A Vinho Verde day

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR firm for the Vinho Verde trade group.

I’m feeling fall. However, the weather is not agreeing with me and on an 85 + degree day, I find myself lingering in the white wine sections of my wine racks.  So tonight I plucked a 2011 Aphros Daphne Vinho Verde from the shelves. It has a real cork closure, clocks in at 12% alcohol by volume, and retails for about $24.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I found this to be pricey.

2.) Maybe I had an off bottle, but I barely got anything on the nose and didn’t find the palate to be expressive either.

3.) The wine had lots of acidity…but that didn’t make up for it being fairly uninteresting.

4.) I usually like Vinho Verde.

On the nose I got slight citrus peel and a hint of something tropical. In the mouth I found a little citrus and some spice. Overall the wine was pretty one dimensional and oddly heavy on the palate. This one was not for me.

 

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Filed under: Portugal, Vihno Verde, White, Wine | 1 Comment »

Bam!

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for the brand.

Today’s wine is the NV Broadbent Vinho Verde. It clocks in at 9% alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure, and retails for $8. In keeping with my earlier post this week, I’m trying a slightly different format here at Wannabe Wino. We’ll give this one a couple weeks, reevaluate and then decide where to go from there.

4 takeaways from this wine:

1.) Drink this on your porch in the 100 degree heat. It’s sure to liven up your evening and your palate.

2.) $8 and you can’t go wrong with this at your neighborhood party. The low alcohol content is also a plus if your rowdy neighbors tend to guzzle wine.

3.) The wine is more true to the Vinho Verde style that I tasted all through Portugal than many other Vinho Verdes I’ve tasted in the US, but it’s not quite the same. Perhaps that is the wine or perhaps it was the experience of drinking Vinho Verde in Portugal with the food with which it was intended to be consumed.

4.) Overall, the racy acidity and tart fruit notes make this a great alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and make it seem slightly reminiscent of a fruit salad. A real fruit salad, not the kind from a can.

On the nose I found lemon, white pepper, lime, green apple, and a slight floral note. In the mouth more lemon, lime, and green apple. My notes say “bam!” after I wrote in them about the racy acidity, tart fruit, and slight tingly feeling of the wine.

Filed under: Portugal, Vihno Verde, White, Wine | 2 Comments »

Our quest for everyday wines

Posted on November 14, 2006 by Sonadora

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.

Filed under: Portugal, Sparkling wine, Unwined, Vihno Verde, Virginia Vine Spot, White | 4 Comments »