2014 Kongsgaard Albariño

Kongsgaard Wines was founded in 1996 by John Kongsgaard, a Napa Valley native whose family has been in the valley for generations. The winery’s stellar reputation comes from its Chardonnays, which regularly win praise from reviewers for their resemblance to fine Burgundian Chardonnays. The estate also makes Roussanne/Viognier blends and some Cabernet Sauvignons and Syrahs. Kongsgaard’s primary vineyard is a 10-acre plot planted in the late 1970s in southern Napa Valley. The land has been in the Kongsgaard family since the 1920s. Kongsgaard also uses grapes from contract growers with long time ties to the winery. John Kongsgaard remains the owner and winemaker.

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

On the Iberian peninsula, one grape belongs to two different countries and is called by two different names: Albarino in Spain, Alvarhino in Portugal. Either way, it makes an underrated white wine that is akin to Riesling and fabulous with seafood and shellfish.