SerpApi.Org
Albacore season is in high gear at the Oregon coast, and a new three-day wine festival is out to prove that a glass of crisp albariño is the perfect wine to serve it with.
Alba-Alba is a partnership between César Medina Maldonado of Medina Wines in Newberg and Rachelle Hacmac, co-founder of Winter Waters, an Oregon-based culinary event series and marketing initiative promoting the state’s coastal food systems. Sponsors for the event include Travel Oregon, Visit McMinnville and the Oregon Albacore Commission.
“Alba-Alba began with a simple idea that Oregon albacore and albariño deserve to be celebrated together,” Medina said. “We’re bringing together the people behind both products to create an experience that celebrates Oregon’s coastal food culture while introducing guests to one of the world’s great seafood and wine pairings.”
While albariño wines are best known in northwest Spain and elsewhere on the Iberian Peninsula, the white wine grape is increasingly found in other parts of the world. To illustrate that global span, Alba-Alba brings together 14 albariño producers from Oregon, Washington, California, Spain, Portugal and Japan.
I’m particularly eager to try the albariño from Domaine Mikazuki, a winery in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Mikazuki is developing an enthusiastic international following for its wines and ciders that showcase the region’s maritime influence. The winery’s website describes their efforts as a “regional revitalization project” that began in Rikuzentakata after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
John Grochau of GC Wines, one of several Oregon producers participating in Alba-Alba, said festival guests will be in for a treat, as “Albacore is a fairly rich and fatty fish. Albariño’s acidity and salinity cut through that fat nicely, bringing a little more lift to the fish. I also think albacore lends itself well to the citrus and stone fruit flavors often found in albariño.”
The festivities kick off at 6 p.m. July 31 with La Copa del Albariño, a welcome dinner and World Cup-themed competitive blind tasting at Hoffs Homestead in McMinnville. Guests will share a family-style dinner prepared by Kopitos Cocina while tasting albariños from around the world with winemakers. Tickets for this dinner and tasting are $50 each, available through Eventbrite.
The main event, La Gran Tasting, takes place 5-8 p.m. Aug. 1 at Mac Market in McMinnville. Be sure to be there at 5 p.m. sharp to watch chef Jeffrey Kim of Portland’s Aji Fish Butchery demonstrate the art of breaking down a dry-aged Oregon albacore.
Guests at La Gran Tasting will have the opportunity to enjoy their albariño samples with small bites prepared by chef Kim, Alea Bakery and Honey Pie Pizza. Local fishermen and representatives from the Oregon Albacore Commission will be on hand to tell their stories and answer questions about Oregon-caught albacore.
A $30 La GranTasting ticket includes eight coupons redeemable for two-ounce tasting pours from participating wineries. Additional coupons will be available for purchase on site.
The weekend concludes with an Aug. 2 field trip to Newport. The trip, conducted by Winter Waters, includes dock walks with commercial fishermen, fish-cutting demonstrations, opportunities to purchase fresh Oregon albacore directly from the fleet and a lunch prepared by chef Jacob Harth at Local Ocean Seafoods.
Tickets for the Sunday excursion to Newport, limited to 15 guests, are $85 each through Eventbrite.
Whether you enjoy your albacore as sashimi or steak, you need to be at Alba-Alba to see how a sip of albariño can elevate your tuna experience.
5-8 p.m., Aug. 1, La Gran Tasting, 1140 N.E. Alpine Ave, McMinnville, macmkt.com.
— Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine
©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
