Vinho Verde is a type of wine that is made from Portuguese grapes. The wines are generally low in alcohol, crisp, and are released without aging. Most of what we knew about these wines has come from informal wine tastings, from attending a Vinho Verde paired dinner in San Francisco many years ago. We have also visited the Vinho Verde region in Portugal where we were struck by some of the trellising and pruning. While some look similar to French and American vines, many are allowed to grow quite tall, spread horizontally and fully pruned up to the canopy. But still we had limited knowledge.

That was about to change as we recently attended a Vinho Verde seminar sponsored by Wines of Portugal.

The Vinho Verde Region

The Vinho Verde reinvention began in earnest in the 1990s. It has been driven by a concerted campaign that enticed the region’s thousands of small growers (13,000 growers with an average of 1.2 hectares apiece) to grow white grapes that are best suited to each of the region’s sub regions and by creating cooperatives to produce and market the wines.

While the entire wine-growing region consists overwhelmingly of granite-based soils, elevations of less than 700 meters, its mountainous surroundings, multiple river valleys, distances from the ocean and varied rainfall (between 47 and 88 inches per year) result in multiple microclimates. Not surprisingly, each microclimate is suited to different combinations of grape varieties.

Grape Varietals

This cool, rainy, granite-soiled region is seemingly ill-suited to growing wine grapes. Its grapes seldom fully ripen or achieve their full sugar content. Still, some grapes flourish in such conditions.

While 45 different grape varieties are grown in the region, the vast majority of the Vinho Verde production consists of six white grapes each with its own aroma and flavor profiles:

• Loureiro, the most heavily planted grape, is elegant and has a floral character;
• Alvarinho has an intense aroma with a complex fruity character with notes of nuts;
• Arinto has a rich flavor, with citrus and tree fruits, mineral, and saline;
• Avesso is fruity, nutty and ageble;
• Azal has fresh, citrus notes and is high in acid; and
• Trajadura has a delicate flavor of apple, pear and peach tones, and is low in acid.

Red grape varietals include Alvareihao, Amaral, Borracal, Espadeiro, Padeiro, Pedral, Rabo-de-Ancho and Vinhao.

While some wines are produced from single varietals, most are blends that combine two or more varietals. And while most of these wines are produced by coops, single-estate wines are growing in numbers and quality.

Busting the Myth of the Name

Vinho Verde means green wine. But what does that mean? We’ve been told repeatedly that it refers to the color of the initially produced wine from the region. Others have claimed that it refers to the wine’s youthfulness and freshness. Neither are true. The name came from the lush green landscape where the grapes are grown in Portugal. So much for that myth.

Busting the Myth of Color

A common misconception is that Vinho Verde is only a white wine. Another busted myth. True, 86% of Vinho Verde comes from white grapes. Yet 8% of Vinho Verde is rose and 6% is red.

Busting the Myth of the Wine Itself

One last myth to bust is the flavor profile of Vinho Verde. True, many Vinho Verdes are light, low-alcohol white wines. The crisp bright wines are meant to be drunken young. They typically are straw color and are rich and fruity with floral aromas.

But not all Vinho Verde wines fit this profile. The area also produces complex, elegant, structured wines that can be aged for a decade. They have more of a golden color and aromas of honey and ripe fruit. The result is a rounder and fuller wine.

While the vast majority of the wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, a few vintners make occasional use of neutral French oak barrels and a few are experimenting with concrete eggs.

Tasting the Wines and Pairing with Food

The 16 wine tasting was divided into three flights, primarily 2022 wines with a few from 2021. Appropriate small dishes were paired with each wine flight:

1. The first flight highlighted the differences among the primary varietals (Alvarinho, Loureiro, Avesso and a common blend of Loureiro and Alvarinho, was paired with Halibut ceviche  with taro chips. Our favorite wine from this flight were the smooth, complex A&D Monologo Avesso with its rounded finish.
2. The second flight was paired with a rich gemelli pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, pistachios and pecorino. The white blended wines including our favorite, a light, slightly effervescent 2022 Quinta das Arcas Nova Branco, a blend of 50% Loureiro, 40% Arinto and 10% Trajadura.
3. The third flight compared Alvarinho wines from different sub regions and was accompanied with squash blossom fritters with tomato ricotta and lemon. Although we weren’t exited by any of wines, we had a slight preference for the 2021 Falua Barao do Hospital Alvarinho. The wine was partially aged in neutral French oak, which tamed the grape’s acidity and gave it a rounder finish.
4. The fourth flight paired four very different Loureiro-based wines with salmon latkes with crème fraiche, salmon caviar and dill. While the first three wines of this flight were single-varietal Loureiros, our favorite was a blend of Loureiro and Alvarinho grapes: the 2022 Quinta da Lixa Aroma das Castas with its floral nose, the complexity, body and stone fruit on the palate and its salinity.