Spanish Wine D.O. Rías Baixas

The History of the Denomination of Origin "Rías Baixas" starts in 1980 when the Specific Designation Albariño was included in the Official State Bulletin dated 11 October. The Regulation on the Specific Designation Albariño and its Regulatory Board were approved four years later, on 30 April. The Regional Government Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry, in a Regulation dated 17 March 1988, recognised the Rías Baixas Denomination of Origin due to the need to adapt Spanish law to European community regulations, and published the Order to approve the Regulation of the Designation of Origin and its Regulatory Board on 4 July, ratified by a Ministerial Order dated 28 July the same year. In its short history, the sector of Rías Baixas Denomination of Origin has evolved in an orderly way with sensible criteria; it thus grew from 492 to 5059 winegrowers, from 14 to 161 wineries and from an area of 237 to 2,408 hectares of vineyard from 1987 to 2001. This growth is also reflected in the expansion of the zones. In 1988 the Denomination of Origin Rías Baixas consisted of 3 perfectly individualised and identifiable sub-zones in the province of Pontevedra: Val do Salnés, Condado do Tea and O Rosal. In October 1996 Soutomaior was incorporated and in May 2000 the area was extended to the Ribeira do Ulla. Source: natural environment The Rías Baixas Denomination of Origin is spread across a group of areas in Galicia which have common physical features that identify and produce their wine’s characteristics. They are lowlands, with an altitude generally below 300 m, near the sea and related to the lower stretches of river courses, which determines the climactic characteristics of Atlantic influence - mild temperatures and high and well-distributed precipitation, with a fall in rain in the summer months.