Vinho Verde

In winemaking, this is usually considered a wine fault but Vinho Verde producers found that consumers liked the slightly fizzy nature.

Today, most Vinho Verde producers no longer follow this practice with the slight sparkle being added by artificial carbonation.

The white Vinho Verde is very fresh, due to its natural acidity, with fruity and floral aromas that depend on the grape variety.

The white wines are lemon- or straw-coloured, around 8.5 to 11% alcohol, and are made from local grape varieties Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura, Avesso, and Azal.

That is caused mainly by the region's climatic conditions with its relatively cool temperatures and high level of rainfall that make it impossible for the red wine grapes to ripen.

Vinho Verde rose wines are also not very common, they have a slightly pink or intense color and red berries flavor.

The Romans Seneca the Younger and Pliny the Elder both made reference to vines in the area between the rivers Douro and Minho.

[7] A record exists of a winery being donated to the Alpendurada convent in Marco de Canaveses in 870 AD, and the vineyards seem to have expanded over the following centuries, planted by religious orders and encouraged by tax breaks.

To maximize production of maize, new regulations banished vines to the field margins, where they would be draped over trees and hedges, forcing the vignerons to pick them from tall ladders.