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W
ines used to be red, white, and rosé, period. Yet recently our lives have become more complicated by the addition of a new colour spectrum: orange, blue, and green, but it is only this last that causes confusion. Is it reasonable to assume that ‘green wines’ are those that, in common with many manufactured products, are eco-friendly? Portuguese Vinho Verde is not green, despite its name, and confusion often arises from ‘green’ being used here to describe a fizzy wine. Spanish terms don’t help either, as such wines are known as
vinos de aguja – ‘needle wines’ (e.g. Blanc Pescador) conveying the slightly prickly effect of the first taste. Better to stick with the good old Anglo-Saxon idea that if it’s green it’s fresh. Single variety, red and rosé Vinho Verde wines also exist, just to complicate matters. It is not surprising that wine drinkers are becoming confused by the new categories of wine that have been trickling down lately. Anyone reluctant to continue with the same drinking habits they may have known for the last five decades will find themselves with a quagmire
of bewildering choices. Wine is no longer simply wine, ergo, fermented juice of grapes, as it has been since the first qvevri was filled in Georgia. It is natural, organic, sustainable, and vegan. The bottom line is that these confusing terms have not been introduced to enlighten drinkers. They have been introduced to sell them more wine. Offshoots of what can be called the main business, specifically organics, only account for around 6 per cent of overall world consumption, but the trade’s idea is to increase their significance and as a result their overall sales figures.
CAN WINE BE GREEN? WORDS ANDREW J LINN
208 / MAY 2022 ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE
