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{ SOMMjournal.com } 87 Tasting Highlights Albariño can often be a tricky wine to identify in a blind tasting, as it mimics other varieties depending on where it's grown. "I was told when I first started tasting wine that Albariño will smell like Viognier but taste like Riesling, and that kind of illustrates the difference," explained Zimorski, adding that she'd also include Chablis partly because of the leesy quality many Albariños possess. Zimorski walked seminar attendees through the many expressions of Albariño, its history in Galicia, and why Rías Baixas is where the grape shows at its best. Here are some highlights from the tasting: Condes de Albarei 2016 Albari - ño, Val do Salnés ($15) Citrus- dominated aromas with hints of fresh apricot. Racy with delicious salinity and flavors of Meyer lemon zest on the finish. Bodegas As Laxas 2016 Albari - ño, Condado de Tea ($18) White jasmine, pear, and lemon verbena aromas. Herbaceous with sand- stone minerality and oyster water notes that frame the mid-palate and allow the acid to pop. Pazo de Señorans 2009 Selec - ción de Añada Albariño, Val do Salnés ($47) The only aged wine in the lineup and a valid argu - ment for Albariño's aging potential. Viognier-like floral aromas mingle with fresh apricot and Marcona almonds. Minerality combines with salty sea breezes and lemony custard (a result of 30 months on the lees); they take your palate on a journey and fool you into thinking this may be Chablis. The extensive Albariño lineup poured at the seminar. IN ITS THIRD YEAR, SommCon provided an engaging opportunity last No- vember for sommeliers and wine enthusiasts to sharpen their knowledge by participating in a diverse slate of seminars in San Diego. Each session served as an in-depth crash course that packed a day's worth of studies into 90 minutes. A deeper focus on the Albariños of Rías Baixas was led by Jill Zimorski, an Advanced Sommelier with contagious enthusiasm and a knack for storytelling. Zimorski traveled to Spain during her tenure as the first beverage director for José Andrés' ThinkFoodGroup; while there, she immersed herself in the native wine varieties and soon fell in love with those of Rías Baixas. While the grape was originally thought to be a descendent of Riesling, its exact parentage is unknown—though DNA evidence does show it's indigenous to northwest Spain. Rías Baixas possesses a significant maritime influence, and salinity is a common characteristic of the grape. "The climate, the weather, the soil, and the conditions in [the northwestern Spanish region] Galicia are all really unique to the success of Albariño," asserted Zimorski during the seminar. Galicia's climate is generally cool with a high rainfall of roughly 60 inches an - nually; however, abundant sunshine also allows grapes to fully ripen and maintain fruity aromatics while preserving Albariño's hallmark acidity. Granitic "mother soils" with more slate and schist in the southern DOs seem to come through in the wines: "Even though you can't quantify it, it's there," said Zimorski. The tasting centered primarily around Albariño from the Val do Salnés appellation; a northwestern sub-zone of Rías Baixas, it boasts the highest density of plantings. "Stylistically, the wines tend to have a little more melon and citrus character," Zimorski explained. "As you move further south to O Rosal and Condado do Tea, the wines tend to be richer, riper, and more overtly aromatic with more yellow peach and more ripe fruits." While there are noticeable differences between the subregions, Zimorski believes the winemaker's decisions can overpower terroir. For blind-tasting purposes, she said she thinks "it's a 50-50 consideration in terms of where the wines come from, but also how are they being made." After a lively discussion of 11 wines, Zimorski seemed to have turned a few guests into Albariño enthusiasts. "There's nothing funky, there's nothing dirty; it's just wet sand and wet rocks, and it tastes like sunshine," she quipped.