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The regions · Portugal

Vinho Verde: the name comes from the region, not the color

Vinho Verde (literally “green wine”) isn't the color of the wine: it's the name of a region in northwestern Portugal, demarcated in 1908. It makes white, red, rosé and sparkling. The most famous is the light, fresh white, sometimes with a touch of fizz, that gets along very well with the Brazilian heat.

64 of the house's labels come from here51 whites · 10 rosés · 3 sparklingOn the Trips map

Where it is and what the place is like

The region takes up the northwest corner of Portugal. It starts at the Minho River, which forms the border with Spain, runs down the coast to the city of Porto and, to the south, reaches the banks of the Vouga River. It's the country's largest denomination of origin.

The Atlantic is in charge here. The sea wind comes in through the river valleys, it rains a lot and the temperature almost never hits extremes. The grapes ripen unhurriedly and hold on to their acidity, that freshness that makes your mouth water. The ground is almost all granite.

The exception is Monção e Melgaço, in the Minho valley. Surrounded by mountains that block the sea wind, it has colder winters and hotter, drier summers than the rest of the region.

The Atlantic on the left, a river between green hills with vines, wind coming in from the sea and rain clouds.
fig. 1Vinho Verde: the Atlantic is in charge; the sea wind comes in through the river valleys and it rains a lot.

So why “green”?

Nobody has settled where the name comes from. One explanation links the green to the acidity, which recalls fruit that hasn't ripened yet. The other, to the landscape, which stays green even in winter thanks to all the rain. What's certain is that the name belongs to the place: since 1973 the international register has reserved Vinho Verde for wines from this region.

The region's grapes

Among the whites, the stars are Loureiro and Alvarinho. Loureiro is the region's most planted grape and likes the valleys closer to the sea, like the Lima River valley, where it feels at home. It makes fragrant whites, with flowers and lemon.

Alvarinho was born in the Minho River valley and is the backbone of Monção e Melgaço. It makes fuller-bodied whites that hold up well over years of aging. Rounding out the team are Arinto (which they call Pedernã there), Trajadura, Avesso and Azal.

In the reds, Vinhão rules, so dark in color it turns purple. For rosé, the typical grapes are Espadeiro and Padeiro.

What wine comes from there

The classic white is light, low in alcohol, very fresh, sometimes with a bit of fizz and a hint of sweet fruit at the back. But the region also makes more serious, fuller-bodied whites, fermented in stainless steel or in barrel, meant for aging.

The traditional red is a different animal: dark, with firm tannin and high acidity, sometimes with pinkish foam in the glass. Today it's drunk more there than abroad. Rosé, which used to be low-key, has grown a lot in the last decade. And since 1999 the denomination includes sparkling wine.

What the label says

Vinho Verde on the label is the denomination of origin. To use the name, the wine follows the law (which grapes, how much each hectare yields, how it's made) and also goes through lab analysis and a tasting panel. Terms like Reserva have their own rules too.

The label may carry one of the nine subregions: Monção e Melgaço, Lima, Cávado, Ave, Basto, Sousa, Amarante, Baião and Paiva. See Minho instead of Vinho Verde? That's Vinho Regional Minho: same area, but it accepts grapes from outside the local tradition, like Touriga Nacional, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. A certified bottle carries a guarantee seal, and Monção e Melgaço has its own seal.

What it pairs with

The light white is great company for beach food and boteco (neighborhood bar) food: shrimp pastel, casquinha de siri (stuffed crab shell), fried fish, bolinho de bacalhau (salt cod fritters), sushi. A fuller-bodied Alvarinho can handle a moqueca or grilled fish. The rosé goes with salad, pizza and bar snacks. And the Vinhão red, acidic and tannic, cuts through fat: try it with torresmo (pork cracklings), linguiça sausage or feijoada. It's a suggestion, not a law: the best match is the one you like.

A bit of history

The region's fame started with its reds. Whites only gained ground from the late 19th century on and took the lead in the second half of the 20th century. The demarcation came on September 18, 1908, and the commission that looks after the denomination, the CVRVV, was born in 1926.

An old way of planting there has a curious name: vinha de enforcado (“hanged man's vine”), with the vine climbing and twining around the trees.

The grapes in the labels from here

Across the house's 64 Vinho Verde labels, the grapes that show up most. The number is how many labels use each one.

Loureiro 33Alvarinho 28Arinto 23Trajadura 20Azal Branco 11Vinhão 6Avesso 2Borraçal 2

To start with: Vinho Verde wines by price range

The price range the house saw at big stores in Brazil, in the month shown. The price changes; the range tends to stay.

Throwing a party? How many bottles to buy →

Top rated from Vinho Verde

Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.

See the Vinho Verde labels in the search →

The no-fuss summary: Vinho Verde is a place, not a color. Chill it, pour it and find out which one is yours: the light summer one, the more serious Alvarinho or the red that stains the glass.

Sources for this page

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