Vinho Verde is one of my absolute favorite summer wines.

I cannot think of a more perfect beverage for the season. Here are just a few reasons I think it should be in everyone’s summer bottle rotation:

• It’s super refreshing.

• Most tickle your tongue with a hint of fizz.

• It pairs beautifully with fresh summer fare.

• It tends to be low in alcohol, which makes it perfect for sipping in the afternoon sun without gonking you out.

• It’s usually very easy on the wallet, so you can crack open bottles freely and keep the wine flowing.

Map courtesy of Wines of Portugal.

Vinho Verde is a wine region in northwestern corner of Portugal in the province of Minho. The name Vinho Verde means “green wine,” but it's a reference to the wine's youth, not its color, thanks to the fact that wines are bottled pretty quickly after harvest – within 3 to 6 months. The wines often have a characteristic hint of fizz – not so much to be considered full-on sparkling, but just enough that you can feel it. Originally, this fizz was the result of the wine being bottled so quickly after fermentation that there was still a bit of C02 left in the wine, but nowadays winemakers typically add a bit to the wine as it’s being bottled.

The other likely possible origin of the name is that it could be referring to the color of the region itself, as it is quite verdant indeed. (However, the youthfulness of the wine is the more consistently cited origin of the name Vinho Verde that I've seen.) It’s right on the Atlantic coast and is boarded by the River Minho to the north, on the country's border with Spain, and stretches past the River Douro to the south. It has a cool, maritime climate that is quite rainy, which results in a lush green landscape. 

Despite the beautiful, fertile look of the land, it can actually be tricky to grow grapes well here. Grape vines don't really like a lot of moisture – it can make them over-productive and causes a lot of problems like mold, mildew, rot, and other diseases. Vines in Vinho Verde are often trained upward on Pergola systems, which help guard against the problems all the moisture brings, by allowing the vines to catch the breezes. It also helps farmers make the most of their land, which tends toward small plots, by increasing the density of the vines. Alternatively, many modern vineyards, particularly those with bigger estates, will instead train their vines along wires that help the grapes ripen by soaking in as much sun as possible whenever it makes an appearance.

Here are a few more basics for getting to know the region:

• The region is best known for its white wines, however, they also make rosé and red wines, although they tend to be harder to find. Full-on sparkling wines are also permitted as of 1999. The region also makes brandy.
  

• Vinho Verde wines are typically blends. There are recommended grapes, as well as a wider set of permitted white and red grapes. Each grape brings a different aspect to the blend. For example, Alvarinho, which is highly prized brings minerality, finesse, and fragrance. Loureiro is known for being quite aromatic. The recommended grapes are as follows: 
• White: Alvarinho, Arinto, Avesso, Azal, Batoca, Loureiro, and Trajadura. Varietal Alvarinho wines are also made in the subregions Melgaço and Monção 
• Red: Amaral, Azal Tinto, Borraçal, Brancelho, Espadeiro, Padeiro, Pedral, Rabo de Ovelha and Vinhão
  

• The region is divided into nine subregions within the DOC of Vinho Verde, which are named after rivers or towns. They are: Monção, Melgaço, Lima, Basto, Cávado, Ave, Amarante, Baião, Sousa and Paiva. Different subregions have particular characteristics and might focus on different grapes depending on their particular climatic variations.

Greg and I spent a brief but wonderful few days in Portugal in 2013, along with one of my besties, Antonella. We didn’t make it to Vinho Verde, but we certainly drank some bottles. Here’s one bottle from Quinta da Aveleda with a seafood spread.

Scenes from a lunch in Lisbon.

 

While these wines are quite versatile, they are particularly wonderful with seafood. This trip to Portugal and Spain also showed us the possibilities of what good tinned fish can be, and we’ve sought out the good versions ever since. These can be particularly nice to have around during the summer when you don’t really feel like slaving away in front of a hot stove.

 

THE FOOD

We’ve recently made our way down to San Diego to see Greg’s parents and we decided to share an easy seafood spread with them combining one dish using tinned fish, and another involving very light cooking, with a line-up of Vinho Verde wines for a little comparative tasting. 


I took inspiration from Chef George Mendes’ My Portugal cookbook for the dishes. The first was a very easy tomato and onion salad with good tinned tuna and herbs. (Adapted below.) You could just as easily swap in another favorite tinned fish option. The next dish involved clams simply cooked in a mixture of garlic, cilantro, and Vinho Verde. (How perfect is that?!) I found it reprinted here. The only change I made was to add shallots in alon. Altogether, everything took these dishes took less than an hour to put together. 

THE WINES

We opened three bottles to compare. We enjoyed all three, all were very refreshing, and they all went very well with the food. However, we definitely had a favorite – and on this occasion, we were all in agreement! The best part is that the prices for these wines topped out at about $13, so it’s pretty hard to go wrong. 

Quinta de Raza ‘Raza’ Vinho Verde 2019

Aveleda Fonte Vinho Verde 2019

This is one of the more easily available and reliable brands around. They’re actually the biggest exporter of Vinho Verde in Portugal. The company has been owned by the Guedes family for 5 generations, since its founding in 1870. Today, the company is run by António Azevedo Guedes and Martim Guedes. In addition to Vinho Verde, the company also produces wines in the Douro and Bairrada.

This was the stoniest of the three wines. It showed white flowers on the nose, along with notes of green apple and lime. All notes continued on the palate, along with hints of herbs on the finish. It was light and crisp and worked like a squeeze of lemon with the food.

Blend: Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura and Aza
Alc: 9.5%
Soils: Granite and sand.
Farming: Sustainable.
Average Price: $9 (Can’t quite recall where I bought this one.)
Additional details here. 

Broadbent Vinho Verde NV

 

For a dish like this it really pays to use a really good quality tinned fish. On this occasion, I used this version from Olasagasti, which I admit is a little pricey. Typically, I would probably use something along the lines of this one by Tonnino.

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares Foods from Around the World Paired with Pink Wines from Portugal. 
• Liz of What’s In That Bottle? is thrilled with Va Va Va Vinho Verde: the Portuguese White That Wows. 
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles answers What is Vinho Verde? 5 things I didn’t know about this perfect summer wine. 
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm savors Tomato Poached Cod with Vinho Verde Wine. 
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass realizes that Distinctively ‘Laurel' Vinho Verde Delivers with Seafood and Salad. 
• Payal at Keep the Peas is pairing Sem Igual Vinho Verde with Peixe Caldine. 
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator says Vinho Verde: A Green Wine That’s White from Portugal Paired with Tuna, Tomato, Basil, Orzo.
• Martin at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog is Pairing Maria Papoila Vinho Verde with Summer Pizza. 
• Susannah at Avvinare explains how Vinho Verde Meets Homemade Sushi. 
• Terri at Our Good Life savors Scallops, Smashed Peas and a Great Vinho Verde. 
• Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairing achieves A Successful Hunt Down of a Red Vinhao Escolha from Vinho Verde DOC. 
• Cindy at Grape Experiences has been reminiscing upon last fall’s work trip where she spent A Morning Visit to Quinta da Aveleda in Vinho Verde.

• Wines of Portugal
• Vinho Verde 
• Wine-searcher.com 
• The Oxford Companion via Jancisrobinson.com 
• Guildsomm.com 
• VinePair: 7 Things You Need To Know About Vinho Verde 
•  Winefolly.com: 101 Guide To Vinho Verde Wine from Portugal

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Today we’re celebrating the everyday bottle. Regular readers will know that I’ve recently been trying to work through some higher-end bottles. Today’s post is not that. Today I'm tipping my hat to a happy, easy-drinking bottle that does not break the bank. 

To be honest, most bottles we drink around here fit into this camp. I was recently reminded of how important these bottles are by this article by Eric Asimov. I fully believe that there are many, many wonderful dining experiences to be had that don’t break the bank. That’s the idea behind the 8 & 20 series, and I’ve shared quite a few inexpensive favorites here as well. (I’ll drop a few links at the end.)

The Azienda Santa Barbara dei Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi 2016 falls squarely into this company at just $12. It’s crisp, refreshing, and goes down easy. The kind of simple thing you want sitting right by you on a hot day. The Kermit Lynch (importer) site says it all: “ . . . this Verdicchio from Azienda Santa Barbara is not a profound, long-lived wine: this bright, zesty, lemony quaffer is destined for early drinking, at a price that encourages unlimited thirst-quenching pleasure for all.”

Verdicchio (now also known to be the same as Trebbiano di Soave and very similar to Turbiana) is a grape worth knowing about for several reasons. It tends to have high acidity, which makes it extremely refreshing and a wonderful food wine. Verdicchio tends to be bursting with citrus notes, crispy apples, plenty of minerality, and hints of almonds. The “little green one” gets its name from the greenish hue of the grape skins, which gives the wine a subtle, greenish hint as well. Maybe it’s the power of suggestion from the color, but I tend to get light herbal notes as well. Complex and ageable versions of the wine exist, as do bubblies and dessert options, in addition to the many easy-drinkers, like today’s wine. It’s a great alternative when you want to switch things up from Sauvignon Blanc.

Verdicchio has been grown in the Marche in central Italy since the 14th century, according to the Oxford Companion. It probably originated further north in the Veneto, but it travelled down and made itself right at home in the hilly regions running along the Adriatic coast. Legend has it that when Visigoth troops, under King Alarich (370-410), marched on Rome, they drank Verdicchio to maintain their strength. Sounds good to me.

There are two DOC’s for the wine in the Marche: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica. (There are also corresponding Riserva DOCG options.) Castelli di Jesi is the bigger of the two regions, and was generally known for producing the lighter style between the two,  however, yield restrictions were tightened in the area, generally increasing the quality overall.

 
THE PAIRING

Azienda Santa Barbara Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 2016 is the first wine brought in from the region by famed importer Kermit Lynch. While there wasn’t that much information on the producer, they farm sustainably and the Kermit Lynch site notes that “owner Stefano Antonucci has a track record of creating benchmark wines from the Marche.”

 

True to type, on the day we tried this wine Greg and I picked up notes of green apples, lime, and light herbs on the nose. The palate matched right up with the crispy green apples (Greg called it “unripe apple core”) and lime making a comeback, along with some grapefruit pith, a pleasant bitter herb note, the lightest hint of white flowers. It’s was simple, but really refreshing with a hint of spritziness, and a tangy roundness to the mouthfeel.

This is the kind of wine you get specifically because it’s easy, refreshing, and it’s going to pair easily with many things at your table. It’s an ideal cafe wine. On this particular night, we decide to pair it with one of our at-home-cafe favorites–tuna melts. Maybe that’s more of a diner classic, but we jazzed it up to cafe status.



One of my favorite things about tuna melts is that they’re really easy to customize to my mood. The classic versions are always good, but I also love to add curry powder at times to give it a spicier note. In this case I decided to keep it simple, but with light additions to resonate with the wine. I added capers for the light green and slight floral notes, as well as a little lemon zest. I usually like to swap in Greek yogurt or sour cream for part or all of the mayo, in this case I also thought that the tangy quality of these two would resonate well with the wine.

A really easy way to make something as simple and basic as a tuna melt feel special is by upping the quality of the ingredients. Splurging for higher-end canned or jarred tuna is one easy swap–we like Tonnino. And of course then there’s the bread! I’d been working on a story on a couple of wonderful pop-up bakers in the South Bay, and had a beautiful loaf of country bread from Little Sky Bakery. That definitely upped the sandwich game!

The two made a tasty match.  Combined with a couple of bowls of tomato soup, it all made for a very chill and delicious evening.


THE GEEKY DETAILS

Quick details taken from Kermit Lynch’s Website:

Producer:    Azienda Santa Barbara
Vineyard:    30 year old vines, 25 ha
Soil:            Sandy tuffo
Aging:        Wine ages in stainless steel for 3 months
Farming:    Sustainable
Alcohol:    12%

Find more details on their tech sheet.


MONEY TALK

At $12 this a no-brainer House Wine.


OTHER POSSIBILITIES

There are so many. This will go easily with most seafood and light chicken dishes. I think this would be great with pesto or pasta primavera. It also will pair well with porches and warm days.