Study with me: Vinho Verde

As my first ‘Study with me: CSW edition” post, I’m featuring a wine that, although pretty widely available in the United States, I didn’t know too much about: Vinho Verde.

👩🏽‍🎓 The first time I tried Vinho Verde was when I was a grad student in Istanbul: being the financially-challenged, wine-loving student that I was, I was always searching for value wines. I loved the slight effervescence and off-dry character of the Vinho Verde that I had found, and would drink it quite often! Because of this and because of the name, I always assumed Vinho Verde was a white, slightly effervescent wine.

❎ Welp, spoiler alert: I was wrong. In fact, Vinho Verde is not a grape variety, it is a DOC located in the northwest of Portugal. The name means “green wine,” but translates as “young wine”, with wine being released 3 to 6 months after the grapes are harvested. The wine can be red, white, or rosé, and it is usually meant to be consumed soon after bottling. In its early years of production, the slight effervesce of the wine came from malolactic fermentation taking place in the bottle, but nowadays it is usually added through artificial carbonation.

🌼 Although Vinho Verde can be white, red, or rosé, the majority of the production of the region is white wine - and that’s usually what you can find here in the States. Lots of white Vinho Verde is very fresh, low alcohol, fruity and floral, with slight effervescence. The wine I’m holding in this photo is an Alvarinho, Avesso and Loureiro blend. This is a perfect example of a Vinho Verde that isn’t what you would expect: it is higher in alcohol, has no effervescence, and features tropical and deep citrus notes.

💰And what I always loved about Vinho Verde as a student still rings true today: you can find lovely examples at excellent QPRs: the wine in the photo comes in at under $15!

🤔 So if you have yet to try a Vinho Verde, here’s your sign to grab yourself a bottle! And let me know what you think below.