Table wine defined by national wine laws with the EU regulations as a framework. Most EU countries have a national classification called "table wine" in the country's official language. Examples include "vin de table" in France, "vino da tavola" in Italy, "vino de mesa" in Spain, "vinho de mesa" in Portugal, "Tafelwein" in Germany, "επιτραπέζιος οίνος" ("epitrapézios oínos") in Greece. These classifications generally represent the lowest level of classification in their country. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and Code of Federal Regulations define table wine as grape wine having an alcoholic strength of maximum 14 percent alcohol by volume.
Vinho Verde from Espadeiro and Padeiro grapes. The Romans Seneca the Younger and Pliny the Elder both made reference to vines in the area between the rivers Douro and Minho. A record exists of a winery being donated to the Alpendurada convent in Marco de Canaveses in 870 AD, and the vineyards seem to have expanded over the following centuries, planted by religious orders and encouraged by tax breaks. Wines were mostly produced for domestic consumption, although Vinho Verde may have been exported in the 12th century, to England, Germany, and Flanders. The first definite exports to England are recorded by John