Excitingly, this growing success has seen strong investment from the EU in the past decade to improve the quality of Vinho Verde wines, from the vineyards themselves to educating the producers. The result is a gamut of pleasantly differing white wines, and – surprise – reds too.
Yes, red wine is produced in Vinho Verde (in fact it amounts for about half of the stuff). We’re so easily dazzled by the idea of zesty refreshment that buyers have focused their portfolios on catering to this taste, but if you can find Soalheiro’s 2014 Tinto do give it a try – after five years of ageing in French oak it still has a freshness and vibrancy that is offset by granitic complexity from the 50-50 Alvarinho, Vinhão blend. The nose is bursting with strawberry.
Ah, Alvarinho. More acidic than its softer, popular Spanish cousin, the grape produces complex, mineral and subtly fragrant wines, grown in the slightly warmer area near Monção further north. You won’t find fizz here. It also lends itself beautifully to ageing, especially in single-varietal bottles, as does the more floral Loureiro grape. Wine makers have been having a lot of success with these two varieties, which, given a little oak, grow more characterful and complex – so don’t just go for young bottles mid-Spring.
What else should you look for if you want to expand your Vinho Verde knowledge past the green apple, spritzy stuff? Grapes such as the mineral Arinto, more creamy Avesso and sharp Trajadura can produce rounder, more-structured wines with tropical notes and a certain waxiness.
