In the Minho wine region, on the Atlantic coast above Porto up to the Spanish border, Portuguese winemakers make lively, fresh young wines with a spicy acidity. And they call them, very appropriately, Vinho Verde, 'green wine'. The best white Vinho Verdes, on the other hand, are picked from late-harvested grapes and taste completely different: ripe and fleshy, with exotic fruit in the taste.
They are mainly small winegrowers. Thousands, and many have no more than a hectare of land. Minho is the wettest but also greenest area of Portugal. The winemakers grow their grapes high up, to keep them dry under the heavy showers of the Atlantic Ocean. In the past, the winegrowers even let their grapes grow high up in the trees. Nowadays they use more modern methods, such as pergolas.
There is one protected DOC in Minho, and it is called - not surprisingly - Vinho Verde. The white Vinho Verde often contains some malic acid, which ferments in the bottle. This gives the wine some bubbles, which go well with the fresh taste. Vinho Verde has little alcohol, often no more than 10% and can be made from different grapes, such as Azal, Avesso, Trajadura and Loureira. The taste is fresh and green, somewhat steely with a bit of citrus. A real thirst-quenching summer wine and delicious with shellfish all year round.
Less well-known and more expensive are the Vinho Verdes made from grapes harvested a little later, often from Alverinho. Popular wines are also made from this grape in Galicia, Spain, a little further north. They taste much richer and contain much more alcohol. They are complex, sturdy, ripe white wines with lots of exotic fruit and dried apricot. Well worth it.
Not only white wine is made in Minho. Fresh red Vinho Verde, also with a spicy acidity and often a sparkling 'bubble', also leaves the wineries of Minho. These are wines that take some getting used to, especially the sparkling bubble is remarkable. They are a rarity in the Netherlands. The Portuguese drink almost all the red Vinho Verde themselves. We currently have two wines from Minho in our range. You can view all our wines from Minho here.
Orange wine (27) 
Fresh (90) 
Light (36) 
Rosé (14) 
Aromatic (22) 
Medium (98) 
Sparkling (27) 
Ripe (71) 
Full-bodied (99) 
