Rías Baixas (DO)
| Wine region | |
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| Official name | Rías Baixas |
|---|---|
| Type | Denominación de Origen |
| Year established | 1988 |
| Country | Spain |
| Sub-regions | Val do Salnés, O Rosal, Condado do Tea, Soutomaior, Ribera de Ulla |
| Climate region | Maritime |
| Size of planted vineyards | 2,700 hectares |
| Varietals produced | Albariño, Loureira blanca, Treixadura, Caiño blanca, Torrontés, Godello, Caiño tinto, Espadeiro, Loureira tinta, Sousón, Mencía, Brancellao |
| No. of wineries | 180 |
| Wine produced | 10 million litres |
Rías Baixas is a Spanish Denominación de Origen (DO) (Denominación de Orixe in Galician) for wines located in the province of Pontevedra and the south of the province of Corunna in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is renowned for its white wines made from the Albariño grape variety. Its headquarters is located in the city of Pontevedra.
(In Galicia Rias Baixas is pronounced Ree-ass By-shass).
It is believed that the Albariño grape was introduced to the area in the 12th century by the Cistercian monks of the Monastery of Armenteira.
The sub-zones of Rosal and Condado have a long history of grape growing and wine production and have their own traditional styles. The Salnés sub-zone only recently began to produce Albariño wines, for local sales to bars and restaurants.
Rías Baixas acquired its official status as a Denominación de Origen (DO) in 1988. This replaced the earlier "Denominación Específica Albariño" status which had been granted in 1980. Its Consejo Regulador is based in the city of Pontevedra.
The DO is divided into five sub-zones, four of them in the province of Pontevedra and one in the south of the province of A Coruña.
Val do Salnés is located on the lower reaches of the river Umia and centred on the town of Cambados. The landscape is of low undulating hills and the vineyards are planted both on the slopes and on the flat valley floors. The soil is generally rocky and alluvial.
O Rosal is located further south, along the Portuguese frontier in the basin of the river Miño and extends from the Atlantic coast inwards towards the town of Tui. The vineyards here are planted on terraces on the banks of the Miño. The soils are alluvial.
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