Vinho Verde

Vinho Verde (European Portuguese: [ˈviɲu ˈveɾðɨ]; lit. 'green wine', translated as young wine) is a young Portuguese wine from the DOC (origin protected) "Vinho Verde" region in the far north of Portugal, which includes the original 1908 Minho Province plus adjacent areas to the south. Vinho Verde has no specified grape variety. The name means green wine, which translates as young wine, with wine being released three to six months after the grapes are harvested. Wines may be red, white or rosé, and they are usually consumed soon after bottling. A Vinho Verde can also be a sparkling, a Late Harvest or even brandy. In its early years of production, the slight effervesce of the wine came from malolactic fermentation taking place in the bottle. In winemaking, this is usually considered a wine fault but Vinho Verde producers found that consumers liked the slightly fizzy nature. However, the wines had to be packaged in opaque bottles to hide the unseemly turbidity and sediment that the "in-bottle MLF" produced. Today, most Vinho Verde producers no longer follow this practice with the slight sparkle being added by artificial carbonation. The region is characterized by its many small growers, which numbered around 19,000 as of 2014. Many of these growers used to train their vines high off the ground, up trees, fences, and even telephone poles so that they could cultivate vegetable crops below the vines that their families may use as a food source.