Vinho Verde - literally meaning "green wine" in Portuguese is a light, spritzy style of wine that originated in the Minho province in the far north coast of Portugal. It is thought that this slightly fizzy style came about by accident when
residual sugarFefers to the natural grape sugars left over in a wine after the alcoholic fermentation is complete or has been intentionally stopped by the winemaker.
left in the wine to began to referment in the bottle. Now that it has become such a popular style, winemakers intentionally give their wines a light carbonation. Quinta da Lixa has been own and operated by the Meireles family since the 1980s - making textbook Vinho Verdes with one of Portuguals most respected oenologists, Carlos Teixeira.