To understand what Green Wine is, or what we call here in Portugal Vinho Verde, we have to understand the basics of how wine is classified here in Portugal. To start off let us see the three different types of wine currently being produced:
Red Wine: To obtain red wine red grapes are macerated along with the skins. The dark color and intense flavor in the wine is mainly due to the fermentation process along with the skins of the grapes.
White Wine: To obtain white wine white grapes are macerated without the skins. The removal of the skins before the fermentation of the wine is essential so that a clear whine is obtained.
Rosé Wine: To obtain Rosé wine red grapes are macerated. The grape juice is fermented along with the skins for a short period of time and then removed so that the wine does not get an intense dark color.
Now comes the interesting part about Green Wine. Not for long I thought that green wine was just the maceration of a different kind of grape. It turns out that I couldn’t be further from the truth. In Portugal wines are classified by region, depending on the origin of the wine. If the wine is from Alentejo, then it is certified as Vinho Alentejano (Alentejo Wine), if it comes from Oporto then it is Douro, and so on. It turns out that Vinho Verde is a wine from the very north of Portugal as shown in the figure below.
Image credit of quentinsadler
So when referring to Green Wine it is not a special grape or a different maceration process. It is simply a certified wine from the north of Portugal region. This means that Green Wine can be red wine, white wine or even rosé wine.
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