Vinho Verde

Light, fresh, summery wines yes of course; but Portugal's verdant northwest increasingly offers an array of styles that showcase its sub-regional diversity and the nuance its wines can achieve

- INES SALPICO

Stories of appellations and wine regions hamstrung by their commercial success abound. A boom in popularity can sometimes come at the cost of diversity – both stylistic and viticultural – and identity.

Perhaps this could have been said of Vinho Verde in the late 1990s, when its off-dry, fruit-driven, slightly fizzy iterations were ubiquitous. Not so today. The northwestern corner of Portugal has re-emerged as an exciting region with an appreciation and understanding of tradition and terroir differences, as well as an appetite for experimentation.

A new generation of winemakers has begun to come to the fore, leading the transformation of existing (sometimes their own family’s) estates and starting new, niche projects in collaboration with local growers. They’ve expanded the regional repertoire by reviving an almost forgotten wealth of historical varieties and styles.