Beginner’s Guide to Vinho Verde

The Vinho Verde region in northern Portugal is best known for its crisp, wallet-friendly whites with a hint of spritz. The region also makes low-alcohol, zippy reds and rosés that pair beautifully with a wide array of dishes.

Join us on a journey to discover Vinho Verde's native grapes, unique terroir, and top bottles for summer sipping.

Vinho Verde and it's subregions

Nestled in the lush green hills of northwest Portugal, the Vinho Verde region starts just below the Spanish border and extends as far as the Atlantic Ocean, where it meets the city of Porto, the home of Port wine.

With plenty of rain and two rivers running through it – the Douro and the Minho – Vinho Verde lives up to its name with a verdant green landscape.

Vinho Verde comprises nine subregions, each influenced to different levels by the cool, wet coastal weather and granite soils.

In the far north of the region, the Monção and Melgaço subregion borders Spain and is home to excellent quality Alvarinho (Albariño) wines. These wines are prized for their elegant minerality and flavours of citrus, melon, nectarine and saline.

The three subregions closest to the coast – Lima, Cávado and Ave – are best known for their zippy, easy-drinking whites made with native Arinto, Loureiro and Trajadura grapes.

The five subregions in the sunnier south of Vinho Verde – Sousa, Paiva, Baião, Amarante and Basto – grow the harder-to-ripen Azal and Avesso grapes, along with the red varieties Espadeiro, Vinhão and Padeiro. These varieties are most commonly used for local table wines.

The dynamic duo: Alvarinho and Loureiro

While many Vinho Verdes are blends, these two grapes are the stars of the region, producing some of the most exciting and complex styles of Vinho Verde wines.

Known as Albariño in Spain, Alvarinho produces elegant whites with attractive tropical, peach and lemon aromas wrapped around a mineral core.

Loureiro has much in common with German Riesling, so expect mouth-puckering lime flavours, floral hints and a rich, oily texture. Alvarinho and Loureiro work well as single-variety wines and have impressive ageing potential for whites.

Red and rosé styles

Although white wines reign supreme in Vinho Verde, the region’s reds and rosés are worth exploring.

Offering notes of plum, sour cherry and floral hints, the reds are usually made from the local grape Vinhão (commonly known as ‘Sousão’). Similar to Malbec, this grape is lighter and fresher, with a lower alcohol content and distinct peppery aromas.

Vinho Verde reds can also be made from Amaral, Azal Tinto, Borraçal, Brancelho, Espadeiro, Pedral and Padeiro grapes. These native varieties produce juicy, pale reds with vibrant acidity.

The rarest of them all is a rosé Vinho Verde. Usually made from Espadeiro, Padeiro, Vinhão, and Touriga Nacional grapes, this style of Vinho Verde is known for its enticing, darker pink shades (compared to the pale pink rosés you find in Provence).