Vinho Verde (; , nonliterally 'young wine') refers to

Portuguese wine Portuguese wine was mostly introduced by the Romans (wine), Romans and other ancient Mediterranean peoples who traded with local coastal populations, mainly in the South. In pre-Roman Gallaecia-Lusitania times, the native peoples only drank beer ...

that originated in the historic

Minho Province Minho () was a former province in Portugal, established in 1936 and dissolved in 1976. It consisted of 23 municipalities, with its capital in the city of Braga. Today, the area would include the districts of Braga and Viana do Castelo. Minho ha ...

in the far north of the country. The modern-day 'Vinho Verde' region, originally designated in 1908, includes the old Minho Province plus adjacent areas to the south. In 1976, the old province was dissolved. Vinho Verde is not a grape variety, it is a

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: People and characters * Doc, an abbreviation of doctor * Doc (nickname) * Doc (mascot), the Towson University mascot Persons * The D.O.C., American rapper (born 1968) * Doc Gallows (born 1983), ring nam ...

for the production of wine. The name means 'green wine', but translates as "young wine", with wine being released three to six months after the grapes are harvested. They may be

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

, and they are usually consumed soon after bottling. A Vinho Verde can also be a sparkling, a Late Harvest or even Brandy. In its early years of production, the slight effervesce of the wine came from

malolactic fermentation Malolactic conversion (also known as malolactic fermentation or MLF) is a process in winemaking in which Tart (flavor), tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation ...

taking place in the bottle. In

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

, this is usually considered a

wine fault A wine fault is a sensory-associated (organoleptic) characteristic of a wine that is unpleasant, and may include elements of taste, smell, or appearance, elements that may arise from a "chemical or a microbial origin", where particular sensory expe ...

but Vinho Verde producers found that consumers liked the slightly fizzy nature. However, the wines had to be packaged in

opaque Opacity is the measure of impenetrability to electromagnetic or other kinds of radiation, especially visible light. In radiative transfer, it describes the absorption and scattering of radiation in a medium, such as a plasma, dielectric, shie ...

bottles to hide the unseemly

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

and sediment that the "in-bottle MLF" produced. Today, most Vinho Verde producers no longer follow this practice with the slight sparkle being added by artificial

carbonation Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorganic che ...

.R. Boulton, V. Singleton, L. Bisson, R. Kunkee ''Principles and Practices of Winemaking'', pp. 251–253. Springer, 1996, New York. . The region is characterized by its many small growers, which numbered around 19,000 as of 2014. Many of these growers used to

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

their vines high off the ground, up trees, fences, and even

telephone poles ''Telephone Poles'' is the second book of poetry written by American writer John Updike. Publication The collection was published by Alfred A. Knopf, Knopf in 1963. Reception In ''The New York Times'', critic X.J. Kennedy wrote, "Of younger ...

so that they could cultivate

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

crops below the vines that their families may use as a food source.T. Stevenson, ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'', p. 333. Dorling Kindersley, 2005. .

Styles

The majority of the wines classified as Vinho Verde are white, but the region is also known for the production of red and rose wines. The white Vinho Verde is very fresh, due to its natural acidity, with fruity and floral aromas that depend on the grape variety. The white wines are lemon- or straw-coloured, around 8.5 to 11% alcohol, and are made from local grape varieties Loureiro,

Arinto Arinto or Arinto de Bucelas is a white Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Bucelas, Tejo and Vinho Verde regions. It can produce high acid wines with lemon notes. Synonyms Arinto is also known by the synonyms Arintho, Arintho du Dao ...

, Trajadura, Avesso, and

Azal Azerbaijan Airlines (), also known as AZAL, is the national flag carrier and largest airline of Azerbaijan. Based in Baku, adjacent to Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the carrier operates to destinations across Asia, the Commonwealth of Ind ...

. At less than one bar of CO₂ pressure, they do not quite qualify as

semi-sparkling wines Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne r ...

but are nonetheless slightly sparkling. The red and rose Vinho Verde wines are much less common than the white ones. That is caused mainly by the region's climatic conditions with its relatively cool temperatures and high level of rainfall that make it impossible for the red wine grapes to ripen. The Vinho Verde red wines usually have red color and a fruity flavor with the tasting notes of pepper, peony, and sour plum. Vinho Verde rose wines are also not very common, they have a slightly pink or intense color and red berries flavor. Vinho Alvarinho is made from Alvarinho grapes, from a designated subregion of

Monção Monção (; ) is a municipality in the district of Viana do Castelo (district), Viana do Castelo in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,230, in an area of 211.31 km2. The current mayor is the Social Democrat António Barbosa. The municip ...

and Melgaço. It has more alcohol (11.5 to 14%) and ripe tropical aromas. The reds are deep red and tannic, and are mostly made from Vinhão, Borraçal and Amaral grapes. The

s are very fresh and fruity, usually made from

Espadeiro Espadeiro is a red Portuguese wine grape (wine), grape planted primarily in the Minho VR, Minho region for making Vinho Verde. It is also grown across the border, in Galicia (wine), Galicia (Spain (wine), Spain) where it is used to make body (w ...

and Padeiro grapes.

History

The Romans

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca ...

and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

both made reference to vines in the area between the rivers Douro and Minho. A record exists of a winery being donated to the Alpendurada convent in

Marco de Canaveses Marco de Canaveses () is a city and municipality on Porto district, in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 53,450, in an area of 201.89 km2. The city itself had a population of 9,042 in 2001. Geography The city of Marco Canaveses i ...

in 870 AD, and the vineyards seem to have expanded over the following centuries, planted by religious orders and encouraged by tax breaks. Wines were mostly produced for domestic consumption, although Vinho Verde may have been exported in the 12th century, to England, Germany, and Flanders. The first definite exports to England are recorded by John Croft as taking place in 1788. The arrival of

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

in the 16th century left a distinctive stamp on

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

in the region. To maximize production of maize, new regulations banished vines to the field margins, where they would be draped over trees and hedges, forcing the vignerons to pick them from tall ladders. The "Vinho Verde Region" was demarcated by the law of September 18, 1908 and a decree of October 1 of the same year. The regulations controlling production were largely set in 1926, with recognition as a ''

Denominação de Origem Controlada The denominação de origem controlada (or DOC) is the system of protected designation of origin for fruit, wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products from Portugal. Wines Portuguese wine regions, as well as producers of several o ...

'' (DOC) in 1984. The DOC is overseen by the Comissão de Viticultura da Região dos Vinhos Verdes (). Currently, nearly 21,000 hectares of vineyards are planted, making up 9% of the total in Portugal. There are around 19,000 producers, down from 72,590 in 1981. Around 600 bottlers in the region produce 85 million liters of wine each year. 86% of the wine from Vinho Verde is white.

Subregions

The Vinho Verde DOC is divided into nine subregions, which may be indicated on the wine label together with the name of Vinho Verde, for example as Vinho Verde-Amarante.Official Journal of the European Union C 187/1, 8.8.2009: List of quality wines produced in specified regions
(reflects situation as of July 31, 2009) The subregions are: Amarante, Ave, Baião, Basto, Cávado, Lima, Monção e Melgaço, Paiva, and Sousa.

Grapes

The grape varieties recommended or permitted for the DOC are as follows: *Recommended white grapes: Alvarinho,

, Avesso,

, Batoca, Loureiro, and Trajadura *Permitted white grapes: Branco-Escola, Cainho de Moreira, Cascal, Douradinha, Esganinho, Esganoso de Castelo de Paiva, Esganoso de Lima,

Fernão Pires Fernão Pires is a white Portuguese wine grape grown throughout Portugal, especially in the Tejo and Bairrada, where it is also known as "Maria Gomes". This variety is known to produce wines with a spicy aromatic character,Lameiro, Rabigato, S. Mamede, and Semilão *Recommended red grapes: Amaral / Azal Tinto, Borraçal, Brancelho,

, Padeiro, Pedral,

Rabo de Ovelha Rabo de Ovelha (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "Sheep's tail") is white Portuguese wine grape variety that is grown all over Portugal. It should not be confused with the red Rabo de Anho grape variety that is found in the Vinho Verde region. R ...

, and Vinhão *Permitted red grapes: Doçal, Doçal de Refóios, Espadeiro Mole, Labrusco, Mourisco, Pical Pôlho, Sousão, and Verdelho Tinto. The two most successful white wine varieties are Alvarinho and Loureiro. Alvarinho tends to produce low yields and can reach much higher alcohol levels. The grape is widely planted in the northern Minho between the Lima Valley and Spanish border. Loureiro produces higher yields but very aromatic wines. The most successful red wine grape has been Vinhão, followed by Amaral / Azal Tinto and Espadeiro. These grapes can produce wines with deep purple coloring and peppery notes.

References

{{Reflist

External links

vinhoverde.pt
– official website of the Comissão de Viticultura da região dos vinhos verdes
Vinho Verde
– artigo de referência sobre este vinho Wine regions of Portugal Appellations