Great Value Crisp Dry White

In Waitrose the other day I saw a great special offer, so decided to share it with you.

As a rule I really enjoy Portuguese wines and think that whites from Portugal are interesting, full of character and often very good. Because of this and the fact that people are often amazed by their quality I love showing them at tastings.

A wine that always wins over surprised new fans is a Vinho Verde called Quinta de Azevedo and Waitrose have just cut the price from £6.49 to £4.99 (£4.74 online) until 13 April 2010.

Majestic also have Quinta de Azevedo on special – buy at least 2 bottles of it, as part of your 6 bottle minimum purchase, and their price is £4.99 at the moment as well.

Quinta de Azevedo is a gem of a wine at either price quite frankly, crisp, fresh and elegant, light-bodied, as you would expect, but full of flavour and mineral, citrussy character.

Another reason I enjoy presenting this wine at tastings is that it is not made from Alvarinho, but is mainly the more aromatic Loureiro with around 25% of the rare Pedernã, which is fermented with some skin-contact to give a little weight and texture to the mouth-feel.

I also like the fact that the alcohol level is a mere 11%, so you never feel too beaten up by this wine.

Quinta de Azevedo

Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde really is a delightful wine to drink as an aperitif or with all manner of fish, shellfish, salads, white meats – it even works brilliantly with a Chinese takeaway as the wine’s acidity cuts through the fat really well.

If your experience of Vinho Verde in the distant past made you nervous of the type, now is the time to have another go – this is a terrific dry white wine by any standards.