🍇 Loureiro
An aromatic white grape of Vinho Verde with a scent of bay laurel.
Loureiro is an aromatic white grape from north-west Portugal. The name comes from the word for laurel: the wine often smells of bay leaf, flowers and citrus. It is one of the main grapes of Vinho Verde, a young and light wine.
The grape grows in the valleys of the Lima, Cávado and Ave rivers, in the Minho area. It likes the damp Atlantic climate. Across the border in Spanish Galicia the same grape grows in Rías Baixas, for example in the O Rosal sub-zone, where it is called Loureira.
Loureiro is usually bottled young. The wine is fresh, with high acidity and modest alcohol. It is used both as a single variety and in blends with other white grapes of the region.
If a label says Vinho Verde and Loureiro, the wine is made from this grape or contains a significant share of it.
How it connects to Wine
🍇 Loureiro → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍇 Grape varieties
- Origin
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine
- Where it grows
- 📍 Vinho Verde, 📍 Rías Baixas, 📍 O Rosal, 📍 Lima, 📍 Cávado, 📍 Ave
- Main grape in
- 📍 Vinho Verde, 📜 Minho
Frequently asked questions
What is Loureiro?
An aromatic white grape from Portugal, the base of many Vinho Verde wines.
Why is the grape called Loureiro?
The name is linked to the word for laurel, because the aroma often recalls bay leaf.
Where else is Loureiro grown?
In Spain, in Galicia's Rías Baixas zone, where it is called Loureira.
What to read next
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes, appellations.
- 📍 Ave — A subzone near Guimarães.
Similar
🍇 Albariño · 🍇 Caiño Tinto · 🍇 Caíño Blanco · 🍇 Padeiro · 🍇 Esganoso · 🍇 Esganinho