Interesting article in today’s NYTimes by Eric:
Albarino
on how Spanish Albarinos are moving to the big time.
Hmmmmmm…wonder if prices will start to rise??
Tom
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For the best ones, the prices are comparable to Chablis GC.
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Spain certainly does seem to have wine styles that become ‘in’ nationally (and sometimes internationally)
Me? I’ll quietly drink the Alvarinho I have in front of me, hoping never to be trendy 
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Why, Ian…we’re the last folks that would accuse you of being trendy!! 
Tom
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Was going to mention the same thing! 
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Albarino’s have long been a staple of my everyday white wine line up. I’ve yet to have one that has risen to epic levels but they’ve all been enjoyable. It’s probably because I’m sticking to lower prices bottlings.
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we drink lots of $13-20 bottles and on occasion we have the Do Ferreiro bottle
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Thanks for the article Tom.
I think it’s a very interesting variety. Can be crisp and mineral, fruity like a cross between Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling and richer, more stone fruited and viscous.
Rias Biaxas is interesting too as I believe it is quite humid, which is unusual for a wine growing region.
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I love Albariño. So many good ones at reasonable prices. I didn’t read the article as I don’t care what Eric thinks.
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It was fascinating to read how the vines are trained to account for while accommodating subsistence farming. I probably should have known that, since Albariño makes up more of my collection than any other white grape save Chardonnay. Surprised, but also somewhat relieved, that the article didn’t mention Raul Perez’s Atalier bottling.
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The Nanclares wines are excellent.
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Mentioning rising prices of Albariño just gets one in trouble. Trust me.
Feels like I’ve been seeing Albariño on “What this somm is drinking”-esque lists since 2019-20.
The new Gruner?
Gruner is crap, oop’s did I say that out loud?
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For those interested, there is a Sicilian variety that produces wines that I find comparable to Albariño/Alvarinho called Grillo.
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I said somm, not Sohm.
Just like albariño, there is plenty of “ordinary” gruner, then there is mind blowing gruner. Gruner, in particular, can age fabulously, even better than Riesling sometimes. I have yet to have a great well aged albariño, but we drink plenty of young-ish Albariño. Honestly, if I’m looking for a btg option on a mediocre wine list, Albariño is always a good choice.
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I’m interested at least in the sense that unlike with Albariño there seems to be a ton of super entry level Grillo out there which certainly has made it seem like a lesser variety in my eyes. Of course there can always be a Valentini or Pepe for any variety and I am eager to learn about them.
Even though the OP wrote it with “b”, I assume we’re allowed to discuss the Portuguese wines as well 
.
It might be because a lot of poorer quality (or bigger production) alvarinho grapes end up in vinho verde 
. There’s no shortage of debatable quality vinho verde out there!
I’ve said this a couple of times but I’m a really big fan of Anselmo Mendes Parcela Única. It reveals another aspect of Alvarinho. For a more “classic” profile, I like the Leirana a lot. But over the years, the two I’ve drank most of are the Granbazán and Terras Gauda O Rosal (blend). At least, that’s what CT says.
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