“Red? You sure that’s what you mean?” said the salesclerk looking at me dubiously.

“Yes, I do”, I responded.

“Sim, Vinho Verde TINTO”, I repeated to each and every retailer in various wine shops while hunting for this infamous red counterpart of the popular Portuguese white wine, Vinho Verde.

What surprised me during my quest, for this apparently unpopular style of wine, is that almost a third of the wine produced in the region of Vinho Verde is red. So why is a Vinho Verde Tinto such a bizarre and foreign idea? After trying a few bottles in the past, and literally spitting them out and dumping the rest down the drain, it is not difficult to understand people’s apprehension!

But surprisingly, I’ve come to learn that many Vinho Verde Tintos tend to have the exact same flavor profile! And although they are produced with the same high acidity “greenness” as the white wines, typically followed by a second malolactic fermentation to allow for a smoother and more full-bodied character, many producers seem to overlook this second essential step - choosing instead, to keep the high acidity which produces a very unbalanced wine. Taken from the D.O. Vinho Verde website:
However, the occurrence of the malolactic fermentation has its costs: a reduction of freshness and primary aromas proceeding from the grapes. For this reason, many oenologists prevent its occurrence in the white Vinhos Verdes, which must have freshness and young aroma. The malolactic fermentation mainly is encouraged [but not obligatory] in the red Vinhos Verdes, whose quality depends more on its flavour complexity than the aromas intensity. …