Aphros 2019 'Melissae' Branco, Vinho Verde, Portugal

The owner of Aprhos is Vasco Croft, an architect, educator and devotee of Rudolf Steiner, who discovered the mysteries of wine in his mid-thirties through the intervention of a Brazilian Buddhist monk. From there it's pretty much a straight line to starting your own winery and biodynamic vineyard, right?

Whatever path brought him to wine, we're glad it did. This is an example of the sort of gems he produces on a regular basis - in his own little corner of the wine world, Vasco has produced more hits than Taylor Swift.

This wine is made from the Loureiro grape, one of Portugal's top white wine varieties, it is cherished for the aromatic and crisp white wines it produces. It's a light-skinned variety grown mainly in the north of Portugal and used to make the popular white Vinho Verde wines of the Minho region. The grape is also found across the northern border with Spain, in the area known as Rias Baixas, (where they change the last letter from 'o' to 'a' - Loureira) where it's blended with the region's #1 grape - Albariño - with which it shares some characteristics (and may be related).

Aromas of orange peel, spring flower blossoms. Low in alcohol and with good acidity this is a food-friendly wine that is sufficiently profound to stand on its own.

Pairings: seafood, apéritifs and lighter dishes such as clams steamed in with white wine or fresh Vietnamese summer rolls with prawns, or bigger dishes such as fish, poultry or curry would also work well.