Gateway Vinho Verd

22 Jul Gateway Vinho Verd

wine: Gateway Vinho Verde
(Vinho Verde is also the name of the wine & region.)

Vinho Verde 101
• pronunciation = veeng-yo vaird

• literal translation = ‘green wine’

• however… ‘verde’ refers to it being a young
wine; the wines are released 3-6 months after
harvest.

• the place = northern Portugal. The Vinho
Verde region has produced wine for over 2,000 years, making it one of Portugal’s oldest wine regions. It is also the largest region, as well as the northernmost. It’s located on the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula in northern Portugal.

• the style = low in alcohol (this wine is 9.5%), light fizziness from either fermentation’s residual CO2 or injected CO2. Although Vinho Verde is most famous for its white wines, rosé and red versions are also made. The most common grapes used to make this delicious fizzy wine are Alvarinho, Avesso, Azal, Arinto, Loureiro, and Trajadura. (The Gateway Vinho Verde wine is a blend of 35% Arinto, 40% Loureido and 25% Trajadura.)

• the vines = Traditionally vines are trained to grow high above ground on tall trees or on trellises. This vine-training method is called enforcado and can still be found today, though producers favor more modern methods of vine training which help to produce better quality wines.

winery tasting notes
Nose: Watermelon with some white flowers.
Palate: Juicy star fruit with slight effervescence, ripe stone fruits and granny smith apple balanced by great acidity.

suggested pairings
The low alcohol content makes this wine a perfect white wine to serve as an aperitif in abundance, also to be enjoyed with garden salads, crudités, light hors d’oeuvres and more delicate fish.