"My little preciousssss"....

originally posted by VS:
originally posted by Joel Stewart:
Are there qualitative levels of vinho verde, just like most other wines?
Click to expand...
Totally. The Vinho Verde region is huge and lacks unity. Most areas are too humid, with soils that are too rich and give huge yields. Since most vineyards are tiny, owned by families who sell the grapes, the general aim is to produce huge yields from such grapes as arinto, avesso, azal or loureira. These are the lightest, most acidic, often (not always) most mediocre vinhos verdes. On well-exposed terraces on the Minho river which separates Portugal from Spain are the alvarinho (albario) vineyards of the Mono sub-region, which give fuller, more aromatic wines with some more alcohol they're considered the 'grands crus' of the region.
Click to expand...

Victor (and Ignacio) thanks. I will keep my eyes open for the alvarinho versions of vinho verde from the Moncao sub-region. By the way, do these fuller versions also have a little spritz to them? That is one of the joys of the lighter versions for me...as well as the 9.5%, which makes them so thirst quenching and fun.

Oh yeah, and that quaint little price tag too.
 
Alcohol may go up to 12 or even 13%, prices go up too... and, no, in that style there's no natural carbonic gas left in the wine. (But still no malolactic.) BTW, I'm astonished to read Bartholomew Broadbent assertion's that carbonic gas is pumped into vinho verde just before bottling! Of course, the spritz is natural.
 
Just browsed the "official" vinho verde website... (http://www.vinhoverde.pt/en/default.asp), which I enjoyed so much last year around this time and, by the way, is the most comprehensive website on a wine region I have ever seen before....pretty amazing in breadth and depth....down to listing producers' techniques and bottlings.

Alas, Victor, I couldn't find mention of vinho verde's natural petillance. That spritz is from being bottled before fermentation is complete?

An interesting side note - wiki mentions there being a vinho verde alvarinho "espumante", which I'm guessing is probably a methode traditionelle type (sounds interesting though...).
 
Just like Spain's txakoli (in its traditional versions; increasingly there are non-spritzy txakolis nowadays), the traditional vinho verde is indeed bottled when it still contains some CO2 from fermentation. And I have read that some producers reinforce this at bottling. Heck, Broadbent was not so wrong, perhaps...
 
The wine will be saturated with CO2 unless long elevage (not in vv!) or steps are taken to remove it (sparging, etc.). But Joel, doesn't need to be incomplete fermentation, just leftover CO2.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
Or, of course, you can add.
Click to expand...

340-D-004.jpg
I'll be experimenting all weekend ....
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
The wine will be saturated with CO2 unless long elevage (not in vv!) or steps are taken to remove it (sparging, etc.). But Joel, doesn't need to be incomplete fermentation, just leftover CO2.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Joe. VV has such light pressure, that makes sense to me now.
 
originally posted by kirk wallace:
Finally, a game we can all play at home
originally posted by SFJoe:
Or, of course, you can add.
Click to expand...

(image removed)

I'll be experimenting all weekend ....
Click to expand...

This

Loading…

www.amazon.com

livened up a bottle of Berger Gruner Veltliner that had languished in a friend's fridge for a couple years. Not the world's greatest beverage, but fun enough, and better than dead.
 
famega.jpg
From Caves da Cerca - 2010 Famega Rose, Amarante, Portugal -(10.3%)

Another summer upon us. She's back in town again, blushing for some reason...and at $7.50, I'll take her back again, (more than) one more time....man this slips down easy. In Kyoto, this is the time to strip down to underwear, leave the front door open -with the mosquito coil burning in the entrance- the fan going back and forth inside, and simply lounge on the tatami, with something to watch or tunes low in the background...like Ray C. It's that kind of day.

As for the blend, this is what little I could find (from Brooklyn's Gnarly Vines) perhaps Victor could confirm: "Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Vinhao, and Alvarelhao."

Bone dry mix of watermelon, bitters and seashore notes in aroma and taste. Very near gamay, really, (and makes me want to pop a btl of the Puzelat rose pettilant next to it). Signature miniscule prickle (which needs an ice bucket to last...though 3-4 thirsty people need not worry about a chilled bottle left on the table). Even then, the wine performs quite well as a non-spritzy rose. Nothing is overdone....and to be honest, for the job, I see no reason to pay 3 times the tariff for the txacoli rose (but I assume I will be soon corrected...tho probably not convinced.)

And for those who dig crossover masterpieces:

 
The Famega has always struck me as pretty industrial stuff. Probably one of the larger producers of the region as it seems to be the stock vinho verde I see everywhere. Certainly a refreshing summer sip though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top