Eulogio Pomares and his wife Rebecca started this side project apart from Eulogio’s family’s well-known Rias Baixas winery Zarate to work in a more natural and traditional way with grapes from the Rias Baixas and surrounding regions. This ‘Bico da Ran’ Albariño is named for a beach in the Salnes sub-zone of Rias Baixas, the original home of the Albariño grape. The Atlantic influence is the most prominent in the Salnes where the vineyards are along the estuary of the Umia River (ria is Spanish for estuary) at the lowest elevations and closest proximity to the Atlantic, imparting a touch of seaspray to the mix, and the vineyards for this bottling are within a few miles of the ocean. The thick-skins of the Albariño grape give it the resistance to fungus necessary in this cool, wet climate, but the traditional pergola trellising system also helps by elevating the grapes far away from the damp earth. Even so, viticulture is famously difficult here and organic viticulture was until recently thought to be impossible, but Eulogio is in the process of converting from sustainable to fully organic. To avoid tannins and bitter green flavors from the skins careful pressing is needed and only the free-run juice is used. Native yeast fermentations in stainless steel and restraining of malo-lactic fermentation keep the wine fresh and emphasizes the floral and mineral character of the wine. As it would be served in Galicia, this wine would be sensational with seafood, shellfish or simply as an aperitif with traditional hors d'oeuvres.