Portugal Does more than Port

The Elegant, Serious Side of Vinho Verde

You know this classic summer wine as fruity and fizzy. But there's a dry, complex version—let's call it 'Super Verde'—that's so much more

By  LETTIE TEAGUE

Updated Aug. 22, 2014 12:40 p.m. ET

THERE ARE TWO THINGS to know about Vinho Verde, a wine-drinking friend once told me: It's cheap and it's fun. He was right. And he wasn't. The soft, fizzy Portuguese white is the epitome of an easy-drinking, inexpensive wine—perfect for summer. But Vinho Verde can be a lot more.

Vinho Verde is also one of the most photogenic regions in Portugal, thanks in part to its eccentric trellising system, called enforcado. Instead of training vines horizontally across wires, as in most parts of the world, many producers here grow vines vertically up fences, trees and even telephone poles.

I've read differing explanations for this—some say the technique prevents rot (a problem in the damp, humid climate), others say it uses every bit of farmable land. The practice has been phased out in many operations, however, in part because the fruit didn't always ripen evenly. And then there was the added danger of grape pickers falling off ladders and out of trees.

The most prestigious white grape of Vinho Verde is Alvarinho, better recognized by its Spanish name, Albariño, which is the one white wine from Spain everyone knows. Two other key grapes from the region are the Loureiro, the region's most-planted white grape, and Trajadura (Treixadura in Spanish). The Alvarinho is fairly high in acidity, while the Loureiro is wonderfully aromatic (it's said to smell like a laurel leaf) and the Trajadura contributes a pleasant citrus note.

The cheap, simple Vinho Verdes are usually blends of these grapes and others and frequently carry no vintage as they are blends of various years, and are made effervescent with added CO2. The more complex types are always vintage dated and mostly made from single-grape varieties.

The most popular single-varietal is Alvarinho, because of its familiarity and distinctiveness. One famous producer of Alvarinho Vinho Verde is Anselmo Mendes, who has been making a range of both Alvarinho and Loureiro wines since 1998, although they have only been available in the U.S. for the past several years. The Cerdeira family of Quinta de Soalheiro has been making single-varietal Vinho Verdes even longer—since 1982. Winemaker Luis Cerdeira also produces a Loureiro-dominant version, called Dócil, in conjunction with the much-acclaimed winemaker Dirk Niepoort of the Niepoort family in Douro.




“The more serious Vinho Verdes are minerally and dry and not spritzy at all.”

"My idea was to make Dócil a category or style of wines within Vinho Verde," Mr. Niepoort said. And while he intended to produce a wine that is a step up from the simple variety, he also thinks producers should not veer too far from the basic style. "One of the great things about Vinho Verde is the lightness," Mr. Niepoort said.


Pedro Veloso, a partner of Wine in Motion, a company in New Jersey specializing in the wines of Portugal, imports the wines of Anselmo Mendes and Quinta de Soalheiro. He doesn't know quite what to call the complex Vinho Verdes he is selling, but (Mr. Broadbent would approve) he doesn't use the name Vinho Verde, "since people think the wines are fizzy and cheap."

How truly different are the simple and complex types of Vinho Verde? I collected 14 wines, a few of which were the less-costly, effervescent wines. The rest were of the more serious style. The latter included mostly Alvarinhos, although I found a few Lourieros and a couple Alvarinho-Trajadura combinations, too.

The simple wines were decidedly pleasurable in a way that requires little thought—like a carbonated beverage lightly touched by alcohol, though the best had a lively acidity too. The Casal Garcia at $5 was fun, light and frothy, while the Broadbent Vinho Verde for $9 was a bit more racy, with a zingy green-apple note.

The single-varietal Vinho Verdes were decidedly more modern, but they were a mixed bag as well. When they were well-balanced they were refreshing, but some were so high in acidity they were decidedly shrill drinks.

From left: Casal Garcia Vinho Verde, 2012 Dócil Dirk Niepoort, 2013 Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho 'Contacto,' 2013 Quinta de Soalheiro Alvarinho, 2013 Aromas das Castas Alvarinho Trajadura F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal

Casal Garcia Vinho Verde, ($5)

This cheerful, spritzy, decidedly unserious white from Vinhos Aveleda, with its distinctive lacy blue label, is probably the most recognizable Vinho Verde in the world. A delicious low-alcohol (10%), low-priced wine, it's a perfect choice for a picnic lunch.

2012 Dócil Dirk Niepoort, ($13)

This brisk and minerally white has a lovely citrus nose. Made from the Loureiro grape, Dócil is a collaborative effort by Port superstar Dirk Niepoort and Luis Cerdeira de Quinta de Soalheiro to create a more complex type of Vinho Verde.

2013 Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho "Contacto," ($15)

Anselmo Mendes is a star of Vinho Verde for his many successful winemaking experiments. One such foray is this skin-contact Alvarinho—fermenting wine is allowed contact with the grape skins, lending texture and depth—a rich and well-balanced white with a powerful mineral persistence.

2013 Aromas das Castas Alvarinho Trajadura, ($13)

The back-label copy of this aromatic mix of Alvarinho and Trajadura from Monção e Melgaço extols—at great length—the virtues and importance of the Alvarinho grape. And there is proof in this medium-bodied, fairly high-acid white with lovely pear and citrus notes.