Julia Harding's 50 Great Portuguese Wines Revealed

 Julia Harding MW, assistant to Jancis Robinson and coauthor of the soon to be released "Wine Grapes" unveiled her 50 Great Portuguese Wines at a tasting in London last month.   A list after my own heart, one of her main criteria was that the grapes be only from native grapes, "My one main condition was that they had to be made exclusively from Portuguese grape varieties, with the honourable exceptions of Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) and the French variety Alicante Bouschet, which seems to make better wine in Portugal than in France. They had to be well made and fulfill wine's first duty to the wine drinker: to give pleasure." Julia Harding MW

Here is a link to the full article on Jancis Robinson's site:
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201206123.html

Some of these posts are open to all and some are only for subscribers, so if you can't read the full article with Julia's wonderful descriptions, you can at least check out the list here at Sarah Ahmed's site:
 http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/blog/featured/julia-harding-mw-goes-native-revealed-50-great-portuguese-wines-2012/

And also watch a nice video on the event here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feMOvSDYhrM

Fear of a Greek Wine

Annals from the Greek Wine Wars

"There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary."

Brendan Behan
Irish author & dramatist (1923 - 1964)

 For Better or worse, the Greek debt crisis and its implications for the Euro zone and the European and world economies, has pushed Greece on to center stage.  Not since the Athens Olympics has Greece been so topical.  Everyone looking for something to talk about, from columnists to talk show hosts, is talking about Greece.  Since tourism is such a critical part of the Greek economy, travel and by extension Greek cuisine and culture is a large part of the conversation.  

That's great news for Greek wine.  Heralded by Lynn Rosetta Kasper as "a bright spot" for Greece on NPR's The Splendid Table, this is a momentous opportunity for the wines of Greece to do three things.  One; shake off the obscurity of unknown grapes and regions and emerge cloaked in the adventure and allure of exploring new grapes and regions.   Two;   Shake off the type casting of Retsina and carafes of watered down cooperative Roditis and emerge with a glass of organically grown, estate bottled Roditis from the likes of Tetramythos or other like minded modern, quality conscious Greek wineries in hand.  Three;  Grab hold of the imagination of the 20 somethings and 30 somethings who are ten times more likely to have a lack of bad experiences with Old School Greek wines coupled with an abundant knowledge and keen interest in fringe wines.  Not only are young people a savvier bunch of wine consumers than their parent's generation, they have an unprecedented number of high quality wines to choose from, at much more affordable prices.  

Wine, at least good quality wine, used to be considered elitist because it tended to be out of the budget of the average American, certainly the average college student or young professional.  Remember the old adage Champagne tastes on a beer budget?  College kids drank what they could afford, and often it meant drinking Boone's Farm or Lancer's.  They drank it because it was cheap, not because they thought it was great.  (By the way, if you want to liberate yourself from the notion that Americans today have much elevated taste when it comes to wine, just take a peek in your neighbor's grocery cart next time you're waiting at the checkout.  You may see some cool bottles, but you are just as likely to see a 3 liter of something really depressing rolling around next to the 4 pack of Mike's Hard lemonade.)  

Greek wines suffer from stereotyping, no doubt, but I think its important to remember that stereotypes, however unfair they may end up being if they are attached blindly and without revaluation, do not emerge in a vacuum.    If for thirty years every unknowing tourist to step foot into a Taverna or off a boat in the Aegean is greeted with a glass of Retsina, and if growers hit the grapes with a hose to increase their weight on the scale and the price they fetch at the local coop...well you can see where that gets you.  But you can't erase the past, and you can't invalidate people's experiences.  They were there...they tasted it with their own tongues!  It is always better to meet people where they are.  And for some long time wine drinkers, when it comes to Greek wine, that place is fear.  

It's time to redefine Greek wine. 
Confession-I didn't try Retsina until I had been selling Greek wine for about three years.   One of my early bosses and mentors introduced Greek wines to me as the ancestors of the Italian wines I loved so much.  Many of the Italian varieties are descended from Greek varieties and after all the Greek's brought vines, grapes and wine making to much of the Ancient world.  That argument stuck with me, and to this day I use an Italian reference to explain the general style differences between the wines of the Peloponnese and the wines of Macedonia(Tuscany and Piedmont respectively.)   

I am not a Retsina Basher.  I just think that it is better to experience it last, after you have allowed yourself to experience many other styles of Greek wines.  To me, it is much closer in style to a Gin and tonic, a brisk and herbal, lemony pine aperitif with around 11% alcohol that will cut right through oily, garlicky fare.  If you go into it thinking Sauvignon Blanc, you are in for a nasty surprise.  My main point about Retsina is this...it is an INFUSED WINE.   One distinct style of Pine resin infused wine that has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST OF GREEK WINE.  Making a quality judgement of Greek wine based on Retsina is like saying Barolo is crap because you tasted Barolo Chinato (an intensely flavored digestivo beloved by Italians)  Just take a look at this Chinato offer from K and L Wine Merchants...filled with warnings and disclaimers, "Pronounced key-knot-o. To begin with, this specialized wine product will not appeal to every wine drinker out there. But for those of us with mature palates, and those who appreciate the natural flavoring agent that gives tonic water its distinctive bite (quinine), a glass of Cocchi's Barolo chinato is not a vinous experience you're likely to soon forget! In addition to quinine bark, rhubarb, gentian and a final addition of somewhat secreted spices, including cardamom seed, are added to this pleasantly bitter tipple, which ranks up there with Fernet Branca as the world's best digestivo."

A visiting Portuguese importer and winemaker were recently riffing/lamenting on the great job Italy has done with their PR image..."They have the best everything...the best food, the best wine, the best olive oil."  The Italians are great marketers, and no way are they leading with a product like Chinato the way the Greeks have led with Retsina.  I'm guessing many of you out there have never even heard of Chinato.  But when you do hear of it, they'll make sure you know that you have to have a "mature palate to appreciate" this special wine.  There is no entertaining that the wine is bad.  It is 'the world's best digestivo."  If you don't like it, you're just not ready for it.  So I'm going to take a page from the Italian PR hand book and tell you that if you don't have a "mature palate" (or love of digestivos) to leave Retsina alone for a while.  Who knows, you may get there...eventually.

The good news 

The  quality of Greek wines today is at an all time high.  Since joining the European Union, wineries have been able to invest in their wineries, modernize equipment and improve vineyard practices.  Cooperatives changed the way they compensate growers from weight of the grapes to sugar levels, which eliminated the unfortunate practice of watering down grapes and encourages growers instead to focus on properly ripening grapes to boost their return.  And as their domestic markets collapse, more and more wineries are focusing on the export market which will mean more and likely more affordable wines as they compete with each other for a piece of the pie. 

 

There seems to be a real top down phenomenon in Greek wine appreciation, the sommeliers and wine experts have been on board for a while now.  It's easier to find a quality, innovative bottle of Greek wine at a wine bar or wine focused restaurant than at a retailer.  A lot of retailers, unless they are going to have someone like myself or a winemaker on hand to present the wine, still have cold feet.

 

As Tara Q. Thomas said on the splendid table,  

"Greece is a sommellier's dream.  They're really high quality wines made from little known grapes and entirely unique Grapes and they're also made with food in mind.  So its something that the sommelliers can offer their customers that no other country offers.  And they tend to be great values as well."

 

Now what's so scary about that?

Warres is the Campeão

Check out Graham's Port blog's account of this year's Barcos Rabelos race.


http://malvedos.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/race-of-the-barcos-rabelos/

Yiannis Boutaris, Thessaloniki Mayor on a mission!

A wonderful New York Times profile of Yiannis Boutaris' latest project...Greek politics.   You should know Mr. Boutari from the wine empire he built, which he has turned over to his children.

"...Mr. Boutaris, a wiry 70-year-old with a gold stud in one ear, a buzz cut and a penchant for expletives, is trying something previously unheard of at this City Hall: employees are given job descriptions, goals, evaluations — and modest bonuses when they hit their targets"  You have to read this!!!

Greek Mayor Aims to Show Athens How It’s Done

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/world/europe/thessaloniki-tackles-greeces-problems-in-miniature.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Greek Islands See Rise in Visitors

http://www.gotimeshare.org/news-items/763.aspx

Esporao White Reserva 2011 in The Wine Detective

A great review for the Esporao White Reserva 2011 from Sarah Ahmed in The Wine Detective.  She has so much wonderful information on her site...if you don't subscribe, why don't you?

http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/blog/featured/in-fine-fettle-herdade-do-esporao-white-reserva-2011/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=June+Newsletter&utm_source=YMLP&utm_term=here

The Rising Tide of Green Wine

Memorial Day has already come and gone, and the Summer is unofficially on.  There may be no better wine for the season than Vinho Verde, Portugal's Green wine.  "Take a box to the beach!"  I like to tell people.  Light in body and alcohol with a little spritz and a lot of mouthwatering tangy lime/citrus, it's like squeezing a fresh pitcher of lemonade or limeade.  Pour a glass and let the relaxing and refreshing begin.  It goes with fish, especially ceviche and shrimp fajitas, barbeque, spiced shrimp or blue crabs.   Vinho Verde boldly goes where no wine has gone before, so if you were about to give up on wine and have a beer or a margherita, consider your summertime friend, Vinho Verde.   It's a picnic, a patio party, feet dangling off a pier, and hands trailing in the water.  It's the cold glass in your hand reading by the pool.  And as the shore rentals and ticking pump prices drain us of our hard earned cash, Vinho Verde is one place you can save a buck or twenty.   It's cheap, cheap cheap!!!

But despite the many ways in which Vinho Verde is a no brainer, there are actually lots of differences between the styles and brands, and the number of styles and brands available on your retailer's shelves has literally quadrupled in the last four years.   With 9 subregions, 20 allowable grape varieties both white and red, and yes, a Red Green wine, this might merit some discussion.  So The Native Grape is here to help you navigate the rising tide of Green Wine.  We'll tackle the region in three parts, dividing them the way they are divided in my brain, starting with the style most people think of when they say Vinho Verde which is the basic style that I have described so far and the only style that many people think exists.  Next time around we'll tackle the still wines from blends and single varieties other than Alvarinho (like the Loureiros) and leave the fine single varietal Alvarinhos for last.

Part 1

Although we think of Vinho Verde as a style of wine, it is actually an appellation-one of the largest wine regions in Portugal.  As is happening today in the US market, Vinho Verde was the original ambassador for Portuguese wines way back in the 15th Century when the wines became the first Portuguese wines to crack the European markets.   The region itself is in the lush and green Northwest corner of Portugal, the so called Green Coast.  Cool and wet with the strong influence of the Atlantic Coast, it's border to the West, the Entre Douro e Minho is bounded to the North by the Minho River (the Natural boundary with Spain's Galicia) and to the South and East by the Mountains that create the unique microclimates of the interior.   

The climate tells a lot of the story in Vinho Verde and played an important role in the development of the unique style of the wines.  Famous wine regions often tell a tale of poor soils and struggle-the less is more dichotomy of vines pulling their DNA from the rock as they tunnel deeper and deeper through in search of water(I realize I just inadvertently plagiarized David Hinkle.)  Not so in this cool and rainy, green corner of the world.    Vigor is a big problem.  The traditional leafy canopies trained high on their Pergolas to make room for ground crops produced an abundance of plesantly shady patios and unripe grapes.  To make things worse, growers fearing the impending rainy season, often picked early to avoid losing their harvest to rot.  To combat the searing acidity, a secondary malolactic fermentation was encouraged.   Unripe grapes are extremely high in malic acid.  Malolactic fermentation (used in almost all red wines) transforms tart malic (apple) acids into the rounder, creamier lactic (milk) acids.   The byproduct of this secondary fermentation, was the light bubble from the carbon dioxide released which gave the Vinho Verde wine its characteristic spritz.  

In the region today, growers have many more tools in their bag of tricks to encourage ripening of grapes, from better trellising to green harvests.  Most producers elect to block malolactic fermentation in their white wines as you trade some purity and aromatic qualities to make a rounder wine.   And although it's a bit difficult to find anyone talking about this (I think the marketers must prefer the traditional image of a naturally occurring bubble) if they are going for a traditional style,  carbon dioxide is more often added to the wine at bottling.  

I sometimes hear the criticism that all Vinho Verde tastes alike.  I could not disagree more.  They do indeed share a family of characteristics, but instead of lumping them all together try thinking of Vinho Verde brands as Champagne houses.  They each have their own unique style and flavor profile.  Some will be almost fully bubbly, some just prickly.  Some are just sweet enough to balance the tang, and others much sweeter.  Some are still searingly acidic and some soft and sweetly limey.  It becomes more a question of how do you take your coffee?  Sweet Tea or regular?  There will be a style to suit everyone's taste.   We can extend the Champagne analogy in a few more useful ways.  There are many many Quintas or growers in Vinho Verde, like in Champagne, "In fact, the region’s 27,000+ grape growers farm over 50,000 acres of vineyards planted in small plots averaging less than 3 acres in size." CVRVV   So a majority of them sell to the large cooperative wineries who produce the large brands.  There are also a number of Quintas that grow and produce there own wines, and many of the larger ones often make several labels (think grower producer Champagnes or single quinta Port wine bottlings.)  Vinho Verde and Champagne also share the common practice of Non Vintage cuvee bottling, a method that allows for the crafting of a house style and consistency of quality in climates that present a challenge to fully ripening grapes.  I have just two universal guidelines when it comes to this style of Vinho Verde.

#1  It should be Green!
It may not be how it got its name, the Vinho Verde commision insists that it means young wine, not Green Wine, because it is bottled within 3-6 months after the harvest.  But one of the shared characteristics of young Vinho Verde is the light and lovely ocean green/blue hue that the wine possesses.   The color is echoed in a lot of the label art.  If you see a golden or straw color in a wine that is not a single varietal bottling, avoid it.  It's probably over the hill.

#2  It should be Young!

Many of these wines will be non-vintage, but regardless every bottle of Vinho Verde DOC wine has a bottled on date printed on the label as well as a Guarantee Seal number where you can track its history through the Vinho Verde commission.
http://www.vinhoverde.pt/en/vinhoverde/garrafa/garrafa_en.asp

With these two provisos in mind go forth and experiment.  You can afford it!

My plan is to start a page of Vinho Verdes that we will build on all summer long.  So here is a start, but come back often to check for more and please send me your own favorites with tasting notes and whatever you know about the wines...I will be happy to add them to the page!!  

 

 http://thenativegrape.blogspot.com/p/vinho-verde.html

Vinhos Borges Gatão Vinho Verde, NV

Made by the Borges cooperative since the early 1900's, Gatão was originally named after the tiny town where it was first produced.  As the popularity of the brand increased and production demands forced the winery to source grapes from a larger area, the Vinho Verde commission enocouraged Borges to assume instead the "Large Cat" as their mascot so as to avoid misrepresenting the origins of the wine.   This large cat has graced their labels ever since (although originally the cat was more of a Puss in Boots type.)  Gatão is one of the most successful brands of Vinho Verde in the world today, distributed in 50 countries on 5 continents.   

Grape Varieties: Azal, Pedernã, Trajadura, Avesso and Loureiro 

 I always describe Gatão as a wine Margarita.  It really captures that Sweet and Sour balance, never too sweet and always with plenty of attack and tang.   It clocks in at 9%  alcohol and sells so briskly, you are almost guaranteed to find a fresh bottle!

Vinhos Messias "Santola" Vinho Verde, NV

The excellent Santola bottling by Vinhos Messias was recently recommended in the Washington Post.  The review said the wine tasted "a bit like Sprite."   I can see where they're coming from,  the Santola is really limey and of course has a bit of bubble.   But we have to take a little issue with that.  I don't think Dave Mcintyre has been driven by thirst at a kid's birthday party to tip a 2 Liter of Sprite in a while, because let me tell you, that stuff is sickeningly sweet!  The Santola on the other hand is on the drier side for Vinho Verde, and the bright acidity will refresh not cloy.  Made from Loureiro and Arinto varieties.  Here's what I get:

 On the nose: Fresh lime, lemon, freshly grated lemon zest, lime leaf, white pepper, basil and whiff of salty sea air. 

On the palate:  More freshly squeezed lemon and lime, a juicy mid palate of granny smith apple, the wine is squeaky clean and only prickly with a mouthwatering profile that finishes with a kiss of salt.

 

Anjos Vinho Verde 2011

 Made by the fine Quinta da Lixa estate in the Sousa subregion, the Anjos Vinho Verde consists of 40% Arinto, 30% Trajadura, and 30% Loureiro.  Imported by our good friends Wine in- Motion, this is a really quality wine for the money.  A much riper and gently sweeter style, it also has a little more bubble and an all around softer attack.  I almost wonder if they do a little partial malolactic on this one?  I get:

On the nose:  Powdery white flowers, wild yeasts, plantain, white pepper and pineapple.

On the palate:  Pineapple, apricot, fleshy sweet peaches, peach pit, mandarin orange and a long tangy and sweet finish of tropical lifesavers-orange, lime and lemon.