Here’s what you need to know about vinho verde:

• It’s cheap, about $5 or $6, and available almost everywhere wine is sold.

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• It’s a white wine with a greenish tint (though there is also some red, not as enjoyable).

• It’s a Portuguese wine from the Vinho Verde region, made with a variety of gapes most of us have never heard of.

• It needs to be well chilled, or else it tastes like warm, slightly flat beer.

• It’s mostly dry, with subtle green apple and lime flavors, but also low in alcohol – and may even have a bubbles.

• Avoid older vintages. This wine is not made to age.

• There are about a half dozen brands on the market at any one time, and they all taste pretty much the same. Some of them are, in fact, the same wine, with different labels for different retailers. I bought the Casal Garcia this year, but you’ll also find Aveleda, Famega, and Gazela.

• Drink it by itself, or with any kind of summer food. I wouldn’t do it with beef, but hamburgers are OK.