Thursday, July 2, 2026 | London 22°C · Clear
DailyGlimpse

Is vinho verde the perfect summer wine?

Lifestyle
July 2, 2026 · 1:33 PM
Is vinho verde the perfect summer wine?

Skip to main contentSkip to navigation

Close dialogue 1/1 Next image Previous image Toggle caption

Support the Guardian

Fund independent journalism

Support from $3.45 a weekSupport from $3.45 a week

Print subscriptions

Newsletters

Sign in

US

The Guardian - Back to home The Guardian

  • [x]

Show more Hide expanded menu

  • [x]

Vinho verde will make you feel as if you’re in Lisbon … even when you’re not. Photograph: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

View image in fullscreen

Vinho verde will make you feel as if you’re in Lisbon … even when you’re not. Photograph: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Wine

Is vinho verde the perfect summer wine?

Effervescent, inexpensive and with a moderate ABV, Portugal’s ‘green wine’ is the ideal accompaniment to garden get-togethers and alfresco dining

Mina Holland

Thu 2 Jul 2026 08.00 EDT

Share

3 3

Prefer the Guardian on Google

I f there is a better wine for summer frolics than vinho verde, I don’t know it. Translating literally to “green wine”, the wines from the region known as Vinho Verde DOC in northern Portugal aren’t actually green; the verde is metaphorical. These are young wines, inexperienced wines; their hearts haven’t been broken, they are joyful and fizzy with unlived life, like a Tangfastics-guzzling tween who has just discovered the Beach Boys in her parents’ record collection.

I write this in the aftermath of the hottest UK days on record. If you’re drinking wine on sultry days such as those, chances are you’ll want something refreshing. Thanks to the Portuguese region’s Atlantic maritime climate – ocean breezes, cool nights, high rainfall – and (usually) well-drained granite soils, vinho verde excels at gluggability: vibrant, with high acidity, a low ABV (usually below 12%), sometimes a touch of spritz, and notes of ripe lime and orchard fruits.

That’s the typical profile of own-label supermarket vinho verde, which is generally made with a blend of indigenous Portuguese grapes such as aromatic loureiro, softening trajadura and arinto for acidity. Chin Chin, an inarguably delicious and nattily labelled cult wine imported by Keeling Andrew (the wine distribution arm of the Noble Rot restaurants), uses a blend of the first two; it retails for anywhere between £11 and £18 and has been so successful that there are now several dupes, also with bright, illustrated labels: Bowl Grabber (see today’s pick), for example, is moreish and as good with food as it is solo; I had it with frittata and salad.

Fuller, more aromatic wines that still have that hallmark freshness are also made in the Vinho Verde DOC. Alvarinho (aka albariño, as it’s known over the border in Spanish Galicia) is usually involved, often blended with loureiro for freshness with structure. Soalheiro’s zippy Allo (ALvarinho and LOureiro) in today’s pick is wonderful – a little bit tropical, a little bit floral – and, along with other iconic vinho verdes, can be had for a steal on specialist website Portugal Vineyards.

It’s not all white wines, either. Quinta do Ameal’s Bico Amarelo Tinto, made with three indigenous red grapes, is a winner for lovers of chilled red – the region’s answer to the crunchy, quaffable “glou-glou” reds that have taken recent British summers by storm. It’s also worth checking out biodynamic producer Aphros, which makes a wine that challenges the vinho verde stereotype. Its Phaunus in today’s pick is a loureiro unlike any other, made in an ancestral cellar without electricity and aged in a beeswax-lined amphora. It may not have had its heart broken, but it is a heartbreaker of a wine.

Most vinho verdes come in at less than £11, which is yet another reason they fit the bill so well for summer frolics. What’s not to love about a bottle, bought for single digits, to take to the park or inhale in the garden?

Five vinho verdes that are worth your attention

****Bowl Grabber 2024£9.50 Ocado, 11%. A Tigger of a wine: young, zesty and bouncy.

Soalheiro Allo White 2025£6.90 Portugal Vineyards, 11%. 70% alvarinho, 30% loureiro, 100% heavenly.

Quinta do Ameal Bico Amarelo Tinto Vinho Verde 2025£8.95 The Wine Society, 11.5%. Packed with sour cherry and fresh herb notes: barbecue a-go-go.

Phaunus Loureiro 2023£28.45 Sip Wines, 10%. Honeyed and pineapple-tart, this elegant, unfiltered skin-contact loureiro is made in an ancestral cellar.

Mendes & Symington Contacto Alvarinho 2024£17.50 Berry Bros & Rudd, 12.5%. A classy mineral and floral alvarinho, more resembling Galician albariño than a typical vinho verde.

Bring the world to your kitchen with the Feast app

From Tokyo to Tuscany and Mexico City to Melbourne, discover over 7,000 recipes from world-class cooks across the globe.

Whether you’re looking for easy weeknight recipes, healthy and protein-packed dishes, or simply new recipes to avoid the recipe rut, the Feast app has everything you need, including smart features that make everyday cooking easier:

•Browse through recipes with enhanced search and filters

•Curate your own recipe collections in My Feast

•Metric or cups? Your choice

•Create your own shopping list

•Use cook mode for step-by-step instructions

•Print your favourite recipes

Start your 14-day free trial today

Download now

Explore more on these topics

Share

Reuse this content

Most viewed

Related stories

Related stories

  • ### Can you pair wine with chocolate? Should you? And, if so, which ones go together? 11 Apr 202559 59 comments
  • ### Fizz, reds, white wine and alcohol-free: what to drink this Christmas 29 Nov 202471 71 comments
  • ### The last of the summer picnic wines 23 Aug 202423 23 comments
  • ### How much should I be spending on a bottle of wine? 26 Jul 2024196 196 comments
  • ### Why soave is the perfect summer wine 12 Jul 202410 10 comments
  • ### Why not try a wine you’ve never heard of? 10 May 202463 63 comments
  • ### How to beat the wine price rise 25 Aug 202345 45 comments
  • ### Why Portuguese wine is hard to beat 24 Jun 202240 40 comments

More from Lifestyle

More from Lifestyle

  • ### Works of ‘civic generosity’: NSW architecture awards winners 2026 – in pictures 2h ago
  • ### Who am I rooting for most at the World Cup? A wise and gentle Italian referee 4h ago38 38 comments
  • ### My mother was an excellent care worker. Why did she end up marching with the EDL? 5h ago
  • ### You be the judge: should my girlfriend stop leaving piles of her hair and nails around the flat? 7h ago494 494 comments
  • ### Thursday news quiz: stolen saplings, legal happenings and a missing giraffe 9h ago387 387 comments
  • ### I visited seven themed bars in one week. Can ball pits and bingo save British nightlife? 10h ago208 208 comments
  • ### My mother has died and I can mourn her. That makes me one of the fortunate 10h ago
  • ### What’s really in a hotdog? Nutrition experts explain 22h ago
  • ### Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: still wearing stripes? It’s time to join the dots 1d ago95 95 comments

Comments (3)

Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion

Comments (3)

Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion

Guardian Pick

Vinho Verde is indeed a lovely Summer quaffer. But there are so many more to enjoy. Greek Assyritko, Southern French Vermentino (my favourite), and of course Picpoul de Pinet.

Jump to comment

IrishDids18 minutes ago

0

Guardian Pick

Vinho Verde is indeed a lovely Summer quaffer. But there are so many more to enjoy. Greek Assyritko, Southern French Vermentino (my favourite), and of course Picpoul de Pinet.

Jump to comment

IrishDids18 minutes ago

0

View more comments

Most viewed

Most viewed

Most viewed Across the Guardian

  1. ‘Hugging is forbidden’: women jailed for life – in pictures

  2. Ohio authorities rescue 16 children confined to one room for four years

  3. Young Indonesian couple publicly caned after kissing on TikTok

  4. Valuable Spanish painting left on street salvaged by man who liked its frame

  5. Trump hijacked US’s 250 anniversary to serve ‘political ideology and pet projects’, congressional report says

  6. Live Anger as report says Trump hijacked US anniversary to serve own agenda – US politics live

  7. A storm, overpriced food and a sad ferris wheel: inside Trump’s dreadful state fair

  8. Vatican excommunicates all members of ultra-conservative rebel group SSPX

  9. Live Kyiv attacks death toll rises to 20 as Russia warns it will ‘continue to increase pressure’ on Ukrainian capital – Europe live

  10. A goal, a red and a LeBron James shout: Folarin Balogun gets the spotlight in US’s wild World Cup win

Most viewed in Food

  1. Chicken broth, orzo and arctic char: whose fridge is this?

  2. Spicy fish sandos, feta scones and pork chops: Alexina Anatole’s summer berry recipes

  3. Rachel Roddy’s recipe for peppered mussels with salty chips

  4. Is vinho verde the perfect summer wine?

  5. How to turn excess cream into mascarpone – recipe

  6. Musical fruit or unsung hero? A beginner’s guide to cooking with beans

  7. The heat is on: everything you need to start barbecuing today

  8. From jerk prawns to juicy chops: Melissa Thompson’s summer barbecue recipes

  9. Blackberries and brussels sprouts top Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for July

  10. The secret ingredient in America’s culinary capitals? Its people

Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning

Sign up for our email

Support the Guardian

Available for everyone, funded by readers

Support us

Back to top

© 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.(dcr)

← More Lifestyle View original