When most people hear the words Vinho Verde, they often think of an inexpensive, slightly fizzy white wine that appears at summer picnics and backyard barbecues. While that's not entirely wrong, Vinho Verde is so much more than that. This week's Wine of the Week, the Vale do Homem Loureiro 2022 Vinho Verde DOC, is a perfect example of why this region deserves a closer look.
On a recent hot evening, I pulled this bottle from the refrigerator looking for something crisp, refreshing, and easy to enjoy. What I found was a wine bursting with personality, vibrant acidity, and a hint of spritz, making it incredibly refreshing.
In the Glass
The nose opens with aromas of citrus blossom, green apple, pear, and fresh lime zest. As the wine opens, subtle floral notes emerge, characteristic of the Loureiro grape.
On the palate, the wine is light-bodied and lively, showing flavors of lemon, green apple, pear, and a touch of white peach. A subtle mineral note runs through the wine, adding complexity and balance. One of the hallmarks of many Vinho Verde wines is a slight natural effervescence, and this wine delivers a gentle spritz that enhances its refreshing character without overpowering the fruit.
The finish is crisp, clean, and mouthwatering, making it nearly impossible to stop at one glass. And we didn’t, we had two bottles. No judging.
Understanding Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde is not a grape variety. It is a wine region located in the northwestern corner of Portugal, known for its lush green landscapes, Atlantic influence, and cool climate.
The name "Vinho Verde" literally translates to "green wine," but it refers to the wines’ youthful style rather than their color. The region produces white, rosé, and red wines, though white wines are by far the most widely recognized internationally.
The region is divided into nine sub-regions, each with its own unique growing conditions. This wine comes from the Cávado Sub-Region, located between the Cávado and Homem rivers. The area's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean contributes cooling breezes that help preserve acidity and freshness in the grapes.
Decoding the Label
Portuguese wine labels can sometimes feel intimidating, but once you
understand them, they tell you a great deal about what's inside the bottle.
Vale do Homem – The producer.
Vinho Verde DOC – Indicates the wine comes from the protected Vinho Verde Denomination of Origin.
Sub-Região do Cávado – Identifies the specific sub-region within Vinho Verde where the grapes were grown.
Loureiro – The grape variety used to make the wine.
Unlike many New World wines that prominently display the grape on the front label, Portuguese wines often emphasize the region first. Learning to identify names like Loureiro, Alvarinho, Arinto, and Trajadura can open the door to discovering some of Portugal's exciting wines.
The Grapes of Vinho Verde
One of the fascinating aspects of Vinho Verde is the wide variety of indigenous Portuguese grapes grown throughout the region. Some of the most common white varieties include:
Loureiro – Aromatic with floral, citrus, and stone fruit notes.
Alvarinho – aromatic white grape known for its crisp acidity, bright citrus and stone fruit flavors. Called Albariño from neighboring Spain.
Arinto – Known for vibrant acidity and citrus character.
Trajadura – Adds softness and fruitiness to blends.
Avesso – Fuller-bodied with tropical fruit notes.
This bottling highlights Loureiro, its fragrant aromatics and refreshing acidity. It is one of the signature varieties of the Lima and Cávado areas and shines particularly well when bottled on its own.
Food Pairings
The bright acidity and slight effervescence make this wine incredibly food-friendly.
Perfect pairings include:
Fresh oysters
Steamed clams
Shrimp cocktail
Grilled scallops
Sushi and sashimi
Fish tacos
Summer salads
Goat cheese
Grilled vegetables
Lemon herb chicken
Its refreshing character also makes it a wonderful aperitif on a warm afternoon, enjoyed simply with good company, by the pool, ocean, on the boat, just anywhere.
Somewhere in the northeast corner of Italy — 500 meters from the Slovenian border, an hour and a half from Venice, tucked into a green valley of gentle hills and marine-origin soils, there’s a winery run entirely by women. It has been, in one form or another, for over 150 years.
And at its heart is a grape that was once illegal to grow.
I sat down with Francesca Mecchia of Vigna Petrussa to talk about the Schioppettino — a grape so rare, so distinctly tied to its tiny corner of the world, that its very existence was nearly erased. What I got was something far bigger: a story about resilience, inheritance, and what happens when women refuse to let things disappear.
A Winery Built by Women — Three Generations Deep
The story of Vigna Petrussa begins with Francesca’s great-grandfather, who owned a large property with diverse activities — a mill, horses, farmland, and vines. But with nine children, the land was divided like a cake, each piece going to a different heir. The portion that passed to Francesca’s grandparents was modest. And when her grandfather died, her grandmother was left to run it alone.
“None of the local men wanted to help her,” Francesca explained. “Working under a woman was not acceptable then.” Her grandmother found support near the Slovenian border — a family that still works with them today.
When Francesca’s grandmother began to age, her mother — an elementary school teacher — started making the drive every weekend to help. Eventually, she made the decision to move back entirely, immerse herself in the winery, earn her sommelier credentials, and learn the land from the ground up.
“She became like a totally different woman,” Francesca said of her mother. “Stronger, more stubborn, full of passion.”
Then came Francesca herself — an architect, trained and working internationally — who received the same message her mother had once received from her grandmother: it’s time to come back.
She did. And she brought with her an international perspective on how wine is drunk, how markets work, and how a small family estate can find its place in a rapidly changing world.
Three women. Three chapters. One unbroken thread.
The Middle of Nowhere — and Why That Matters
“I always say we are in the middle of nowhere,” Francesca laughs, “because really everybody knows it, but not many people come to visit. And that’s a shame.”
The Colli Orientali del Friuli sits in Italy’s far northeast — a region of rolling hills that peak around 250 to 300 meters, bordered by Slovenia on one side and the Dolomites to the north. The climate is cool and often rainy, with fresh mountain winds meeting sea breezes that keep disease pressure low and vines healthy. Temperatures can swing 15 degrees Celsius between day and night — a gift for aromatic complexity and freshness in the wines.
But the real secret is underground.
The soils here are called ponka — a local name for the Eocene-era flysch: thin, fragile layers of marl and sandstone that crumble under rain and tractor weight, releasing minerals slowly into the vines. Francesca describes it beautifully: “Like millefoglie — the Italian pastry made with many thin layers. Under the weather and the tractor, it breaks into thousands of pieces, releasing a lot of minerality.”
That minerality — saline, almost oceanic — is a signature of every wine Vigna Petrussa makes.
The Grape That Almost Didn’t Survive
Before Schioppettino, there was Schioppettino — and then there was almost nothing.
The phylloxera epidemic that devastated European vineyards in the late 19th century wiped the grape nearly out of existence. What remained was quietly maintained by just one family in the village of Prepotto, even after the variety was removed from the official list of approved cultivars. Growing it was, technically, illegal.
It took until around 2003 — following years of painstaking work by a consortium of local producers, researchers, and passionate advocates — for Schioppettino di Prepotto to be recognized as its own DOC subzone. The area around Prepotto, a tiny village between the towns of Cormòns and Cividale del Friuli, was identified as the grape’s spiritual home: the terroir that best expresses its most defining trait, that vivid spice of black and green pepper.
There are now approximately 23 producers in the denomination. Vigna Petrussa is among the most dedicated — and arguably the most obsessed.
The name itself tells you something. Schioppettino comes from scoppiare — to burst, to explode. Named for the way the small, thick-skinned berries pop in your mouth with a satisfying crunch.
Four Faces of One Grape
If Francesca’s mother has a passion for Schioppettino, she has, as Francesca puts it with a smile, “an obsession.” Vigna Petrussa produces not one, not two, but four distinct expressions of the grape — each revealing a different dimension of the variety.
Rinera The entry point. Vinified in stainless steel with no wood influence, Rinera (named because the variety’s alternate name, Ribolla Nera, could no longer legally appear on labels) is Schioppettino in its most transparent form: crunchy red fruit, bright acidity, a whisper of pepper, and that characteristic lightness that makes it incredibly food-friendly. It spends a minimum of one year in bottle before release. Perfect as an aperitif, or chilled slightly with summer food.
Schioppettino di Prepotto This is the “star of the area,” as Francesca calls it — the denomination’s flagship expression and Vigna Petrussa’s most celebrated wine. By regulation, yields are capped at 1.5 kilos per plant (from a vine capable of producing five), and the wine must age a minimum of 18 months in large wood barrels, plus one year in bottle.
The winery uses old, large-format wooden casks deliberately — so that wood integrates without overshadowing the grape. On the nose: violet, forest floor, dark fruit, and that unmistakable green-and-black pepper. In the mouth: silky tannins, elegant structure, a mineral thread from the ponka, and a finish that lingers with precision and grace. It can pair with everything from mushroom risotto to seared tuna to Sichuan-spiced dishes — and it can be slightly chilled without losing a thing.
Riserva Produced only in the finest vintages, the Riserva spends three years in tonneau (medium-format all-wood barrels) plus one year in bottle. One might expect a bold, powerful wine — but Francesca takes a different approach. “It’s a female winery, so we tend to have a lighter wine. Where we point out on wines that are elegant.” The Riserva is more floral, more refined — a wine to drink slowly, to think about, to let evolve in the glass.
Perla Nera The fourth expression — and the most surprising. Perla Nera, meaning “Black Pearl,” revives a tradition that dates back to Francesca’s great-grandfather’s era, when men hunted wild game and Schioppettino was dried to make a richer, more robust wine for celebratory meals. A portion of the grapes is dried for one month before fermentation, then the wine ages three years in barrique. The result is rounder, deeper, more intense — with dried fruit, earthiness, and a gentle richness that pairs beautifully with aged cheeses, pâté, or roasted duck. It is also available in 500ml bottles, reflecting its origins as a special-occasion wine rather than an everyday pour.
Beyond Schioppettino
The passion for indigenous varieties extends across the entire portfolio. The Friulano (once called Tocai, before Hungary claimed the name) is vinified seven months in large old barrels and can age for five to seven years — an elegant white of little white flowers, dry almonds, and mineral depth. The Ribolla Gialla is vinified half in wood, half in steel for a lively, citrusy expression. Malvasia here is more mineral than aromatic — a reflection of the ponka soils. And Requienza — a blend created by Francesca’s mother 20 years ago from ancient indigenous varieties planted in small quantities by her ancestors — can age up to 15 years, a multi-layered testament to place and memory.
On the red side, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso offers a fascinating contrast to Schioppettino: where the latter is precise and elegant, Refosco is generous and juicy, with cherry-berry richness and jammy warmth. Thirty percent of the grapes are dried for a month before vinification; the remainder ages in tonneau for three years.
And then there is Picolit — perhaps Friuli’s most storied dessert wine. Only about 10 to 12 producers still make it. The grape’s floral abortion means that four vines yield just one 375ml bottle. Sweet, velvety, layered with dried apricot, and finished with a surprising lemon-zest brightness that keeps it from heaviness. It is exactly what a great dessert wine should be: generous without being cloying, complex without being exhausting.
Farming, the Moon, and the Limits of Prediction
Vigna Petrussa is SQNPI-certified — a sustainability program that prohibits synthetic pesticides and demands careful attention to the vineyard ecosystem. Almost all work is done by hand. The team is small, experienced, and flexible enough to make a harvest decision at 6pm for 7am the next morning.
They also pay attention to the moon cycles — not as mysticism, but as practical tradition. “We always try to bottle with the moon correct, because otherwise the wines take longer to settle,” Francesca explains. They’ve even noticed that certain corners of the cellar — near an underground stream — cause wines to move restlessly, never settling. So they move the barrels.
Climate change has upended even the most practiced rhythms. In recent years: one year with almost no rain, the next with violent, concentrated storms. A year when spontaneous fermentation began in the vineyard before anyone expected it. And 2024 — a harvest that finished not in mid-October as usual, but on September 22nd. “We were all surprised. All rushing, hysterical,” Francesca laughed. “You need to mix technology with your experience and your tradition. That is super important.”
Finding Vigna Petrussa
Vigna Petrussa’s wines are exported to the United States.
If you ever come across Schioppettino on a wine list or at a wine shop, order it.
Especially if you love:
Pinot Noir
Cabernet Franc
Cool-climate Syrah
Peppery reds
Earthy, food-friendly wines
If you’re lucky enough to come across the Picolit, treat yourself.
And if you ever find yourself in the northeast corner of Italy — an hour and a half from Venice, 500 meters from Slovenia, in the middle of nowhere — go visit.
Vigna Petrussa is a boutique family winery in Prepotto, Colli Orientali del Friuli, Italy. Find them at vignapetrussa.it or on Instagram and Facebook @vignapetrussa.
Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast to learn more from my conversation with Francesca
When a friend brings wine to dinner, I'm always excited to see what appears on the table. This week's wine was especially exciting because it checked two boxes for me.
First, my family owned vineyards in Hungary dating back to 1707 (that's a story for another day). Second, I happen to be a big fan of the Furmint grape.
So when Cathy and Michael arrived with a bottle of Pajzos 2022 T-Furmint from Hungary's famous Tokaj region, I couldn't wait to open it.
For many wine lovers, the mention of Tokaj immediately brings to mind the region's legendary sweet wines. Tokaji Aszú has long been considered one of the world's great dessert wines and was once known as "The Wine of Kings and the King of Wines."
But Tokaj is much more than sweet wine.
Today, many producers are showcasing Furmint in dry styles, revealing a side of the grape that is fresh, vibrant, and incredibly food-friendly.
About the Furmint Grape
Furmint is Hungary's most important white grape variety and the backbone of the Tokaj region. Its naturally high acidity makes it ideal for both sweet and dry wines.
When made in a dry style, Furmint often displays flavors of orchard fruit, citrus, stone fruit, and mineral notes. It has enough body and texture to stand up to food while maintaining refreshing acidity.
It's a grape that deserves much more attention from wine lovers looking to explore beyond Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay.
Tasting Notes
The Pajzos 2022 T-Furmint pours a pale straw color in the glass.
On the nose, aromas of white peach, citrus, and tropical fruit immediately jump out.
The palate is crisp and refreshing with flavors of juicy white peach, lemon zest, and hints of tropical fruit. A backbone of bright acidity keeps everything lively, while a subtle minerality adds complexity and length to the finish.
This is the type of wine that makes you want another sip.
Clean, bright, and refreshing, it is exactly the kind of white wine I reach for during the warmer months.
Food Pairings
The vibrant acidity and fruit-forward profile make this wine incredibly versatile at the table.
Try pairing it with:
Grilled shrimp
Seafood salads
Lemon-herb chicken
Fresh summer vegetables
Goat cheese
Sushi and sashimi
Grilled fish
Light pasta dishes
Pork schnitzel
Its crisp character also makes it perfect for enjoying on the deck, at the beach, or with friends on a warm summer evening.
About Pajzos Winery
Pajzos Winery is located in the heart of Hungary's Tokaj region and is recognized for producing wines that reflect the unique volcanic soils and historic vineyards of the area. The winery balances traditional winemaking practices with modern techniques, focusing on expressing the distinctive character of Tokaj's indigenous grape varieties, particularly Furmint.
While the winery is well known for its sweet Tokaji wines, bottles like this dry T-Furmint demonstrate the versatility of both the grape and the region.
Final Thoughts
One of the things I love most about wine is how a single bottle can spark memories, conversations, and curiosity.
At under $20 a bottle, the Pajzos 2022 T-Furmint is an affordable introduction to one of Europe's most exciting white grapes.
Thank you, Cathy and Michael, for sharing this wonderful wine.
Have you tried Furmint? I'd love to hear about your experience.
