We bought a lot of wine while in the Sonoma area this summer. And by a lot I mean around 200 bottles. Now, not only has the storage of such a quantity been a challenge given that we live in an apartment, but many of the bottles cost more than we like to drink as a regular weekday wine. If we actually lived in Sonoma and didn't have to ship, it might be an option to drink more of it regularly. So we are currently searrching and tasting to find more affordable options in all categories to drink with dinner most nights.
Our search led us to Unwined a local wine shop I read about on Virginia Vine Spot
We picked up 6 bottles and have tasted our way through 3 so far. The first two weren't worth mentioning, except for the point of interest that one was a Vihno Verde from Portugal. I had never seen anything like it before and had to try it. For $7.99, it was worth it just for the experience. Vihno verde literally means green wine, but this bottle was completely clear in color. I gather that it's generally a sparkling wine, but I would say it's a lot less fizzy than any other sparkling wine I've ever had. Ours was Gatao Vihno Verde. I can't say I was disappointed since I didn't know what to expect, but this was an almost flavorless, slightly fizzy (think sparkling table water), lemony gingerale type of drink. I wouldn't rush to buy it again, but might consider trying a different brand. If unique wines are your thing, give it a go for the novelty.
In the interest of not writing novels, I'll put my notes from tonight's wine in a new post.
Our quest for everyday wines
November 13, 2006
Posted by
Sonadora
at
9:38 PM
Labels: Portugal, Sparkling wine, Unwined, Vihno Verde, Virginia Vine Spot, White
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Hello, I'm Marta from Poland and I love your blog and share your wine passion. When it comes to Vihno Verde I highly recommend Mateus. It is not green in its color (it is pink actually) but still it belongs to the Verde family:) I am personally a great lover of this kind of wine and of the vast majority of Portuguese wines. My sister lives in Porto and I visit her almost every summer when I can revel in the unique taste of their vineyards' products. Please do not reject Vihno Verde yet, try Mateus, it is worth it. Regards.
Marta, Poland
1/29/07, 11:27 AM
Hi Marta! Welcome and thank you for your kind words. I have not given up on the vihno verde yet! I will keep my eye out to see if I can find a Mateus around, though so far I have only noticed the Gatao version in my wine shoppes. Thanks for the suggestion!
1/29/07, 3:03 PM
It's probably as difficult to get Portuguese wine in the States as to purchase good Californian wine in Europe (my absolutely favourite is Sutter Home Zinfandel - very hard to get in my country:()Hope to keep in touch.
Marta
1/29/07, 3:35 PM
Vinho Verde - green wine- is called green because it is made to be drank very young like Beaujolais Nouveau, hence "green". It is an effervescent so it has some fizz but is not entirely a sparkling wine. It's made from a grape very similar to Albarinio and CO2 is added just before bottling to achieve the fizz. It's a light fun drink and should be treated as such. it's not going to set any records for complexity or depth of flavor. There is also a red version that is drank by the locals and not usually exported to the US.
3/22/07, 9:50 AM