Casal Garcia Whites Other
Portugal's blue bottle, poured in Commack since the beginning.
The story behind Casal Garcia
Casal Garcia began in 1939, when Roberto Guedes, then owner of Quinta da Aveleda, brought French oenologist Eugène Hélisse into the fold. Hélisse had spotted the well tended vineyards from a train window and stayed to teach French style winemaking to a region still finding its footing. The blue label came from a lace handkerchief he used to wipe a dusty bottle.
Aveleda still makes Casal Garcia today in the Vinho Verde DOC of northwest Portugal, in the Entre Douro e Minho. The white is a blend of Trajadura, Loureiro, Arinto and Fernão Pires, soft pressed at low pressure and fermented cool between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius. No oak, no age. It is built to be drunk young, and it is.
Explore the Casal Garcia range
Four bottles carry the name here, all non vintage and all built for the same short window: fresh, cold and soon after bottling.
| Expression | Type | Proof / ABV | Tasting notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casal Garcia Vinho Verde | White, Vinho Verde DOC | About 10% ABV | Trajadura, Loureiro, Arinto, Fernao Pires; light spritz |
| Casal Garcia Vinho Verde Rose | Rose, Vinho Verde DOC | About 10.5% ABV | Bright red fruit, soft effervescence, dry finish |
| Casal Garcia Vinho Verde Sweet | White, Vinho Verde DOC | About 9.5% ABV | Off dry, lower acid, easy chilled sipping |
| Casal Garcia Vinho Tinto Red | Red, Vinho Verde DOC | About 11% ABV | Light red, dark berry, serve slightly chilled |
| Casal Garcia Vinho Verde | White, 750mL | About 10% ABV | The blue label original; oyster and clam standby |
Which Casal Garcia is right for you?
None of this is expensive, and that is the point. The white, the rose and the sweet each sit at $9.99 for a 750mL bottle, and the Vinho Tinto Red comes in at $5.98. For a wine with this much history behind it, that is a working weeknight price, not a special occasion one. Buy Casal Garcia online at $9.99 and you have a bottle that costs less than most cocktails and does more for a plate of shellfish. We have sold it for years at exactly this kind of money.
Crisp, spritzy and low in alcohol, so a dozen clams stay easy.
Chill it hard, pour for a crowd, no one asks what it cost.
Soft acid and gentle sweetness, a gentle first step into Vinho Verde.