Maryland Albarino Tasting
On Thursday August 7, 2025, we did a vertical Maryland albarino tasting with food pairings. It is originally a Spanish grape, but it grows very well in Maryland as well. It is a high acid, light bodied white wine. You will get aromas of melon and grapefruit, along with white flowers like lilies. In cooler climates, lemon and grapefruit will be on the palate and in warmer climates, melon and peach. It grows really well in Spain, with 90% of the vineyards dedicated to the grape, especially along the coast in the famous Rias Baixas region. It is also one of the grapes in the popular vinho verde of Portugal. It is known to pair really well with any and all seafood, along with Thai, Indian and Moroccan foods due to its high acidity. All of this information had an influence on our most recent tasting menu. We had cod piccata, cocktail shrimp with tartar sauce, crostinis with anchovy butter, radishes and chives, veggie quesadillas, guacamole, chimichurri, black garlic gouda and manchego. The albarinos we had were from Boordy, 61 Vineyard, Windridge and Port of Leonardtown. We started with Windridge's. It had notes of pineapple, lemon, grapefruit and apple. Acidity was high. It paired best with the chimichurri, quesadilla, guac and anchovy. 61 Vineyards had white flowers and grapefruit on the nose, great salinity and high acidity. It paired best with the shrimp, cod, anchovy and manchego. Port of Leonardtown's had flavors of tangerine, lemon, green apple, melon and medium plus acidity. The quesadilla, shrimp, guac, crostini and manchego were great with it. Boordy was intentionally last since it was oaked, in French oak. It was very different from the other three and paired with very different foods. The aromas were vanilla, coconut, lemon curd and lime. Red apple, ginger and a creaminess came through on the palate. It paired with the butteriness of the crostini, the black garlic gouda, guac, cod and anchovies. This, in our opinion, has been a great year for albarino in Maryland. A lot of wineries currently have great representations of this bright, aromatic grape. Get your hands on at least one and try some of these food pairings!
