Galicia, Spain
Iria Otero
Iria is from Galicia in northwest Spain and will be your official source of Albariño at WineSpark.
Iria trained as a pharmacist and spent time in London before returning home to become a winemaker. During her studies she met my good friend Carlos Rodriguez, and 20 years later Carlos recommended I speak to her.
And it’s not just any old Albariño Iria makes... she wants to show you the real Albariño, one of the most unique grapes in the world. In a style you don’t often see, because most Albariño winemakers these days make it in a bland, international style with no soul.
Iria names all of her wines after animals who have bad reps (and unfairly so). The Sacabeira is a local salamander which has poisonous skin to ward off predators, but if you see it in your vineyard, you know it's healthy and free of chemicals and pollution. They’re in Iria’s vineyards but sadly you see less and less of them as Galicia gets more built up.