Portugal’s most media –friendly white grape excels in the drier parts of the northern Minho region around Monção and Melgaço. Best known for Vinho Verde wine, it makes wines that combine aromatic citrus and peach flavours which are rich and full bodied. Alvarinho shows plenty of mineral character and the wines are best drunk young. It is a fairly low‐yield grape with thick skins and often expensive due to the high demand.

The same grape grown in Spain is known as Albariño.