Vinho Verde is a Portuguese wine that originated in the historic Minho province in the far north of the country. The modern-day ‘Vinho Verde’ region, originally designated in 1908, includes the old Minho province plus adjacent areas to the south. In 1976, the old province was dissolved. Vinho Verde is not a grape varietal. The name literally means “green wine,” but translates as “young wine”, as opposed to mature wine. It may be red, white or rosé, and it is meant to be consumed within a year of bottling. 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 sparkling nature. However, the wines had to be packaged in opaque bottles in order to hide the unseemly turbidity and sediment that the “in-bottle MLF” produced. Today, most Vinho Verde producers no longer follow this practice and instead complete malolactic fermentation prior to bottling with the slight sparkle being added by artificial carbonation. The region is characterized by its many small growers, which numbered more than 30,000 as of 2005. Many of these growers train their vines high off the ground, up trees, fences, and even telephone poles so that they can cultivate vegetable crops below the vines that their families may use as a food source. Most countries limit the use of the term Vinho Verde to only those wines that come from the Minho region in Portugal. In Europe, this principle is enshrined in the European Union by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status.
