Wine Wisdom: Portugal rising
In their quest to find great values, wine lovers know they can save by purchasing wines from Argentina, Chile, Spain and South Africa. Too often, in this quest, they overlook some of the best wine values to be found anywhere: wines from Portugal. Now that is changing, much to the delight of savvy shoppers.
Until fairly recently, Portugal was known primarily for its fortified port wines, produced in the Douro Valley, the world's first wine region, demarcated in 1756. Centuries ago, the British adopted port to fill a wine void during one of England's many wars with France. To enable wine to survive the long voyage to England unspoiled, they added brandy to preserve it, and port was born.As Europeans, the Portuguese have a long-standing tradition of regularly consuming table wines. However, historically, few table wines were exported.
With Portugal's entry into the European Economic Community in 1986, investment flowed into wineries, equipping them with the technology and incentive to create quality wines. A wine revolution was born, and Portugal is now making the best wines ever in its long history of winemaking.
To capitalize on this fact, ViniPortugal, a trade association, began aggressively promoting the country's wines. American imports of Portuguese reds were up 125 percent over the past five years, and 2009 shipments will be up another 40 percent to 50 percent over 2008, as Americans discover Portugal's unmatched value.
Portugal is taking a page out of the playbook of Italian winemakers, whose success lies in emphasizing the unique flavors of indigenous grapes. It's home to over 200 unique grapes, few of which are grown anywhere else. White grapes include alvarinho, arinto, encruzado, loureiro and rabigato, while reds highlight baga, castelao, touriga franca, touriga nacional and trincadeira, just to name a few of the most popular.
ViniPortugal recently held several wine events in Boston. The first was a large tasting of over 150 wines. It was an eye-opening event. I discovered Portugal's whites are exceptionally good, inexpensive and among the best wine values on the planet.
Talk about love at first sip and you have the 2008 Quinta de Linhares Vinho Verde ($8) from the Minho region. Vinho Verde is Portugal's best known white, characterized by light, fresh wines intended to be consumed young, and tasting fruity and floral. This atypical Vinho Verde is lush, rich, exceptionally smooth and a contender as one of my favorite whites; its low cost is a significant plus.
Other blends I liked were the Quinta da Levandeira 2008 DR Vinho Branco ($6) and Estrade da Ribeira's 2008 Vidigal ($10), both from the Douro region. The DR was delicious, reminiscent of a torrontes from Argentina, and its nice long finish is usually a sign of high quality. The Vigidal was pleasant and enjoyable. The 2008 Monte Velho ($9) from Esporao was deliciously smooth with delightful peach flavors.
Exceptionally good reds abound from Portugal. Try the 2008 Marques de Borba ($14) or the Fonseca 2005 Periquita Reserva ($17). Both represent wines of quality far beyond their price, a hallmark of Portugal.
The second event was a wine writers dinner at Boston's Grill 23, matching the wines of the Adega Cooperativa de Borba in the Alentijo region with great food. The 2008 Adegaborba Rose ($7) was terrific, tasty and a perfect match for the foie gras. It would also go well with seafood or grilled meat.
The 2005 Adega Coop Borba Reserva "Cork Label" ($15), featured good spicy fruit with a hint of coffee flavor. The 2004 and 2005 Adegaborba.pt Reservas ($15) were both excellent, with the 2005 the hit of the dinner. A fellow writer's observation that these $15 wines tasted like wines usually costing $35 to $40 met universal agreement.
The 2002 Garrafeira ($22) was as smooth a wine as you'll ever find, and it blows away most other wines at this price point. Imagine how terrific Portuguese wine might have to be to justify the $68 price of the 2003 Cinquentario, or, better yet, find out for yourself. It's magic in a bottle.
Why such values from Portugal? "Nobody knows Portuguese wines," lamented one importer. However, that may be a good thing, otherwise we might have stampedes at wine shops.
In the current economy, we all want to drink better quality wines while paying less. Thanks to the winemakers of Portugal, we can do that. Once the secret is out, though, Portugal's delectable wines won't be so inexpensive. Beat the stampede. Enjoy now.
