2017 Antonio Ribeiro Pereira Tinto Bom

Region: Vinho Verde < Portugal      

Grapes: Vinhão  

Vineyard/Cellar Stats:  Certified organic farming (Sativa) and currently in conversion to DEMETER-certified biodynamic farming; granite soils; grapes are de-stemmed and foot trodden in steel vats, then aged in steel for 3 years before release; bottled unfined/unfiltered with no added So2; zero-zero; 12.5% ABV

Winemaker: Antonio Ribeiro

Red Vinho Verde with serious structure and a light prickle of effervescence! 

Vinho Verde is a wine region in the northwestern part of Portugal, with a lush, green landscape, cooler climate, and a granite soils that give the wines a distinctive freshness. But what do you think of when you think of Vinho Verde? Probably bright, spritzy, acidic white wines that fall into in the "cheap and cheerful" or "day drinking" categories.  Bravo, you're pretty much on the mark! The region is mostly known for its whites (86 percent of total sales). But have you heard of red Vinho Verde?  Nope?  Well, neither had we, which is why we were surprised to learn that, until the early 90s, red wine dominated production there. And that, culturally, red Vinho Verde is as essential to meals as water. And that, in just over 15 years, red wine has dropped to a mere 9 percent of Vinho Verde sold. Because the red version, mostly made from the Vinhão varietal, can be a highly polarizing wine. It's a deep, inky, intense grape, often rustic and tannic, that almost coats the glass – and your tongue. Essentially, the typical red Vinho Verde wines just didn’t translate to the export market, and most estates dropped it to ride the “cheap and cheerful” white wave.

Tinto Bom has a dark, inky appearance, but on the palate it is shocking light and very crisp, with the a barely-there spritz that you expect from the white. But it's packed with blackberry, earth, a green stemmy quality, and bitter chocolate tannins that actually works nicely with the refreshing Vinho verde style, bringing a cool structure to the wine.  Serve slightly chilled, with seafood - yes, Tinto Bom is THE BOMB as your go-to red wine for fish.