Vigo, Spain

After departing Southampton we enjoyed a relaxing day at sea before arriving at our first port of call, Vigo, Spain. Vigo is the largest municipality in Galicia, which is the one of seventeen Autonomous Communities in Spain. An Autonomous Community would be similar to a State in the U.S. and Galicia occupies the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula. Residents of Galicia speak Spanish as well as Galician, a language closely related to Portuguese.

Since we were completely unfamiliar with the area and eating fresh seafood wasn't high on our priority list, given that we live on the coast, we booked an excursion through the ship. We boarded a motor coach for an informative hour-long trip up the scenic coach and through the picturesque countryside to Agro de Bazán, founded in 1981 and a significant contributor to the organization and commercialization of what was mostly a regional industry based on limited production from small operations.

The focus at Agro de Bazán is the Albariño grape, native to Galicia and extending south into Portugal. While the precise origin of the grape is indeterminate, theories state it is either a Riesling clone from Alsace, in France, or a close relative to Petit Manseng. Albariño in noted for a distinctive botanical aroma and is often compared to Viogner and Gewurztraminer, with hints of peach and apricot. The wines tend to be light and slightly acidic with moderate alcohol levels.

We enjoyed a detailed and informative tour of the winery, including more background on the history of the region, followed by an informal wine tasting. We were offered an assortment of wines and all of them were well made, but none of them passed my "can't live without a bottle of this at home" test, so I opted to leave empty-handed. My underwhelming reaction to the wines would be redacted a couple of years later when we were presented with a Granbazan as a pairing as part of a tasting menu dinner in Victoria & Albert's at Walt Disney World. I don't recall the dish that was paired with the Albariño, but I vividly remember that the wine absolutely popped. The flavors of the dish perfectly highlighted everything pleasing in the wine and camouflaged the less appealing characteristics. Hopefully I can dig out the menu from that night and refresh my memory.

On the bus ride back to the ship the guide pointed out the floating platforms all over the adjacent bay. These are used for propagating the mussels that are pervasive on local menus. Due to time constraints and much to our chagrin we didn't have an opportunity to sample the local mussels, but those that did assured us that they were excellent.

Our time in Vigo was limited but enjoyable. The American vision of Spain is overly simplified due to the perception that it's just one stratified cultural entity. This view is no more valid than thinking the same of the U.S.A. While the country is united at the macro level there is vast diversity from region to region and an assortment of experiences to enjoy and learn from. Later in the trip we'll call on another port in Galicia that emphasizes this point.