Morning all,

I hope you all had a lovely long Jubilee weekend and have tasted your way though a good few bottles of the Hills Prospect wine range!

Simon’s Wine of the Week is Vila Nova Vinho Verde

You may have noticed that I love Portuguese wines; this is the second that’s featured as a Wine of the Week. I make no apologies. When it comes to great value for money for cracking wines, Portugal is one of my top destinations.

Vinho Verde (literally ‘Green Wine’) was hugely fashionable in the 80s. And then, suddenly, it wasn’t. Again, it was the usual story of over-production leading to inferior wines that killed it off. And for the 90s and most of the 00s it stayed that way, a wine you drank on holiday and then promptly forgot about.

And then something happened. A younger generation of winemakers took over the vineyards and wanted to produce something better. So, they did. And Vinho Verde has undergone a massive renaissance in recent years with some seriously good wines out there.

Made right at the top of Portugal, to the North and East of Porto, Vinho Verde should always be a contender for a summer wine list, particularly if there is outside space. This stuff is sunshine in a bottle.

The first thing you’ll notice about this wine is that it is ever so slightly fizzy (or petillant as we pretentious wine spods say). This fizz used to come from winemakers bottling the wine slightly too early. These days it’s added after fermentation to make sure the wine is stable. But it gives a little lift to the wine that makes it super summery.

The second thing you need to know is that it is always modest alcohol – Vila Nova is just 11.5% which makes it perfect for drinking of a sunny afternoon.

The grapes used are indigenous Portuguese; Loureiro, Arinto and Avesso (don’t worry, there’s no test, you won’t have to remember these).

On the nose it has lots of zesty homemade lemonade, wet slate minerality and green fruit aromas which are deliciously light. The palate is ever so slightly off-dry, just the touch of prickle on the tongue from the slight fizz, with more tropical fruit, and ripe grapes. Drink on its own or in a very nice pub beer garden with friends.

Lastly, this wine is hugely regarded in Portugal, and won the ‘Best Vinho Verde of the Year 2017’ award from the Commission of Viticulture of Vinho Verde. This is a great wine that we’re very lucky to have grace our portfolio.

All the best,

Simon