Vinho Verde reborn. Alvarinho from the Minho Valley.

The green coast of Portugal

Vinho Verde is Portugal's largest demarcated region, covering the northwest corner of the country from the Atlantic coast halfway inland, north of Porto. It is green because it rains a lot: westerly winds hit the mountains and drop around 2,000 millimeters of rain a year. Naturally high yields traditionally meant wines with low alcohol and high acidity.

The name has a double meaning. On old Portuguese wine lists, vinho verde meant wine to be drunk young, as opposed to mature wines. As António Luís Cerdeira of Soalheiro puts it, the region is really plural: vinhos verdes, with nine subregions, each linked to different grapes and soils.

Alvarinho, Loureiro and Avesso

The region works with a handful of key white grapes. Alvarinho, at home in the Monção and Melgaço subregion on the Minho River at the Spanish border, is the queen. Loureiro is linked to the Lima Valley, and Avesso to the area near the Douro. There is also the deep, astringent red Vinhão, the same variety as Sousão in the Douro.

Alvarinho has small berries and thick skins, with aromas that develop during fermentation. Jamie Goode describes hints of apricot, jasmine and citrus acidity, and compares its long drinking window to Riesling. Richard Mayson sees in Loureiro something close to Portugal's Riesling. The hosts ask whether these grapes can stand next to Chardonnay and Riesling, and the film gives plenty of reasons to think so.

Jamie Goode also points to the region's transformation over the last 15 years. Producers have dropped the added carbon dioxide, lowered yields and given the wines more body, and suddenly Alvarinhos, Loureiros and Avessos labeled as single varieties have found a new place in the market. Soalheiro also makes an entry-level blend of Alvarinho and Loureiro called Allo, which Richard Mayson singles out.

Granite, mountains and the Minho River

Granite is everywhere in northern Portugal. Its sandy, decomposed soils drain freely and tend to give fresh, bright wines with direct fruit. In the Minho Valley, the family explains, the more fertile soils near the river give aromatic Alvarinho, while vines higher up on stony ground give a saltier, more mineral style.

Facing a warming climate, Soalheiro has gone up the mountain in search of acidity, even planting an experimental vineyard at 1,100 meters. The film also explores the debate on whether soil really shapes the flavor of wine, and why Jamie Goode thinks the influence is real, though indirect.

The Soalheiro story

In 1974, the year the dictatorship ended, the children's father planted a whole hectare of Alvarinho as a continuous vineyard, an idea neighbors found crazy at the time. The name Soalheiro means a place exposed to the sun. The first wine was made in a garage, and the classic Soalheiro, first produced in 1982, is still young, fresh, fruity and fully still, without added fizz.

Today about 150 local families grow grapes for the estate, many of them as a weekend job. António Luís runs the winery, his sister Maria, a veterinarian by training, looks after the vineyards, now farmed organically, and their mother keeps the family together. Their memories of their father give the film its emotional heart.

How to enjoy Alvarinho

Alvarinho's freshness and precision make it a classic partner for seafood and for bacalhau, the salted cod Portugal cooks in countless ways. The family also suggests trying it with dim sum and other Asian dishes. The popular, lightly sparkling Vinho Verde still has its place at a barbecue, but the region's single-variety wines are well worth discovering, and good examples can age beautifully.

The film also lifts the lid on how the classic wine is made: a quick, gentle pressing with no skin contact, and the cloudy part of the juice, rich in aroma precursors, filtered and fermented together with the clear juice. As António Luís explains, to make the same style every year, you have to change something every harvest.

Go furtherWant to taste along? Find Soalheiro’s wines and where to buy them near you on Wine-Searcher.