THERE ARE TWO THINGS to know about Vinho Verde, a wine-drinking friend once told me: It's cheap and it's fun. He was right. And he wasn't. The soft, fizzy Portuguese white is the epitome of an easy-drinking, inexpensive wine—perfect for summer. But Vinho Verde can be a lot more.

Some serious white wines are made in Vinho Verde (it is a region as well as a wine). They are minerally and dry, marked by notes of citrus and pear. Often austere, like Chablis, they are not spritzy at all and are generally higher in alcohol—12%...