RAISE A GLASS

WITH

THERE’S a first time for everything. I jumped out of a minibus at a Portuguese winery and saw a kangaroo. It didn’t want to see me and hid in a bush.

Around the corner there was an overprotective mummy llama, some goats and a clutch of chickens.

I was in the Vinho verde region and if anything signified “don’t take things for granted” it was those moments wandering around the grounds of Quinta da Torre before tasting their wine.

Vinho Verde is known for its simple, light, fresh wines; slightly spritzy, low in alcohol and perfect for a summer’s day.

Yes, the wines can be all of that and after spending three (wet) days in this region I’ve come away pretty much in love with the grape varieties and their floral fruitiness. It rained a lot, but it only served to heighten the lushness of the countryside.

Vinho verde means “green wine” as a reference to young traditional wines, but to me it will always mean that beautiful green landscape.

The main white varieties are Alvarinho (complex, quince, peach), avesso (orange, almonds, floral), azal (fresh, citrus, acidity), arinto (ripe apple, pear, flowers), loureiro (citrus, rose, freesia) and trajadura (apple, pear, peach).

The traditional white blend is loureiro (60%) arinto (20%) and trajadura (20%) creating wines with a fruity, floral aroma, and refreshing, balanced acidity. My mouth is watering remembering them.

Every vintage the wines are assessed by the region’s wine commision to earn the stamp of approval which you’ll see on the back of every vinho verde bottle. Right, let’s find some wines! Back to the “kangaroo” vineyard and Quinta da Torre. S.caetano Vinho Verde Arinto (£12.95, Master of Malt, 13.5% abv) was my favourite from that morning’s tasting. It has a good acidity and a fruit bowl of flavours and aromas; lemon, lime, pears, tangerine, mandarin. I had a second sip (at

least) just to confirm how much I enjoyed it.

The following day, winemaker António Braga of Quinta de Azevedo enthused me with his love of the region as we stood in the rain. One of his wines, Quinta de Azevedo, Vinho Verde 2017 (£7.95, The Wine Society, or £5.99 in a mix six deal at Majestic, 11.5% abv), pictured, has loureiro at its heart and is dappled by notes of apples, pears, lemons and flowers.

A couple of accessible high street vinho verde wines include the Co-op’s Escudo Vinho Verde (£5.99, 9.5% abv) which is delightful for a garden sip, gently spritzy and full of citrus. Over at Sainsbury’s you can find Alvorada Vinho Verde (£5, Quinta da Calçada Couvée de Choix Rosé (£19.99, drinkportuguesewine.co.uk, 12.5% abv) which is a blend of alvarinho and the red grape variety vinhão and has notes of red fruits and brioche. I sipped it outside the winery’s palatial Casa da Calçada before dinner. It wasn’t raining but I didn’t care.

■ Follow @vinhosverdes on Twitter, @vinhoverdewines on Instagram, or vinhoverde.pt

Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.