas Albariño: made from 100% grapes of the Albariño variety.

Minimum alcoholic content: 11.3% vol.

Rías Baixas Condado de Tea: made with grapes of the Albariño and Treixadura varieties at least 70%, the rest of the other varieties being admitted, all of them produced in the Condado do Tea subzone.