History of Portuguese wine country unfavorable for viticulture, making the country a ready market for imported wines; its proximity to France, made French wines a natural source. At times the supply was threatened by political and military conflicts between the English and French crowns. New sources had to be found such as the wines of Portugal. Documents exist detailing Portuguese wine shipments from the Minho region to England occurring as early as the 12th century. These wines, including those from the wet northern region of modern-day Vinho Verde, were often light and astringent with noticeable acidity. Despite the new source, the variety of French
Ellis Verdi renamed DeVito/Verdi. During the first years of the agency, Verdi worked in his home living room and made more than 100 cold calls a day and ended up being hired by the South Street Seaport was well as Solgar Vitamins. In the 1990s, Verdi was credited with coining the marketing term, "top-of-mind awareness". In 1993, DeVito/Verdi won the CarMax account and Verdi helped to create a national retail brand for this chain of used automobile dealers. The agency was hired even before the first location opened and Verdi executed the campaign and additional television advertisements over the course of a