Loureiro, occasionally Loureira, fine, ‘laurel-scented’, ancient minho white grape variety that is the most planted in this vinho verde country in northern Portugal and also grown in rías baixas in north-west Spain. Plantings totalled a substantial 5,162 ha/ 12,750 acres in Portugal, including some much further south, but less than a tenth as much in Spain, where albariño is much more important. It has often been blended with trajadura (Treixadura in Spain) but can also be found as a particularly aromatic varietal wine. It can yield quite productively in the north of the Vinho Verde region and produces its best quality, usually quite low in alcohol, around Braga, Ponte de Lima, and the coast.
