Vinho Verde is a refreshing bargain wine for daytime drinking

If you like brisk refreshing white wines, Vinho Verde makes a great way to dial back on wine spending and cut your calories at the same time. The style tastes like a delicious mash-up of lemon soda and white sangria and can be served over ice without losing its charm.

Vinho Verdes are always among the most affordable options in the wine aisle thanks to their unusual production method. The wines are made from a blend of lesser-known grapes native to their coastal region of Northern Portugal. Because their region is quite cool and rainy during the standard harvest season, the grapes are picked much earlier and made into a pale young wine that is low in alcohol and sharp in acidity with mild citrusy flavors and a flirty tickle of carbonation. The exact traits that make Vinho Verdes so quenching also makes them extremely cost-effective to produce and also reduces the normal number of calories per serving by roughly 25% compared to standard white wines. That means that wines like this one are not just a yummy bargain, but also ideal for daytime drinking and taking meals outdoors. Their main drawback is that at only 10% alcohol, they go down way too easily and you may find yourself opening a second bottle.

$7.99; 10% alcohol

PLCB Item #4881

Sale price through June 26 – regularly $9.99.

Also available at these N.J. shops:

West Deptford Super Buy Rite in West Deptford, $6.99, westdeptfordbuyrite.com; Williamstown Super Buy Rite in Williamstown, $8.99, williamstownbuyrite.com; and Martin’s Liquors in Mount Laurel, $8.99, martinsliquorsonline.com/index.asp.