#newwinethisweek Week 30 – Vinho Verde, Portugal
I know it often seems like we just make this stuff up and we’re doing a half decent job of winging it, but believe it or not we do work to a (very rough) plan!
Its my wedding anniversary this week; 8 years ago me and The Fish got married in the beautiful Algarve region of Portugal. I love the Portuguese people and the stunningly fresh seafood but more than anything I love their wine. This week’s #newwinethisweek is one of the most under-rated wines out there; say hello to the fabulous white wines of Vinho Verde.
Source:http://www.winesofportugal.info
Vinho Verde is actually a designated wine region located in the northwest of Portugal in an area traditionally known as Entre-Douro-e-Minho. The literal translation of Vinho Verde is green wine, but the accurate translation is “young wine”. Historically the wines were designed to be consumed young, usually within a year of bottling, but recent improvements in technique and technology has led to more complex and age-worthy examples coming into the market. Wines from the region can be red, white or rosé but it is famous for white wines and that is our focus for this week.
The grapes used to make these wines are local grape varieties including Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura, Avesso and Azal. These days many of the more serious wines from the region are made using Alvarinho, which is exactly the same grape as Albarinho, the more famous name from over the border in Spain.
Most Vinhos Verdes are light and fresh and often have a spritz of bubbles. The wines have marked acidity with lots of fruity and floral aromas and flavours and are just the ticket for a summer’s afternoon in the garden.
I think this one will take a lot of people by surprise and make it’s way into your summer repertoires… please enjoy and celebrate our anniversary with us!
Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde 2013 (Waitrose £8.29)
Tercius Alvarinho 2012 (M&S £11.99)
Brisa do Mar Vinho Verde 2013 (Wine & the Vine £8.55)
Raguengo de Melgaco Alvarinho Minho 2012 (Wine & the Vine £16.85)
Anselmo Mendes Muros Antigos Loureiro 2013 (The Wine Society £8.75)
So get yourself a bottle, cast your vote and leave your comments… Cheers & enjoy!
Posted on July 28, 2014, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Confessions of a Wine Geek
nice one Ant, will be looking forward to this one. Well done to Mr & Mrs Geek (mine and the missus’ 8 yr anniversary too next Monday!!) Should be a Super Tuscan to drink I reckon, only classic vintage region in 2006.
Well its all celebration in the Stevens house this week! I may be looking for something Californian from 2006!
I’ve never had Portuguese wine. Hear it’s good. I’ll have to see if I can find some. Happy Anniversary!
I hope you can… Vinho Verde is a perfect summer wine! And than you!!
Great choice and congratulations on your anniversary guys!
Cheers Tim… let’s see what everyone thinks!
What a fantastic husband Ant is to dedicate this week’s #newwinethisweek to his wedding anniversary and specifically Portugal where he got married! I haven’t met The Fish but can only guess that the very least she deserves is a bit of spoiling on anniversary day after putting up with him all year long and the numerous tastings he must go on (all in line of work of course!)
I missed the Spanish Albarino week a while back so this was a good chance to taste the Portugese version. I selected a 2013 Alvarinho Vinhos Verdes from Tesco for £8.99.
Mike’s blogs so far this week has been useful in knowing what to expect from this relatively unknown region. I could only find 2 versions in Tesco, a cheap mass-produced looking one and this bottle-hopefully it will show some typicity of the grape and region.
The first striking thing is the quite definite green colour in the glass, kind of green hay and cut grass. I can’t remember seeing a wine with this much green tinge to it.
It’s a blatant tip-off as to what’s to come. There’s loads of green apples, under ripe pears and fresh peas on the nose with a slight secondary hit of pineapple juice.
The palate is spritzy and zesty with a fair amount of acidity but not the chin drooling amount I was expecting. It’s remarkably well balanced and has pretty decent length too. The green theme continues on in the mouth with cucumber, lime and green grape characters (yes, wine that actually tastes of grapes finally!!). Nothing much tropical to speak of but it finishes with a supple buttery flavour that infers a bit of thinking went on in the production stage.
I’m really impressed with this wine and reckon that it’s got great potential for a few years of cellaring to develop those tree fruits some more.
A very unexpected 8/10.
(Try to lift your head out of the puddle of Ridge Ant and forget about the loss of your life savings on the black jack table long enough to read this review please mate!!)
I’m on a break in a poker tournament right now! Only played 3 hands in 80 mins and drinking awful free Cali Chard! Love the review as usual, next stop Au Non Climat!
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