IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Vinhos verdes
Excellence beyond Alvarinho
Between mountains and the Atlantic
Effectively an intricate network of valleys, the Vinhos Verdes region is a place of diversity, detail and historical craftsmanship in both vineyards and cellars. A masterclass at Decanter’s tasting suite showcased how a reassessment of tradition is building the region’s promising future and yielding diverse, expressive wines.
It was perhaps fitting that the Vinhos Verdes session, hosted by regional editor Ines Salpico at Decanter’s tasting suite, happened on the hottest June day in the UK since records began. A symptom of ongoing severe climatic challenges, the heatwave experienced across Europe in late June 2026 brought into stark relief the urgent need to preserve a viticultural and historical heritage like that of the Vinhos Verdes region.
Delfí Sanahuja, technical manager and winemaker, Perelada
PHOTOS: LOLA GARCIA PHOTOGRAPHY (event photos) & Vinhos Verdes Commission (all other photos)
Published Friday 24th July 2026
Textured and layered, very much like the best wines it produces, the region is home to dramatically different landscapes – from the wind-swept Atlantic coast to lush canyons and waterfalls – with a dramatic mountainous backdrop on both its north and east borders. Juggling maritime and continental influences along intricate, sinuous valleys, Vinhos Verdes is a complex and dynamic collection of terroirs, rising in altitude from the coastline.
The region, demarcated in 1908, is not a monocultural expanse where vineyards stretch beyond the horizon. Grapes long coexisted – in a cross-culture, subsistence model – with other crops, trained along pergolas with vegetables and cereals growing underneath, and lining fragrant orchards.
A wide variety of grape varieties has long flourished in the region – often coplanted in intricate field blends – expressing themselves differently on different microclimates and soils. The latter, although dominated by Vinhos Verdes’ trademark granite, also include alluvial stretches along the many riverbeds that dissect the region from east to west, and outcrops of schist.
All these factors account for the enduring balance and freshness of the region’s wines, as well as for the stylistic plasticity it grants to the talented winemakers that work in Vinhos Verdes.
A place for self-expression
The selection of wines presented at Vinhos Verdes’ event at Decanter was particularly representative of this diversity – in both style and philosophy – of wines produced in the region.
Although mostly associated with refreshing, mineral, gently fizzy Alvarinhos, not only is it not the most planted variety (Loureiro is, by far, the dominant variety, accounting for 35% – to Alvarinho’s 12% – of white grape plantings) but indeed the dominance of white grapes in Vinhos Verdes is a relatively recent reality.
Until the 1980s – before an influx of investment following Portugal’s ascension to the EU and the ensuing introduction of temperature-control and oxygen-protection winemaking technology – Vinhos Verdes was a land of crisp, rustic, tannic reds, enjoyed slightly chilled with a plate of sardines.
The region’s potential to produce fresh, world-class, mineral whites soon became apparent – and one of Portugal’s fastest and most dramatic wine export success stories came into being.
Today, winemakers are taking stock of this rapid evolution and reassessing the traditions and viticultural wealth upon which they were founded. This reassessment of heritage and identity explains the excellence of Vinhos Verdes’ modern wines, for which winemakers are rediscovering older vineyards – often showing dramatic, gnarly tree-like trunks – and leveraging the multiple varieties and the different terroirs in which each of them thrive.
This translates into an array of styles – from unpretentious, elegant traditional-method sparklings to ageworthy oak-aged examples, by way of the much-loved young styles and single-vineyard expressions – interpreted by winemakers through the lens of their own identities and singular approaches.
Vinhos Norte, Miogo Espumante Branco Extra Bruto Reserva 2020
Soft, creamy petillance lifts this elegant, subtle sparkling that surprises with its laidback nuance and velvety fluidity. Apple blossom, blanched almonds and white peach mingle on the nose. The palate follows with almondy, meaty bite coated in waxy lemon and white grapefruit zest. Good persistence with an appetising finish of amaretto.
Alcohol 12% | Drink 2026-2029
Tasting Notes
Carneiro Wine Family, Foral de Atei Arinto 2024
Classical, refreshing Vinho Verde with a gentle spritz lifting the clementine, loquat and nectarine sweet fruit. There's a creamy quality to the luscious yellow and white orchard fruit, with juicy melon and lychee flowing underneath. Vibrant seam of clementine zest and gooseberry.
Alc 12% | Drink 2026-2027
Casal de Ventozela, Alvarinho 2025
A young Alvarinho, that delivers surprising complexity and energy, partially fermented in oak (15%) and aged for one year in barriques. A 10% addition of reserve wines adds complexity and verve. At once approachable and textural, with rich citrus and meaty almonds filling the mid palate with generosity. A round but assertive acid backbone supports the wine throughout.
Alc 12.5% | Drink 2026-2029
Aveleda, Parcela do Roseiral Alvarinho 2024
Very smart expression of Alvarinho, grown on a west-facing granite plot and partially fermented in French oak. The wine is then blended with the stainless-steel fermented component and further aged with battonage. The result is a wine of aromatic nuance and finely honed structure. A subtle smoky rim outlines the white peach and waxy citrus, which rest with pleasant weight on the mid palate, lifted by a fine acid backbone.
Alc 12% | Drink 2026-2032
Quinta de Paços, Casa do Capitão-mor Alvarinho Sobre-Lias 2022
Rich, expressive Alvarinho partially aged in oak with skin maceration. Further aged in second-use French oak with battonage. The nose is elegant and nuanced, layering crushed rose petals, white peach and lime zest. Generous and wide on the palate, with weighty brioche, glazed pineapple and glazed apples. Long finish with persistent honeyed almonds, buttered toast and red apple peel. Alc 13% | Drink 2026-2029
Casa de Nabais, Vinha do Pomar 2025
A benchmark expression of Loureiro, its potential leveraged by four hours of skin contact and gentle contact with the lees in round-edged concrete vats. Gentle saline edge around juicy orchard fruit and creamy citrus. Elegant notes of wildflowers, linden and chamomile. Fine yet assertive acid supporting it throughout.
Alc 12% | Drink 2026-2029
Quinta do Espigueiro Grande, Cisacasão Loureiro 2022
A wine that needs time in bottle to come into its own. It will surely show remarkably once its toasted almonds and toast integrate with the yellow apple and quince fruit at the wine’s core, and its subtle notes of dried rose petals and macerated bayleaf are allowed to pierce through the nutty veil. Broad structure, very generous and wide on the mid palate.
Alc 12% | Drink 2026-2039
Quinta da Lixa, Escolha Avesso 2024
Lovely, unpretentious yet nuanced approachability in this Avesso with textural, fleshy white orchard fruit and waxy citrus. So expressive of the variety with a strong mineral backbone throughout. Touches of apricot and greengage. Seductive, honest simplicity. And great value.
Alc 12% | Drink 2026-2028
Quinta de Linhares, Avesso Grande Reserva 2016
A gorgeous example of aged Avesso retaining great detail and energy ten years after harvest. Apple strudel, frangipane and almond croissant fill the palate. Toasty details and a hint of petrol give it Riesling-like nuance and depth. Really elegant, deep and expressive. Intense rim of vanilla and sweet spice.
Alc 13.5% | Drink 2026-2027
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Vinhos Verdes
A region for the future
With climate change looming large, a region like Vinhos Verdes – with its biodiversity and historically adapted high-acidity grape varieties – stands as a place of lessons and hope. Even the old training methods used in the region are being reintroduced as a sustainable, low impact way to balance maturity and shield the vines from the ever-more sweltering sun.
And the region’s winemaking community continues to rely on an intricate network of (very) small growers without whom much of its heritage would’ve long been lost.
If a sustainable future requires the reassessment of the past, then Vinhos Verdes is leading the way – with both the diverse excellence of its wines and the grit of its people.
