Adegas Cooperativos De Monção Muralhas Vinho Verde
The bottle to bring with you this weekend
Vinho Verde–the crisp, low-alcohol Portuguese white wine–has already earned a reputation as a perfect warm-weather pour, but now there's something even better: Vinho Verde rosé.
Imagine the same lively refresher but with the aromatic fruit that's typical of rosé. The gentle tickle of bubbles–a style known as frisante–and its steal of a price solidifies this wine's place in your picnic basket.
Winemakers just recently began producing rosés in the Vinho Verde style, so the pink prizes are available only in fairly small quantities in the United States.
As such, look for the 2009 Adegas Cooperativos de Monção Muralhas Vinho Verde Rosé ($12), which started popping up on both coasts this year. Vibrant strawberry aromas with a bit of fizz and subtle sugar make it a worthy partner to chilled or grilled seafood dishes.
If you can't find the wine locally, HiTime Wines will ship it to most states. And, like any Vinho Verde–or rosé, for that matter–these wines are meant to be drunk young: Always get the current vintage.