Albariño is a proven winner in Virginia. It’s currently the 9th most planted grape in the state, going from 61 acres in 2021 to 86 acres in 2025. While the popularity of many varieties have plateaued, growers can’t get enough of this one.
There are conflicting stories who first brought Albariño to the US; Markus and Liz Bokisch of Bokisch Vineyards (in Lodi) or Jenny McCloud of Virginia’s own Chrysalis Vineyards. But there’s no doubt that Jenny had the first local commercial planting, back in 1996.
Jenny explained the idea for planting a Spanish variety was inspired by an American Society of Enology and Viticulture panel on ‘alternative grapes’ led by Dennis Horton and Alan Kinne of Horton Vineyards. But it wasn’t until Jenny visited Rías Baixas that she discovered Albariño, which impressed her with its minerality and acidity.
She may not have realized it at the time, but the weather in Rías Baixas is similar to that of Virginia. Not only do both regions endure high levels of humidity, frequent Atlantic squalls make Rías Baixas one of Spain’s wettest regions. These conditions mean grapes that grow there would likely also perform well in Virginia.
Tasting & Scoring Methodology
A group of friends & I blind tasted 10 wines in 2 flights. All the flights were bagged blind.
We didn’t have a fancy scoring system. The goal was to pick a ‘favorite’ every round, as opposed to rating them and determining ‘the best’ wine.
There’s a reason behind this madness. Qualified wine judges know how to put aside their biases and pick ‘the best’ even if it’s not their favorite. Some tasters at my table have the experience to do that, but not most of them.
Beyond that, I find industry tastings tend to define ‘best’ as ‘the way it’s made in the Old World’, a viewpoint I find to be snobbish.
Experienced tasters prize ‘Typicity’; how clearly a wine shows the distinct traits of the grape. The problem I see with this standard is typicity is often synonymous with how the ‘Old World’ regions make that wine.
But Virginia’s terroir is different from these Old World regions, and that is reflected in the tasting profile of Virginia made wines. That’s why I insist people judge these wines on ‘is it good’ as opposed to ‘does it conform to the WSET III tasting grid’.
While all my events are often casual, this particular one was especially industry or experience-heavy.
The Albariño contenders:
- Revalation Vineyard 2025
- Good Spirit Farm 2024
- Nokesville Winery 2023
- Chrysalis Verde 2024
- Ingleside Vineyard 2024
- October One Vineyard 2025
- Fifty-Third Vineyards 2024
- Blenheim Vineyards 2024
- Afton Mountain Vineyards 2024
- Crimson Lane Vineyards 2023
Flight #1
- Bottle #1: Revalation Vineyard 2025
- Bottle #2: Good Spirit Farm 2024
Bottle #1/ Revalation Vineyard 2025. The more complex and weightier of the two, and more recognizable as ‘Albariño’. Slightly more golden in color. My favorite descriptor is it had a ‘Piña colada’ quality to it. Rougher acidity, more citrus-grapefruit notes. The finish really carried through.
Bottle #2/ Good Spirit Farm 2024. Pale, with peach and melon notes. Less recognizable as an Albariño; maybe more of a Sauv Blanc or even a Riesling. Several mentioned it had a flintiness to it. More notes of peach and melon, maybe even grapefruit.
Alex: For #1, felt a burst of acidity up front. Detected notes of lemon-lime, maybe as a jolly rancher. For #2, notes of flint.
Ashley: Loved the finish of #1. Detected notes of honeysuckle and peach in #2
Rena: Thought #1 was ‘barnyard-adjacent’ (this wasn’t a negative)
Sedale: Described #2 as ‘green’. Notes of melon and had a flintiness to it
Zena: For #1 detected notes of lime and felt it was zesty and crisp. It started as lime driven
Flight #2
- Bottle #3: Nokesville Winery 2023
- Bottle #4: Chrysalis Vineyards ‘Verde’ 2024
This round couldn’t be more different from the first. #3/Nokesville was more Chardonnay-ish than anything, while #4/Chrystalis was the most fruit-driven wine of the day (not that we minded; it was delicious).
Bottle #3/ Nokesville 2023: This felt more like a Chardonnay than an Albariño. One person wondered if it was a little oxidized. But overall, very clean and smooth, with notes of ripe fruit, especially citrus. One person mentioned it has a golden raisin bouquet.
Bottle #4/ Chrysalis Verde 2024: This was the definition of a porch-sipping wine and was unlike any we had in the entire day of tasting.
Tasting notes included very bright and fruit driven. One person mentioned Asian pear; another said it was honey-ish, maybe notes of old apple. It had a distinct ‘pop’ when I opened it since it was a screwcap wine.
Flight #3
- Bottle #5: Ingleside Vineyard 2024
- Bottle #6: October One 2025
This was our favorite round. We were convinced both were barrel aged, because there was a roundness and overall complexity to both that we hadn’t seen so far. If some rounds were for casual drinkers, this was the round for wine lovers.
I was able to capture a lot of individual feedback on this round, so I listed them separately as opposed to consolidating them.
Bottle #5/ Ingleside Vineyards 2024: Golden color, and notes of lemon peel.
Bottle #6/ October One 2025: Less floral than #5, but more pepper notes. It was definitely Albariño-ish. It also evolved a lot in the glass.
Kendell: #5 / Ingleside was a little viscous and zesty, notes of lemon peel. He enjoyed the nice lingering finish and called it a ‘wine drinker’s wine’. #6 had a tea note and notable viscosity.
Matt: Loved both; was convinced both were barrel aged based on the roundness. Thought #6 was more mineral driven, with notes of lemon
Renee: #5 was full and ‘round’. Notes of citrus was there but not ‘bright’ citrus. Clearer acidity and nice finish.
Sedale: #5 was ‘warmer’, some citrus notes and weight. #6 was riper and had more acidity.
Zena: #5 was round, pretty, and ‘all the things I like’. #6 had notes of peach, stone fruit, and lime
Flight #4
- Bottle #7: Fifty-Third Vineyards 2024
- Bottle #8: Blenheim Vineyards 2024
These two were strikingly similar, at least initially. Over time we found more differences.
Bottle #7/ Fifty-Third Vineyards 2024: We generally agreed this was more similar to a Sauvignon Blanc than an Albariño. Bright, sharp acidity. Lime nose. Someone mentioned bitter almond on the nose, and somewhat on the palate. I detected white pepper.
Bottle #8/ Blenheim Vineyards 2024: This was probably the most Rias Baixas-like wine of the lineup. Very soft and approachable. Citrus notes were there, but not especially potent. One mentioned it was a “lime bomb”.
This was the only wine in the entire day were people consistently mentioned saline as a tasting note. Compared to #7 there was more fruit here, with peach especially mentioned.
Alex: Mentioned #8 had a burst of acidity up front.
Kendell: Thought #8 was accessible and clean. Kept emphasizing his surprise of the saline qualities and genuinely wondered if it was a Spanish wine.
Flight #5
- Bottle #9: Afton Mountain 2024
- Bottle #10: Crimson Lane 2023
My wine notes were getting weak by this point, so I don’t have as much to write.
Bottle #9/ Afton Mountain 2024 – faulted bottle! It happens. But let me tell you about this wine, because I was really, really looking forward to trying it.
This was the winner of the 2024 Monticello Cup, plus scored a Gold at the Virginia Governor’s Cup. I set it aside with the intention of using it for my event, but by luck of the draw this particular bottle had issues. Maybe a faulty cork or seal?
Bottle #10/ Crimson Lane 2023: Notes of melon and citrus were mentioned. I heard its high acidity had an almost pineapple quality to it. It also had some salinity to it, with a pithy finish. It was the only wine of the lineup that I heard ‘smoky’ and ‘funky’ as descriptors.
Finalist Round
I put all the wines on the table and allowed for re-tastings. Every participant gave me a ‘top’ wine, a runner up, and a third place. 3 points went to 1st place, 2 points for 2nd place, and 1 point for 3rd place.
We quickly gravitated to 5 wines, with a top 3 being almost universally agreed upon. #1 seemed to die off a little in the finalist round, and we increasingly gravitated to #4. #5 and #6 were almost neck-in-neck.
The scores for ‘Favorite Albariño’
- Bottle #5: 2024 Ingleside Vineyards (Top wine of the day)
- Bottle #6: 2025 October One Vineyards (Runner Up)
- Bottle #4: 2024 Chrysalis Vineyards (3rd place choice)
Overall, we thought this was a great showing for Virginia wine. Most were broadly recognizable as Albariño, but only 1 or 2 were completely dead-on in their tasting profile, especially the saline quality that is one of its defining characteristics.
Background on the Top 3:
Ingleside Vineyards 2024 Albariño: Ingleside is located in the Northern Neck and historically has made one of the better rated Albariños in Virginia. This particular wine scored Double Gold in the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition, one of the largest wine events in the USA.
Tech notes: 100% stainless steel, 12.5% alcohol. Mostly made from older vines.
October One Vineyards 2025 Albariño: Grown at Bluemont, made by Walsh Family Wine, and sold in an urban tasting room in Leesburg. Normally this is a club wine because of scarcity, but I was allowed to buy this one for my event.
Chrysalis Vineyards 2024 Albariño Verde: Chrysalis makes two different Albariños; this one, and a barrel-aged one. Ironically, I prefer the Verde, because it’s just so easy to drink.
This was also the least expensive wine of the day.