Rías Baixas (Galician for "lower estuaries") is a wine region and a landscape — a deeply indented coastline in the southwest corner of Galicia, where the sea pushes far inland through four great rias. The vineyards climb the granite hillsides above fishing villages and mussel farms, and the combination of cool Atlantic air and good drainage produces Albariño, one of Spain's finest white wines.
The DO Rías Baixas covers five sub-zones: Val do Salnés, Ribeira do Ulla, Soutomaior, O Rosal, and Condado de Tea. Albariño is the star variety in all of them — pale straw-gold in the glass, intensely floral and fruity on the nose, naturally high in acidity and low enough in alcohol to stay lively and fresh. On the first Sunday of August, Cambados hosts the Fiesta del Vino Albariño, a wine festival declared of National Tourist Interest.
The landscape is as much a draw as the wine. The rías of Arousa, Pontevedra, and Vigo each have their own character, and the coast is dotted with small towns — Cambados, Baiona, A Guarda — that reward slow exploration. Don't miss the storybook hórreo village of Combarro or a ferry trip out to the Islas Cíes.