2022 Val de Meigas Albariño, Rías Baixas DO, Spain

Rebeca’s family has been established for generations in the town of Ribadumia in the heart of the Salnés valley. The Salnés is the oldest and most coastal of the Rías Baixas appellation’s recognized subzones,  and is generally believed to be the genetic birthplace of the Albariño variety. Rebeca’s family has been producing wine commercially in Ribadumia since 1983. Still, it wasn’t until 2015 that Rebeca decided to take charge of her own project, sourced from select parcels of her family’s holdings. Her impish imagination settled on the trade nameVal de Meigas—meiga(cognate with the English ‘mage’) being a witch or sorceress, a common folkloric figure in Galicia and neighboring Asturias. She has also finetuned the winemaking to express her preferred style, utilizing natural yeasts while avoiding skin contact and extended lees aging to achieve a pure, light, mineral style of oceanic refreshment at an amazingly affordable price.