The 6 Best White Wines from Spain

The reason we’re all excited about Spanish white is twofold. First, we get bored at some point and look for something new which grabs our attention. Second, whatever it is that grabs our attention better be delicious, and these wines are. Like Jennifer Coolidge and Isiah Thomas, the white wines of Spain are criminally underrated. Here are some of our favorites. Sometimes they’ll be fruity and crisp, like Sancerre; other times they taste more like rocks and the ocean like Chablis; sometimes they’ll be a little of both, like a margarita with a salted rim.

If you like crisp Italian whites, and White Burgundy, or Margarita’s, you should check out Spanish white wine. Here's our rundown.

Top Six Spanish White Wines

Adega de Vimbio, Albariño Rías Baixas 2018

Albariño has had a long run of success as the cheap white wine of Spain. Most Albariño stops there, but a few producers take it seriously. This version is full in flavor and tastes salty rather than like a fruit cocktail.

Bengoetxe, Getariako Txakolina 2019

Txakolina is a spanish white wine from the Basque Country that is about as refreshing as it gets. This bottle, from the small, organic producer Bengoetxe, is crisp, salty, and loaded with brisk flavors of grapefruit. A cold bottle on a hot day will remind you of what it felt like to be a kid drinking lemonade.

Luis Rodríguez, 'Os Pasás' Ribeiro 2018

Luis Rodriquez makes this salty white from organic fruit he grows on the steep hillsides of Ribeiro, a far-away, windswept corner of Northern Spain. It's a blend of many rare indigenous grape, but it's made mostly from trexiadura and albariño, two grapes that make wines that taste like the Atlantic shoreline more than they do sweet fruit. Pour a glass to drink with vegetables and fish, or to keep cool while cooking something else.

Raúl Pérez, 'Ultreia' Godello Bierzo 2019

The main white grapes to look out for in Spain are Godello, Albariño, and Viura. The first two are based in the cool and remote northwest corner of Spain called Galicia. These grapes are often blended together with others that are unique to this part of the world too. One disclaimer, if it is a grape that doesn’t sound Spanish stay away, Chardonnay from here just doesn’t work. That said, godello's rich-but-not-oaky texture will remind you of a light chardonnay.

Viña Somoza, 'AS 2 Ladeiras' Godello 2016

Godello is a Spanish grape that’s rich and savory, and reminds us of White Burgundy. This bottle is from vineyards along the ocean, giving it a mineral taste, like the water ‘Vichy Catalan.’

López de Heredia, 'Viña Gravonia' Crianza Blanco Rioja 2012

López de Heredia is the greatest producer of traditional Rioja. The wines come directly from the winery, where they've been aging until full maturity, sometimes for decades. White Rioja is made from the grape Viura and is always dry, rich, and a little bit nutty. With age, the flavors come to resemble things you'd burn or smoke– cedar, palo santo, tobacco– more so than fresh fruit.