Get Your Passport to Vinho Verde

Vinho Verde

With Spring in full swing, you're going to want to bust out of those Winter doldrums and grab some light and refreshing wine.  One of my favorites to start with is Vinho Verde, made in northern Portugal and meaning "green wine" or "young wine".  It is mainly made white, though rosé and red are made, and meant to be drunk within the first year after bottling.  Certain producers will also purposely make them slightly effervescent by injecting a small amount of CO2.  And it is made of local Portuguese grape varietals like Loureiro, Alvarinho, Arinto, Trajadura, Avesso and Azal.

Fortunately for Chicagoans (and folks in DC and New York) there is a chance to taste some of these refreshing wines around town through the Passport to Vinho Verde along with a chance to win a free trip to Portugal!  Here's a list of some places you can hit:

• 5/19 & 6/9 6-9pm Vinticore Wine Cellar in Oswego IL
• 5/21 & 6/11 5:30-8:30pm The Noble Grape in Chicago
• 5/23 & 6/13 4-7pm  Potash Market in Chicago, both their State and Clark locations
• 5/24 12-3pm Malloy's Finest Wine & Spirits in Lisle IL
• 5/30 4-7pm Hy-Vee in Sycamore IL
• 6/5 & 6/13 5-8pm Geneva Wine Cellars in Geneva IL
• 6/7 4-7pm Whole Foods Market on Halsted and Waveland and in Wheaton IL
• 6/14 4-7pm The Wine Exchange in St Charles IL
• 6/14 Famous Liuq