Aveleda Fonte Vinho Verde

Name: Aveleda Fonte Vinho Verde
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Trajadura/Loureiro/Arinto/Azal)
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Portugal
Region: Vinho Verde
Price: $8
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

I picked up this bottle of Vinho Verde to use last night in a recipe for steamed mussels. We drank the wine with the meal and finished it after dinner. We both really liked this one with the dinner and on its own.

It's a clear, pale color in the glass, and it gives off a slight fizz when you first open and pour it, but that goes away almost immediately. The nose is rather slight, just some citrus and apple aromas. The taste is primarily green apples, lemon, lime, and orange...The Aveleda Fonte is very fresh, fruity, light, and refreshing. It's an almost perfect summer wine and is terrific on its own and with light seafood dishes.

Cister da Ribeira Douro Red

Name: Cister da Ribeira
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Portugal
Region: Douro
Price: $7
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)


I bought this wine several weeks ago at Total Wine on the recommendation of one of the employees. It was our first wine from Portugal and our first wine containing any of the four grapes used in the blend. The producer of the Cister da Ribeira is Quinta de Ventozelo, which is one of the oldest quintas in Portugal (from what I've read). The bottle notes that this wine was not aged in oak, but I found that it still benefited from decanting for half an hour or so.

This wine was a bright ruby red in the glass, not very dark. The aroma was a little limited, but with some air, I was able to pick up on some cherry, blackberry, and plums. In the mouth, it had a medium to light body and tasted primarily of dark berries. The finish wasn't bad. Overall, this wine was pretty good and was definitely very easy drinking. I will certainly look to try other Portuguese wines in the future.