Winemaker Notes
Twin Vines is the Vinho Verde from José Maria da Fonseca. It celebrates the birth of the twin daughters of António Maria Soares Franco, the newest members of the family. Twin Vines is a refreshing white from the Vinho Verde region in the Northern part of Portugal. The wine is a lime green color. Fresh aromas of lemon-verbena. Fresh, intense and citric on the palate with a medium finish.
Blend: 70% Loureiro, 14% Trajadura, 12% Pedernã, 4% Alvarinho
Professional Ratings
-
Tasting Panel
High-wire acidity spritzes the palate as vanilla bean and passion fruit set it alight with a squeeze of lime.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
A cheerful, translucid, lemon-yellow and slightly pétillant white wine, Vinho Verde literally means ‘green wine’ and is named after the northwest Portugese region from which it originates. The ‘green’ in the name refers to the youthful state in which the wines are customarily released and consumed, not the color of the wine.
It is typically a blend of various percentages of Alvarinho, Loureiro, Trajadura, and Pedernã (Arinto). Following initial alcoholic fermentation, a natural, secondary malolactic conversion in cask produces carbon dioxide, giving Vinho Verde its charmingly light sparkle.