Wine allows us to explore the world, all from the comfort of our very own glass. Through wine, we are able to explore new wine grapes, new wine regions, and experience unique combinations of aromas, flavors, and textures.
If you guessed wine region, you’d be correct. Vinho Verde is the northernmost of Portugal’s winemaking regions. The region is located on the west of the Iberian Peninsula, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on its west. Due to its proximity to the ocean, the region’s climate resembles the lush and green Pacific Northwest. Vinho Verde translates literally as “green wines,” but in this case, the “green” means young wine that is released within three to six months after harvest, and it is meant to be drunk while young and vibrant.
The terms “Old World” and “New World” are used often in the world of wine to describe different characteristics and styles of wines. The characteristics and styles that are synonymous with these terms are generalizations based on historical precedent, and not on absolutes.
This Friday evening, October 18th 2019, join City Vino as we welcome Horton Vineyards to the shop. Horton will be pouring their 2016 Petit Manseng, which won the top prize in the 2019 Virginia Governor’s Cup, besting the other 500 submitted challengers.
When it comes to wine, the question is often raised whether a $150 bottle of wine tastes better than a $15 bottle of wine. The answer is quite complicated, because preferences for wine are palate-driven, and truly subjective. There are many factors that contribute to the cost of wine in the bottle, including the variety or varieties of grapes used to make the wine, the region where the grapes are grown, how the grapes are cropped, the age of the grapevines, how the grapes are harvested, how long the wine is aged, and in what medium, and how much demand there is for the wine.
