Join Our Mailing List

Enter your e-mail address

Subscribe
Unsubscribe

Salad Days Wine

On a hot summer afternoon, my aunt, who hailed from a small southern Italian town, would on occasion make for herself a salad of thinly sliced lemons drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with coarse salt, and sprinkled with chopped parsley. As a child, I wondered how anyone could ever eat lemons straight. Even today, though my culinary tastes have become more urbane, I still wonder. But I shall never forget her contented look as she indulged in that simple plate of citrus.

My recent examination of Portuguese Vinho Verde made me think of the many idiosyncratic pleasures associated with food and wine. To find the bottles for this feature, I had to travel to the Portuguese section of Newark, the Iron Bound district. It didn't take long for me to locate a wine store that had a huge selection of Vinho Verde. When I asked the young clerk behind the counter for some assistance, he called upon his uncle, who was more knowledgeable about these wines. This foreign-born merchant did not hesitate to recommend, along with some moderately and higher priced Vinhos Verdes, a few very inexpensive ones, saying that their price did not reflect their quality. “Just drink them cold,” he advised sagely.

When I tasted these three- and four-dollar wines, I wondered how he could have recommended them so highly without even a word of caution, except for the chilling, to a Vinho Verde neophyte. They were wines that were quite unlike any others that I had ever tasted. They had sweet noses but were quite dry with subtle hints of citrus. There was a peculiar tartness accompanied by a bit of fizz. They were also quite thin and short on the finish. They were certainly not as pleasant as were most of his other recommendations. Would I buy them again? Probably not. But I am sure that this Portuguese-American wine merchant would not hesitate to drink any of them on a hot summer afternoon and, while doing so, would probably have the same look of contentment as my aunt had while she savored her lemon salad.

The name Vinho Verde, green wine, has nothing to do with the color of the wine but rather with its age. These are young wines, to be drunk in their salad days, and are usually bottled after only four or five months. The appellation Vinho Verde covers a large region in northwest Portugal between the river Minho to the north and the river Douro to the south. The soil is mostly granite based and the climate relatively mild.

The appellation includes both red and white wines; however, the reds are rarely exported. The white wines are made from a wide variety of grapes, the most famous of which are the Trajadura, the Loureiro, and the Alvarinho. There are eight sub-regions, and one of the most prized wines is from the Moncao, renowned for its Alvarinho, which seems to be higher in alcohol and more fruity than other Vinhos Verdes.

The soil, climate, and grape varieties contribute to the wines' acidity, and it would appear that one of the winemakers' objectives is to encourage a secondary malolactic fermentation in the bottle, which gives these wines their bite and slight fizz.

Perhaps one of the best sources for information on Vinho Verde is the website of the Comissão de Viticultura da Região dos Vinhos Verdes. It covers in great detail the region, the viticulture, the winemaking, and the many brands available. I found it to be one of the best websites devoted to a single appellation. The design and attention to detail made me think that there's a deep interest in reclaiming the quality and restoring, if not elevating, the reputation of these wines.

Vinhos Verdes are great for summer drinking. Most are relatively low in alcohol (around 9 to 10%). They're typically dry with a refreshing spritz and best, as my newest wine merchant counseled, served cold. The drier varieties are perfect for light seafood and fish dishes like steamed mussels. The fruitier ones would go quite well with white meat dishes like a Portuguese pork stew. Be sure these wines are not more than two years old. In fact, the younger the better. Even for non-vintage wines, you can get some idea of their age from the Selo de Garantia on the back of the bottle. It has a serial number followed by the last two digits of the year the wine was bottled.

We tasted twelve wines ordered by price from the least to the most expensive. As is our custom, we first tasted the wines alone and then chose several to taste with food (mussels cooked in white wine with shallots and parsley).

1997 Conde Villar, Vinho Verde, Branco Seco ($3.99)

Pale chartreuse in color with a light pleasant vanilla and herbaceous nose, the wine is very dry. Along with a slight fizz, there are grassy and citrus flavors, mostly of lemon. It's rather short on the finish. This is one of those wines we mentioned in the introduction. It's worth trying at least once to experience a most basic Vinho Verde.

N.V. Ponte do Lima, Vinho Verde, Branco ($4.49)

Pale yellow in color, this wine has a nose of dried apricots. On the palate, it's tart, dry, and thin with flavors of light citrus and apple. Short on the finish. For the price, a pleasant enough wine and perhaps would be nice as an aperitif.

N.V. Ponte da Barca, Vinho Verde, White Wine ($4.99)

The color is pale straw and the nose sweet with nuances of brown sugar and honey. On the tongue, the wine is very tart but delivers floral flavors that are reminiscent of rose water. It's quite thin and short on the finish.

N.V. (Bottled in 1999) Famega, Vinho Verde, Branco ($4.99)

Almost clear in color, this wine has a forward sweet nose of honeysuckle. On the tongue, there's a refreshing spritz. A good example of what in wine parlance is referred to as "petillance." On the palate, citrusy flavors are followed by hints of smoky bacon. The wine also has a nice finish. This bottle was one of the stars of the tasting and was great with the food, where its smoky flavors were even more pronounced.

1997 Melgaco, Torre de Menagem, Vinho Verde ($5.49)

Pale yellow in color, the wine has a floral nose with hints of sweetness. On the palate, the wine is relatively full bodied with earthy and minerally flavors accompanied by good acidity. It also has an adequate finish. This was definitely one of our favorites.

N.V. Aveleda, Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde, Branco ($5.49)

Almost translucent in color, this wine has a subtle peachy nose. On the palate, it delivers a lot of flavor along with some fizz. It's semi-dry with nectarine-like flavors. It has good body, pleasant acidity, and a more than adequate finish. This wine provided a nice backdrop to our mussels. I believe it's one of the more widely available and popular Vinhos Verdes.

1998 Aveleda, Loureiro da Aveleda, Vinho Verde, Branco Seco, ($5.99)

Pale yellow in color, this single varietal made from Loureiro is pale yellow in color. Its nose is forward and floral (mostly rose). On the palate, it's tart with good acidity and delivers grapefruit flavors. It also finishes quite well. A fine example of Vinho Verde. This bottle provided an interesting counterpoint to the food. Another star of the tasting.

N.V. Aveleda, Vinho Verde, Branco ($5.99)

Very pale straw in color, the wine has a subtle sweet nose. It's almost effervescent on the tongue. A little thin but pleasantly refreshing with light citrus flavors. It's a little short on the finish. One taster remarked: "A good old summertime wine."

N.V. Aveleda, Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde ($6.25)

This wine is pale straw in color with a toasty nose. It's very effervescent and on the palate delivers smoky bacon flavors. It's quite full bodied and has a nice finish. It went quite well with the food; in fact, its acidity boosted the flavors of the mussels and shallots.

1998 Aveleda, Trajadura da Aveleda, Vinho Verde, Branco Seco, ($7.49)

Light yellow in color with a big floral nose, this wine is bubbly and effervescent with good acidity. On the palate, it shows good body and delivers plenty of citrus flavor. It also has a very good finish. This is a surprisingly sophisticated Vinho Verde and was quite good with the food. It's well worth trying. Another star of this tasting.

1997 Melgaco, Alvarinho, Vinho Verde, White Wine ($11.99)

Pale gold in color, this varietal made from the Alvarinho grape has a sweet honey nose. On the palate, it's sweet, almost cloyingly so, but rather thin bodied. It has an adequate finish. I think this wine would be interesting to taste with a braised pork dish.

1997 Dona Paterna, Alvarinho, Vinho Verde, White Wine ($12.49)

Pale yellow in color, this Alvarinho has a light peach nose and is fuller bodied. Its flavor is reminiscent of rock candy with lemon/lime nuances. It also finishes quite well. This would be another wine to taste with with white meats.

TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchant, Wine & Spirit World. Their web site may help you locate a good number of our selections.

If you have any suggestions for future tastings, drop us a line at the address below.