Loureira

Loureiro is one of the aromatic whites of the far north west of Iberia, grown on both sides of the border: in the Vinho Verde region of northern Portugal and in Rías Baixas in Galicia. Its name comes from the laurel, and the usual explanation is that the flowering vine or the wine itself carries a laurel like scent.

It is the most floral of the local whites. Where Albariño gives citrus, stone fruit and a firm saline structure, Loureiro gives orange blossom, acacia, laurel and a lighter body, at low alcohol and high acidity. In Vinho Verde it is one of the best regarded varieties and appears both alone and in blends, most often with Alvarinho, Trajadura and Arinto.

The climate it grows in is wet and green, and the traditional training was high on pergolas and even up trees, to keep the fruit away from the damp ground and let air move through. Modern vineyards use lower trellising, which ripens the fruit better, and the wines have gained weight and lost the thin sharpness that once defined the region.