Split Personality

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for the Dec. 15, 2002 issue

See Also
The Best Coffeemakers
The Legacy of Walter Clore
4 Trailblazing Bodegas
Spain's Shifting Landscape
Homage to Barcelona

Only a river separates Spanish and Portuguese Albariño vineyards, but the wines they make are radically different

Bruce Schoenfeld
Issue: December 15, 2002

While it may be true that terroir determines the true character of a wine, culture and history count, too. Consider the white grape Albariño ("ahl-bar-EEN-yoh"). Grown in Spain and in Portugal (where it is known as Alvarinho; "ahl-vah-REE-nyoh"), it produces wildly different wines as a result of divergent national customs, and it provides a case study on the influence of tradition on taste.