If you’re into pet nats and other funky new wave wines, then this fresh new white from Portugal will rock your wine world. It’s made from five indigenous Portugueuse grapes, Azal, Arinto, Avesso, Trajadura and Loureiro, and comes in a one litre bottle, which makes it great value for money.
The winemaker is Dirk van Niepoort, descendant and head winemaker of the well known port house, Niepoort. While this wine does fit the bill of being a ‘pet nat’ (petillant natural – lightly sparkling), this one comes to us at relatively low pressure with just a smidgeon of residual sugar to create a light fizz and modest alcohol of 11.5% ABV. The wine has not been disgorged so some lees remain in the bottle.
Serve it as is or shake it all up for a tasty, leesy complex version of vinho verde with attitude.
Where it comes from
The grapes in Drink Me Vinho Branco are grown in two areas of Vinho Verde, Amarante and Lousada. The vine average 25 to 30 years old and grow at between 100 to 150 metres above sea level on granite soils. All are picked by hand and fermented using wild yeasts.
This wine is bottled with no sulphur.
The Niepoort family
The Niepoort family has been making port since 1842. The company’s first property in the Douro Valley was bought in 1987 and Dirk Niepoort started a new era when he created the first Redoma red in 1991. Since then, it has acquired two properties in the D?o and Bairrada regions.