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Located in the northwestern most corner of Spain, the denominación de origen Rías Baixas is home to the Albariño grape. It consists of three distinct districts: the Val do Salnés (valley of Salnés); El Condado de Tea; and 0 Rosal.

Originally settled by the Celts of Ireland and Brittany, France, their cultural influence remains very apparent in the regional music and dance. Since the entire area rests on the Atlantic Ocean, the climate is similar to the British Isles and Brittany, if only a little warmer. The climate is thus much cooler than most of Spain and receives the highest average rainfall. As a result red varietals have a particularly hard time but some are grown such as: Caiño, Mencía, Espadeiro, and Souson; whereas the white varietals have managed to acclimate with a little help from man and modern technology. Today, the grapes are trellised by laying them flat, parallel to the ground, across the wiring more commonly known as the "pergola" method, in order to maximize the sun's rays. The soil varies, but is generally sandy, shallow with a granite base, and slightly acidic with a pH of 46.

The terrain varies greatly between the three districts. The Val do Salnés is located at sea level, Cambados, the "Albariño Capital" is the center of production here; El Candado de Tea is mountainous; and 0 Rosal is an area of fluvial, terraced land adjacent to the BaJo Miño River, which is a natural boundary between Portugal and Spain. Within these three districts, several grape varietals are classified for growing in D.O. Rias Baixas: Albariño, Treixadura, Loureira, Caiño, and Torrontes.

It is the Albariño, however, varietal which has brought fame to this area of Spain, known culturally as "Galicia." Because of this fame, wines from each district must contain a minimum amount of Albariño after which blending of the other varietals is approved. In the Val do Salnés the minimum is 70% Albariño and the rest from the authorized varietals. In El Condado de Tea, Albariño and Treixadura are blended up to 70% with the remaining 30% from the authorized varietals. In 0 Rosal, Albariño is blended with Loureira up to 70% with the remaining 30% from the authorized varietals. Wines from any of the three regions consisting of 100% Albariño are considered "pure" and are the specialty of all three regions.

There are three beliefs as to the source of the Albariño grape. One is that French monks from Cluny in Burgundy, France brought the Albariño grape along with several others (Chardonnay, Mazuelo, Tempranillo) to Spain in the 12th and 13th-century during the Crusades. (Santiago de Compostelo, capital of Galica, was the first stop on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem from France at this time.) These monks are responsible for influencing not only Galicia, but other prominant regions in Spain as well, including Navarra, Rioja, and Alella. The more popular belief is that Albariño is an indigenous grape to Galicia. Less popular and widely contested is the idea that Albariño is genetically linked to the Riesling grape of Germany. This probably is derived from the flavors on the nose and the palette reminiscent to the Riesling of Alsace and Germany. One thing is certain however, and that is that, beginning in the 1980's, a revolution has taken place in Rías Baixas which launched the white wines of the region into the realm of some of the world's finest white wines. In just a few years winemaking went from doing everything by hand to high tech, even in the small cellars.

Albariño grapes are medium sized and grow on short bunches. It is a low yielding variety. As the world has become acquainted with the fresh, fruity complexity of Albariño wines, it is being said that Spain can now boast great white wines as well as great reds.