Vinho Verde

The DOC area for red and white wines was defined in wine legislation back in 1908. The huge area covers 60,000 hectares of vineyards in the districts of Braga, Porto and Viana do Castelo. It stretches 130 kilometres long and 70 kilometres wide in the north-west of Portugal between the Douro and Minho rivers, which form the border with Spain. The entire region is also classified as an IGP area Minho for country wines. The cool climate, with an average annual rainfall of 2000 mm, is strongly influenced by the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

Sub-areas

The area is divided into the six sub-zones Amarante, Basto, Braga, Lima, Moncáo and Penafiel, which differ in terms of the grape varieties grown. However, the sub-zone is usually not mentioned on the label. The vines are trained in a foliage system similar to pergola. Around a quarter of Portuguese wine is produced here. However, around 60% of the wine produced is simple, non-bottled draught wine, which resembles cloudy cider. The vineyards are cultivated by around 30,000 winegrowers with very small vineyards, often as a sideline.

Production

Vinho Verde means "green wine", but this does not refer to the colour (there are white, rosé and red varieties), but to the fresh taste, the green landscape and the fact that the wine is made from grapes that are still green. The cool climate, the vine training and the special grape varieties produce must with low sugar and high malic acid content. The grapes, which are fairly unripe due to the early harvest, are only fermented briefly.

This used to be followed by malolactic fermentation, but nowadays carbon dioxide is usually added. The result is an acidic, fresh and sparkling wine. A vintage rarely appears. Most wines have only 9 to 10% alcohol by volume and should be drunk young. Due to its freshness and low alcohol content, Vinho Verde is known as a "summer wine". Only the Alvarinho wines from Moncáo are allowed to have more than 11.5%, all others are only declared as IGP or VR (Vinho Regional) Minho.

Grape varieties

Since adapting to EU guidelines at the beginning of the 1990s, half of the wines produced are red and half white. A distinction is made between recommended and authorised grape varieties; around 35 are permitted. For the deep, dark, acidic and extremely astringent red wines, the recommended varieties are Azal Tinto (Amaral), Borraçal, Brancelho (Alvarelhão), Espadeiro, Padeiro de Basto, Pedral, Rabo de Ovelha and Vinhão. They are rarely exported.

The "most genuine" Vinho Verdes are the straw to lemon-coloured, dry white wines with a sharp taste. The white varieties recommended for this are Alvarinho, Azal Branco, Avesso, Batoca, Loureiro, Pedernã(Arinto) and Trajadura. The best qualities are considered to be those made from Alvarinho and Loureiro, which are also produced as single-varietal wines.

Producers

The best-known producers of Vinho Verde include Casa de Sezim, Casa de Vilacetinho, Casa de Vila Verde, Mendes, Ponte de Lima, Palacio de Brejoeira, Sogrape (Gazela, Morgadio de Torre, Quinta Avelada, Quinta Azevedo), Quinta do Ameal, Quinta da Franqueira, Quinta de Liaxa and Quinta do Tamariz.

Image: by Alejandro Piñero Amerio on Pixabay