Vinho Verde article

[Roy Hersh]

It is a great time of year to explore the relatively inexpensive wines of Vinho Verde. Always refreshing and a great summer wine, have a look at this article:
http://www.intothesoup.com/portugals-vi ... ed-country

Do you drink much in the way of Vinho Verde and if so, what are some of your favorites?

[Moses Botbol]

Vinho Verde is quite popular with Portuguese population in New England and has been for a long time. Lancers, Maetus, and Vinho Verde are the dry wines from Portugal the average person could name. Aveleda and Casal Garcia are the two brands I drink the most. Many restaurants carry Casal Garcia.

I love Aveleda Fonte in a magnum for $9.00. It's a great aperitif/preamble and a crowd pleaser every time it is served.

[Peter W. Meek]

Recently had some Vinho Verde by Espiral. It was purchased for a wedding reception by friends who were on a tight budget. They were looking for Moscato d'Asti, and were told by a wine merchant (who should be shot) that the VV was "practically the same thing". Evidently the guests didn't think so. The hosts took home 8 out of the 12 bottles they bought. Possibly the guests just weren't wine drinkers; at a similar-sized party last year we went through about 60 bottles of wine; this party drank about 10 (but a LOT of beer and liquor - 3 quarter barrels and most of 3 cases of liquor).

I donated a double mag of 2003 Bertolino Barbera d'Asti Superiore Olim Bauda, but I confess, I drank over half of it. I tried the VV (I tried every wine they had; research, y'know), but it wasn't really in my range of interest; it may have been the style or it may have been the brand that was the problem.

[Brian C.]

I think I'd be disappointed, too, if not slightly amused, if someone told me that VV was essentially the same thing as Moscato d'Asti. That said, Espiral VV at Trader Joe's for only $4, that's just a super QPR if there ever was one. I don't know of anything better at the $4 price point when it comes to wine, period. But Moscato d'Asti? I feel bad for the host, as that must have been a most awkward moment. At least it's only $32 worth of wine that nobody wanted, though.

[Roy Hersh]

We did a pretty spectacular visit to Avaleda on our Port Harvest Tour and tried some intreresting Vinho Verde, including the red version which I found better than I expected. Not everyone thought so. I think we need to revisit there in 2011!

[Eric Menchen]

Short but nice article. I've enjoyed just about every white, although some are obviously better than others. I've enjoyed some of the red, but the stronger sour ones aren't usually a crowd-pleaser.