RIAs Baixas (RIAs Baixas, Rias baixas) – zone wine with DO status in the Spanish region of Galicia on the Atlantic coast. It got its name from the cutting of the four estuaries – “RIAs”. The rías Baixas means “the lower river”.
Despite his youth (classified in 1988), RIAs Baixas has rapidly gained popularity thanks to the efforts of a number of enterprising manufacturers who managed to apply modern advances in winemaking and to reveal the potential of the region with its flagship albariño.
The region is divided into 5 sub-zones and runs along the Spanish Atlantic coast from Santiago de Compostella on the South to the Portuguese border in the North. Approximately 100 km in a straight line.
Neighbors (Ribeiro to the East and the Portuguese Vinho Verde in the South) it makes the overall style of white wine: “squeaky”, a fresh, aromatic, dominated by albariño.
Not surprisingly, the weather here makes the proximity of the Atlantic ocean. The average annual rainfall is very high, sometimes exceeding 1800 mm. Mist and fog from the sea also contribute.
The Wine RIAs Baixas
Moist cool climate is the reason for the success of the albariño, which in such circumstances, manages to retain the refreshing acidity and the wines are amazing wines that are the hallmark of local whites. And granite soil gives them the so-called minerality.
For the best examples of the wine RIAs Baixas is characterized by intense aroma and pleasant long lasting floral aftertaste, sometimes supplemented with a barely noticeable residual carbon dioxide.
Still, terroir differences in different sub-zones of RIAs Baixas. There are five of them: Val do Salnés, Condado do Tea, O Rosal, Soutomaior and Ribera do Ulla.
Sub-zone of RIAs Baixas
The most important are considered the Val do Salnes, O Rosal, which is located directly on the coast.
Val to Salnes (Val do Salnés) – the oldest area, which is considered the birthplace of the Albarino grape. The cold and wet of them all. Its vineyards cover the gentle slopes and plains in the valley of the river Umia (Ria Umia).
On Rosal (O Rosal) – on the contrary, covered terraces on the slopes facing the river Minho and to the Portuguese region of Vinho Verde. Fishing village of A Guarda is a very picturesque place, perfect for a leisurely tasting wine and cuisine of the region.
Sotomayor (Soutomaior) is the smallest of the sub-areas was in 1996.
Condado to Thea (Condado do Tea) and the Ribera to the Hive (Ribera do Ulla) is located inland of the Peninsula and there is warmer than in other parts of the rías Baixas.
Wine from a particular sub-zone can be labeled accordingly. Varietal composition may vary. But all wines DO Rias Baixas must have at least 70% albariño. The rest can be made up of trajadura (Treixadura), torrontes (Torrontes), Loureiro (Loureiro) and caino Blanco (Caiño Blanco) – rare autochthonous of Galicia, which is often mistaken for the Albarino.
Some red wines are also produced here, mainly from varieties Mencia and Sousa (port. vignau)