Top 100 white wines of Cape Verde

Discover the top 100 best white wines of Cape Verde as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the white wines that are popular of Cape Verde and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of Cape Verde

Cape Verde (officially Cabo Verde) is a small archipelago off the coast of West Africa. Originally settled by Portuguese colonists in the 15th century, it has a Long history of wine production, mainly on the volcanic island of Fogo (which means "fire" in Portuguese). A range of European Grape varieties are grown here, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Muscat, Touriga Nacional and Tempranillo. The Vine arrived on the island with the Count of Montrond, a French aristocrat who had been exiled and was on his way to Brazil.

He settled on Fogo in the shadow of the volcano, planting his vines and producing a style of Sweet red wine that became known as "Manecom". Since then, viticulture has been a viable option for small farmers who bring their grapes to the local wine cooperative. The islands are located about 650 km west of Senegal and 1,300 km South of the Canary Islands. Fogo is home to Cape Verde's tiny wine industry, as well as an active volcano.

The vineyards are located on the black volcanic soil of the caldera itself. This soil is fertile and Rich in minerals, allowing the bush vines to grow healthily and produce good grapes for wine production. Altitude is another key aspect of the region's Terroir. Cape Verde is much closer to the equator than most of the world's major wine regions, which are located at 14°N.

News from the vineyard of Cape Verde

Walls: a drink with Château de Beaucastel’s César Perrin

The Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainable viticulture. They converted their 100ha estate to organics as early as 1950; biodynamics in 1974. And when it comes to facing the climate crisis, they’re not standing still; refurbishing cellars, planting trees, championing ancient varieties and developing new techniques in the vineyard. Winemaker César Perrin explains… ‘The main reason we decided to construct a new ...

Premiere Napa Valley 2022 auction sales top $2m

Total sales in the Premiere Napa Valley 2022 auction hit $2.1m, including the buyer’s premium, according to Sotheby’s, which co-hosted the event alongside trade body Napa Valley Vintners. All 109 lots were ‘one-of-a-kind’ cuvées from leading producers, created specifically for the Premiere Napa Valley 2022 auction. Wines were from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages. Only trade buyers can take part in the annual sale, but restaurants, retailers and merchants purchasing lots will generally offer the ...

Hugh Johnson: ‘I’ve formed a bond with Grillo and flirted with Verdicchio’

I’d like to say we took advantage of the lockdown and its related commotion to do a stock-take, explore new avenues, turn over intriguing stones, widen and deepen our drinking, taking careful notes as we went. Sadly, no. I won’t say we got stuck in a rut, but we did tend to stick with comfort wines – and “comfort”, in our case, means familiar. Regular readers of this quarterly column can probably guess the labels on the resulting empties. We have a wider range of comfort foods, I’m afraid, than ...

Top wines in regions and sub-regions of Cape Verde