On the nights I get home late from work and no not have a meal planned I love having a great back-up plan: a salad made from what's left in my fridge. For the salad pictured above I grabbed all of the vegetables, cheese, chicken that was leftover, added some seasonal fruit and tossed it with my favorite Trader Joe's Champagne Pear dressing.
All that was missing was some vino so I decided to pour myself a glass of Mau Maria Vinho Verde. Portugal's most noteworthy style of wine, the popularity of Vinho Verde is on the rise in the United States. I often see these wines on best buy lists in trade magazines and have been curious if these wines under $10 are really a bargain or not.
For $7.49 a bottle the Mau Maria Vinho Verde was a great decision for my light salad dinner. This light effervescent wine is made from a blend of Loureiro and Azal grapes. The translation of Vinho Verde is "green wine" meant for its youthfulness. The wines should be consumed while they are still young, which is usually within a year. Green is also an apt adjective for the landscape of the Minho, the northernmost province that accounts for an eighth of Portugal's wine harvest.
Vinho Verde can be found as a red, rose or a white wine, which is the easiest to find in the United States. The Mau Maria is a pale straw color and I could see a light effervescence in my glass. After the wine is fermented and filtered it is carbonated during the bottling process. It is only a light carbonation because Vinho Verde are not considered to be a semi-sparkling wine.
The Mau Maria has citrus and melon aromas on the nose. There is a nice acidity on the palate and a long lingering finish. It was light enough to compliment my last minute thrown together salad and I can also see this wine going well with a seafood dish.
Have a great day!
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