Waitrose Vinho Verde

I fear there is a mistaken view amongst ambitious Portuguese wine makers and sophisticated UK wine buyers that Vinho Verde needs a make-over.   They seem determined to grow the wine’s market share and price point by becoming higher ABV, drier and dropping the spritz.  The problem with this approach is two fold: they’ll never compete with the great New World Sauvignon Blancs and they’ll lose all that is special about Vinho Verde.

This Waitrose offering has fallen straight into that trap.  The ABV is a useless 10.5% – either too low or too high, depending on your viewpoint and the wine has lost its balance.  The flavours (claimed to be of apple and grapefruit) are lost under the sharp acidity and the spritz has been all but abandoned.   Frankly you can do much better with the offerings of the other supermarkets, in particular from The Coop or Tesco, both of which I’m particularly fond.