Alvarinho

[ahl-vah-REE-nyoh] Low-yielding, high-quality white wine grape grown in Portugal's vinho verde as well as in Spain's Galicia region, where it's called Albariño. Although reasonably productive, these grapes are so thick-skinned that only a small amount of juice can be extracted from them. Alvarinho grapes can produce creamy rich wines with complex flavors of apricots, peaches, and citrus. Although Alvarinho wines are some of the most expensive and highly prized white wines in both Portugal and Spain, this variety is rarely cultivated elsewhere.