Just Taste It: Portuga Red Blend

“Just Taste It” is essentially the phrase that best described my food and drink upbringing. Family members would just put something in front of me and implore me to taste it until I actually did. I am now going to do the same to you by giving you a snapshot of something I tried that I think you will like if you give it an honest shot.

So what is Portuga?

A red wine blend from vineyards near Lisbon, Portugal. Imported by Wine In Motion of Newark, NJ

Who makes it?

Casa Santos Lima, a company that owns about 1,000 acres of vines all over Portugal. They have many brands offering a massive range of styles and price points.

The beauty of many Portuguese wines is that they are transparent regarding what’s inside the bottle…producers and their importers want you to get to know them!

What’s in it?

40% Castelão: this is a grape grown all over Portugal since it is versatile in blends and easy to cultivate. It can be light and fruity (as it is in the case of this specific wine) or stand up to oak aging (adding another dimension to Port wines, especially in “Vintage” years). Its versatility reminds me most of Barbera from Piedmont, Italy

30% Touriga Franca: this is another versatile Portuguese variety, though its aromatic intensity stands out more than Castelão. While important in sweet Port wines, it also makes excellent dry red wines with blackberry and violet notes. In warm years, the wines made from Touriga Franca are full-bodied and plush, similar to Merlot without the chocolatey flavors.

15% Cabernet Sauvignon: Valued for its tannin, acid, and overall structure, Cabernet Sauvignon is typically only used in the southern regions of Portugal as the northern areas tend to stick with native varieties only.

Ruby-colored and berry-scented, the Portuga is an easy-drinking casual weeknight red wine.

15% Syrah: Offers similar structural characteristics to Cabernet Sauvignon, but with distinct black pepper and earthy qualities. An emerging favorite of southern Portugal.

(h/t to Wines of Portugal for helping me best describe Castelão and Touriga Franca)

How is it made?

The wine is actually fermented in concrete tanks, which helps provide a rounder texture without imparting additional flavors the way a wood barrel would. The wine then spends 4 months in a small barrel to soften the texture further.

How does it taste?

Medium-bodied, fruity (all of the berry flavors are in this wine), and rather light in alcohol (12.5% abv).

How do I serve it?

Stick the bottle in the fridge for about 15 minutes; a light chill on the wine makes the fruit and aromatics pop in your glass. It is also a screwcap, so if you don’t have a corkscrew handy, it’s OK. Drink this within a year or two.

What am I eating with this?

Classic beef burgers are the first thing that jumps to mind, but tomato salsa-based Mexican dishes would be really good here, too.

How much is it?

You should be able to find the Portuga Red for about $10 in most places. Casa Santos Lima is available in many parts of the country, but I do notice a significant concentration of their wines in the northeastern U.S.

Building A Case For Value

It's not that often these days where I am actively working the sales floor at the store. However in the past and when I help out on the big holidays at Divine Wine, a customer presents me the following:

"Hi! I would like to buy a case of wine, but I am not sure what I want. Can you help me?"

Yes! This is what I do. It's my livelihood. I always get excited at the opportunity to send customers home with 12 bottles of wine that (hopefully) they will enjoy with friends, family, colleagues, or just by themselves on a random Wednesday night.

Now, there is a key component to the statement above: "I am not sure what I want." In general, wine drinkers know what they like, but in this instance I get the impression that my customers are hesitant to step outside of their comfort zone. After all, they are buying a full case of wine so people are investing their hard-earned dollars in me and my recommendations. Of course if you choose to make your own choices, which you are perfectly capable of doing, I won't treat you as if you were having a touch time choosing a dozen donuts:

No matter whether you decide to choose specific wines on your own or ask me for help, I have a way for you to structure how you go about purchasing a case of wine. For today, I am focusing on the everyday/value bottles. Consider this to be the $120-$150 range when all is said and done. Keep in mind that many retailers will take anywhere from 10-20% off of a purchase of a case of wine with the ability to mix and match how you see fit. Let's dive into some things to consider when building your case from a perspective of seeking value.

Find your brands:

As much as I love to show you something from a small artisanal producer from some remote corner of France, the fact is that your larger, well-known brands will be easy to come by. Additionally, depending on the size of the retail store, their purchasing power will dictate how low they can keep prices. So you might encounter that Alamos Malbec, Blackstone Merlot, Concha y Toro Chilean red blend for a very inexpensive price already, all of which make great house wines or something you can offer a guest at a party who is looking to have something familiar. You can score some of your favorite brands for as little as $7 per bottle in some places. However...

Include some lesser-known regions and grape varieties:

Know what Corbieres is? In context of this post, who cares? Just know that some great Cinsault-based pink wine is being made here for $12.

If you are shopping at a good store offering the combination of knowledgeable and friendly customer service, chances are high that the overwhelming majority of wines on the shelves will be at minimum, drinkable and at best, very exciting. So if you see a red wine from Portugal made with Touriga Nacional for $10, grab it. A rosé from Languedoc, France made with Cinsault for $12? Get it. A South African Chenin Blanc for $10? Go for it. There are tons of examples from Italy and Spain, too. Piedmont and Tuscany get tons of love (and accompanying higher prices to match) in Italy, but Puglia, Sicily, and the Veneto regions can frequently offer you significant value. Additionally, Spain still has an incredible quality-to-price ratio, maybe the best of any country right now. There is a ton to choose from.

Find "declassified" wines from a European producer:

Naming conventions and labeling rules for wines in Europe will often refer to a geography, which is most evident in the wines of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Lets say you have a producer of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a specific wine zone in the Rhône Valley of France with a set of rules for making wine. Chances are that the same producer might make a wine from a larger area, different grape varieties than are permitted in the "Grand Vin" of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, or less stringent production rules to make a Côtes du Rhône wine, costing you a fraction of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Côtes du Rhône is a broader geographical area with more flexibility in rules for producing wines.

Another example comes from the Loire Valley. Sancerre's white wines are made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc in the Sancerre region. However, if the wine is made from vines outside of Sancerre, or don't adhere to technical aspects like vine age or yield control, then the wine might be labeled "Vin de France Sauvignon Blanc" such as the example below from Domaine de la Perriere.

Both wines are made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the same property owner, but the Sancerre is costing you $25. The one labeled Sauvignon Blanc? $10. This is a great way to go value-hunting. It might take a little digging around and a bit of research, but finding this kind of information will help save you several dollars.

Don't forget sparkling wine!

Look, we can't drink Champagne all the time, nor should Champagne and other sparkling wines only be reserved for special occasions. A bottle of bubbly as part of your case is a must-have. Best of all, you can find a fruity sparkling wine like Prosecco, or you can find Cava (Spain's sparkling wine made using Champagne's process, but with native grape varieties) can often be found at a bargain. For less than $15, you can spot one of each without a problem. Then you can pop the cork anytime you see fit, because you will have a bottle on-hand and ready to go, special occasion to celebrate, or not.

Why don't we do this...let's take some of these wines and stick them in the box. Then we'll add a few more, total it up, and you will see how you can build your mixed case of goodies to take home. Prices are approximate, and I will use 10% as the case discount as a conservative estimate. These are all wines I have tried and would recommend to anyone looking for a solid variety pack case that includes many styles of wines.

Mionetto Il Prosecco Brut, $11, a simple, easy-drink bottle of fruity sparkler, great for casual parties and Mimosas.

Fonseca Twin Vines Vinho Verde, $8, Vinho Verde is a light, low-alcohol, slightly fizzy citrusy wine from the northeastern corner of Portugal.

La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc, $10, this is the declassified Sancerre from above

Cantine Paolini Sicilia Pinot Grigio, $10, this Sicilian Pinot Grigio has some flavor to it, with melon and tropical fruit.

Tormentoso Old Vine Paarl (South Africa) Chenin Blanc, $13, try some Chenin Blanc as a Chardonnay alternative, plus a wine from South Africa. A region and a grape that deserves your love and attention.

Domaine Sainte Eugenie Corbieres Rose, $12, an unbelievably fruit-but-dry rose wine from southern France. Provence, for all of its delicate fruit and herbs that I really enjoy, does not have the fruit-forwardness of this wine.

Parolvini Barone Nero Veneto Red Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Refosco, Malbec), $12, an interesting blend that includes the native northeastern Italian variety of Refosco, which has a leathery, violet-scented character. It plays so well with the deep, dark fruit of the other two grapes, and it's not every day you see Malbec being grown in Italy.

Azul Portugal Douro Red Blend, $11, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Touriga Franca. All of these grapes go into Port wines, but when vinified as a dry wine, it gives you plenty of structure and fruit with a bit of smokiness.

Domaine Bousquet Mendoza Malbec, $11, there is a proliferation of Argentine Malbecs out there, and for the money Bousquet delivers so well.

Bodegas Atalaya Almansa Laya Red Blend, $10, this is a blend of Monastrell (a powerful, dense, chewy high-alcohol red wine variety), and Garnacha Tintorera (one of the few red varieties whose pulp and juice is red also).

Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Winemaker's Red Blend, $10, an easy-drinking staple in the large Chilean Concha y Toro winery's lineup. Fresh black fruit, licorice, and a touch of green bell pepper.

Gnarly Head 1924 Lodi Red Blend, $10, an opulent, blackberry jam and raisiny wine that is very soft on the palate.

Total for the 12 wines is $128. Take 10% off, and that's $115.20. Connecticut sales tax is 6.35%, so that gets us to a grand total of $122.52. That puts us in the lower range of what I categorized above. You are getting a nice spread of regions and grape varieties in this, too. Keep in mind that I have also listed these in order of how you might want to taste them if you were to do an absurd 12-bottle flight!

Hopefully, this gives you a great starting point in building your own case, but as always you know where to find me if you have questions. Good luck!

Portugal: Killer Wines With Fierce Pride

It was just a short time ago when I released a post about a past wine dinner that was incredibly educational. The reason that concept started in our group of friends was because one of the couples was about to go on their honeymoon, and being into the great outdoors and adventure they took a trip to Portugal to celebrate. With my foray into WSET studies beginning, I was asked if I could show them some wines to look out for when they went away, maybe run an informal-but-educational tasting to make them aware of some different styles. This eventually led to us all deciding that wine dinners would be a great idea. So we had a lot of fun with this, where honestly we were all exploring Portuguese wines together; none of us had really taken a dive into this proud Iberian country that can sometimes get lost in the shuffle among France, Italy, Spain, and Germany in the Old World wine hierarchy.

Portugal has records showing the first wine production to take place in this area sometime around the 5th century, B.C. By the time trade with England opened up with the signing of the Methuen Treaty in 1703, Portugal had already begun a system of demarcating quality vineyards and production zones, roughly 200 years before France even began passing laws to protect well-regarded wine production areas. Further south in the Dão region, they had even begun outlining demarcartion guidelines as early as the end of the 14th century. Wine has been taken seriously here for a long time.

However, the Colonial Era right through the 20th century saw complex waves of political and economic strife. With international trade all over the map as far as relationships went, Portugal could always count on their native grape varieties having already adapted to its diverse soils and climates. Grapegrowing was easy to some degree since Portugal never really absorbed the well-known Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Chardonnay. However, remote inland areas lacked in the winemaking equipment necessary to produce good wines. Once Portugal was admitted to the European Union in 1986, grants for technology upgrades, most notably temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks, led to improvements in winemaking and its quality of its dry wines. By the time the 21st century arrived, we were well on our way to having more Portuguese dry wines to choose from. Portugal had emerged from all of the chaos as a serious Old World producer of awesome wines; with the reliance on native varieties that lack name recognition to the wine-drinking masses, Portuguese wines were (and still are) a fantastic value.

As you know, I already published a Port cheat sheet for you here at Flight School back in the wintertime, but we have yet to discuss the dry wines of Portugal, something that is very important for you to know about as a wine consumer. Here's the thing...I would bet that a good percentage of you have never heard of some of these grape varieties used: Aragonez, Touriga Nacional, Antao Vaz, Encruzado, Jaen, and Alfrocheiro are just a handful of the cornucopia of native grapes used to make fine dry wines. That said, the warmer southern regions of Portugal have lowered their resistance to international varieties and have started to make some interesting blends, particularly with red wines, where a local variety joins up with an international one. For instance, this is one of the first such wines I can remember tasting:

The combination of Aragonez (a.k.a. Tempranillo), Syrah, and Touriga Nacional (the great grape of Portugal) results in a dark, spicy, savory wine that is also easy on the wallet.

While Port labels don't typically tell you the proportions in a blend, the dry wines do just the opposite. There is greater transparency to help you get to know some of these grapes and understand what to expect in that bottle. Am I going to list them all here for you today? No, but there are some grapes that take on greater significance than others internationally, and simply trekking to a different part of the country leads you to a new array of varieties. Here are the regions of note you are likely to find on the shelves here in the U.S.

Vinho Verde:

In its simplest form, this is a low-alcohol, slightly fizzy wine that is easy to knock down on hot summer days. The majority exported is white, made from Loureiro and Arinto (a.k.a. Pedernã) grapes, creating a lemony, green apple-y dry wine that can be had for less than $10. A fuller-bodied non-fizzy example is made from Alvarinho, and will be labelled as "Vinho Verde Alvarinho," which will raise the price bracket to $12-$18. Some rosé is exported and tiny quantities of red wine make it to us, both of which have the fizz.

Douro:

This is the valley of greatest significance, as this is where Port wines are made. With respect to dry wines, all of the Port varieties are available, but instead of stopping fermentation to make the wine sweet, all grape sugars are fermented dry. The bulk of what we see is red, with Touriga Nacional leading the way, complemented by Tinta Roriz (a.k.a. Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, and Touriga Franca. In the best vintages, you will find more Touriga Nacional in the blend (which also typically dictates when a "Vintage" is declared for Port wine). Since production of Port wine is limited by the government, any surplus is fermented into dry red wines. Seek out the Douro red blends from the years 2011, 2007, and if you are lucky, 2003 and 2000...these are all years where Vintage Port was declared. Wines can show a range of styles from fresh and fruity to deep and savory. There is also an increasing amount of white wines becoming available.

Dão:

The Dão region has been fighting with the Douro over who gets to claim origin of Touriga Nacional, the highly-structured, ageworthy grape variety packed with bold aromas and dark fruit flavors. Dão tends to use more varieties outside of the Port grapes used by the Douro, but any chance to showcase its style with Touriga Nacional is welcomed. The two most common grapes I encounter are Alfrocheiro (a berry-scented variety which retains acidity well in the heat of the growing season) and Jaen (a rustic, blueberry/cherry flavored grape that performs reliably well in Dão). I also need to draw attention to the white wines made from Encruzado, which is a citrusy and very floral wine with body and richness that will allow further development of honeyed notes when aged in bottle. I look at this as the Portuguese answer to Riesling, but with fewer sweet examples. 

Bairrada:

Bairrada is an important area for Portuguese sparkling wines. Fernão Pires (a.k.a. Maria Gomes) is the main grape used, but Arinto (from Vinho Verde above) is also included among several other varieties. Fernão Pires can taste of just about any citrus fruit with an earthy/ash quality the shows up, particular in the non-sparkling wines. Red wines often include Baga, which reminds me of France's Carignan in some ways. When not taken care of in the vineyard, wines made from this grape can be overly acidic and tannic with very little fruit. Older vines given more attention are capable of giving you wines with dark plum fruit, smoke, and pipe tobacco. Baga combines well with all of the Douro and Dão varieties above, giving the winemaker a large palette of choices in the winery.

Alentejo:

Antao Vaz, Arinto, and Viognier combine to make a fruity and aromatic wine with plenty of tropical fruit and richness.

This is Portugal's most important region for experimentation as international varieties are increasingly included in both white and red blends. It's plenty warm in this southern region, so just about any grape will ripen reliably. Here, the grapes of all of the regions above (except Vinho Verde) are used in conjunction with many red varieties and a handful of white. These are often tasty and inexpensive when you are looking for something a little different. Any time these international varieties infiltrate the wine, you will see the label marked as "Vinho Regional Alentejano."

Aragonez, Syrah, and Touriga Nacional create a boldly-flavored, spicy, full-bodied wine that will be a winner with any animal protein you toss on the grill.

I have long been impressed by Portugal's commitment to their native grape varieties; they all offer so much in the way of aromatics, fruit, and earthiness with an edgy character that makes the wines taste distinctly Portuguese. I hope I have given you some good reasons to grab a few bottles of Portuguese wines the next time you head out to your local wine merchant. There will be more to come as I dive into specific regions and grape varieties, but this mini-guide should help you get started if you didn't know where to begin. Cheers to the start of a great week!

Supporting information credit goes to Wines of Portugal.

Fun To Say, Fun To Drink: Albariño

Time to get to know another grape, people! I realize I have been sticking to white wines in this lately, but it's what I have been tasting lately and the wines have been delicious. You just need to know about them.

I don't know if the sentiment has been as heavy as it has a few years ago, but there is a faction of wine drinkers who are in the ABC Club...Anything But Chardonnay. As always, I will be honest with you...I couldn't stand Chardonnay in my early wine-drinking days. My first encounter was an inexpensive California Chardonnay that was full-bodied, low in acid, and so over-oaked it was like sucking on a Werther's Original Hard Candy. No thanks...I became an ABC drinker.

Al Barino, used car salesman. 

Of course, over time I learned to get over this and I have styles of Chardonnay I enjoy, but there are still plenty of ABC drinkers out there. One alternative that has often been recommended for this crowd of Chardonnay-haters is Albariño (ahl-bah-REE-nyoh...not "Al Barino", who sounds like a dude trying to sell you a clunky used car). What is it about this grape that makes writers sing its praises to ABC drinkers, and why do ABC drinkers seem to enjoy it?

Albariño: the tasty Spanish white grape. Not a used car salesman.

Albariño is a variety native to the Iberian Peninsula, though Spain's Galicia region is responsible for the majority of worldwide production. This is known as "Green Spain," where rainfall is higher here than any other Spanish wine zone. Albariño evolved to have thick skins to resist the potential for rotting grapes, so resulting wines can have some texture and body to it along the lines of Chardonnay. Its aromas are also more assertive than Chardonnay's, showcasing a citrus and floral component along with peaches and apricots that are more reminiscent of a dry Riesling. In fact, there is a theory that Albariño is indeed a clone of Riesling, whose name is taken from Alba (white) and Riño (from the Rhine, a major German river).

Your subzones of Rías Baixas. Image credit: Rías Baixas Wines.

When Albariño was awarded DO status (a protected demonination of origin), Spanish law says you can't name a DO after a grape variety, so you find Albariño made under the name "Rías Baixas," a specific zone within the Galicia region. Within Rías Baixas, distinct "terroirs" emerged, where Albariño shows itself differently in these micro-regions within Rías Baixas. For instance, Val do Salnés is cool and wet, so a mineral and herbaceous flavor may result. Condado do Tea gets hot during the growing season, leading to fuller, softer, tropical fruit-flavored wines.

Additionally, note that Albariño is also called Alvarinho in Portugal, most notably in the wines of Vinho Verde, just over the Minho River (pictured above on the map). The Portuguese version is definitely a wine to try, and can sometimes be found for a few dollars less than the Spanish expression. Albariño's best food partners are seafood: shrimp, scallops, crab, and lobster all come to mind.

No matter which section of Iberia you choose to explore, Albariño is worth seeking out, whether you are part of the ABC crowd or not. Here's a flight of three to taste and compare if you are feeling daring!

Orowines Kentia Albariño ($14): Lemon, melons, and tropical fruits. Very fruity and balanced and a great way to introduce yourself to Albariño.

Legado del Conde Albariño ($16): Very intense grapefuit and fresh green herbs on the nose, yet fuller-bodied than the Kentia.

Aveleda Vinho Verde Alvarinho ($13): Orange and lemon zest with floral notes. Citrusy on the palate with just a touch of stone fruits and mango.

Take Your Medicine: How To Choose And Drink Port

We are at the point in the wintertime where you really start to feel the effects of season. Christmas was a month ago and you have been in your normal routine for some time now. Of course, the usual day-to-day activity can also be interrupted by cold and flu season (which is why I am several days late in getting to this post). But along the way if you are giving yourself something to focus on for yourself, you can get out of any funk, including these gray days of winter.

Last Wednesday night, I delivered a "Port 101" class at the store, a topic I had never taught before except for an informal tasting with my parents and uncle when I studied the fortified wine unit of WSET school. This was definitely something to keep me focused as I spent a lot of time reacquainting myself with the subject. Truthfully, Port does not occupy a large space in my "wine cellar," because most times my wife and I are not consuming any alcohol until after the children have gone to bed. After one glass of humble dry French White or Italian red wine, we are tired. Not much time for Port, but if the window of opportunity is there on a night I am not in the mood for whiskey or Cognac (gasp!), I reach for this as a nightcap.

What is "fortified wine" you ask? Simply put, make a wine and add brandy or neutral grape spirit to the fermentation vat during (to make a sweet wine) or after (to boost alcohol in a dry wine) the process is complete. And what is Port? Port is a wine made from grapes grown in the Douro Valley of Portugal, fortified during fermentation to kill yeasts and leave residual sugar behind to make a sweet, fiery, fruity wine.

The concept came from ye olden days of European conflict, when England stopped trading with France and decided to head south for a visit with its friends in Portugal. When the English discovered and enjoyed the Douro Valley's red wines, they added brandy to have the haul survive the journey back home by boat. Later, the English discovered monks were adding the brandy during fermentation to make the wine sweet (in the process mentioned above). They loved this version so much, the English merchants set up shop in the city of Vila Nova de Gaia, across from the larger city of Oporto (where Port takes its name from). This is why when you go shopping for Port wines, many are named after those English merchants who settled in the area. See below:

So these English "Port Shippers" controlled all of the production, contracting with individual farms (a.k.a. "Quintas") for grapes and wine. Grapes were grown further inland up the Douro River. Wine was also made here, then wines were shipped by barrel to the blending and aging warehouses in Vila Nova de Gaia.

However, when Portugal entered the European Union in 1986, the requirement to age wines in Vila Nova de Gaia was lifted and with technology grants given to improve facilities in the remote inland regions, Quintas could now bottle their own products. Rather than the usual blend of harvests typical of many Ports, individual Quintas would bottle a single harvest. Port Shippers that owned these quintas would bottle under its own label. In the example to the left, the Symington family owns Quinta do Vesuvio.

By the way, over eighty grape varieties are approved for Port production, with all varieties being native to Portugal. Grapes named Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barocca and Tinto Cao are the "Big Five" when it comes to making quality red Port wines. Each brings something to the party: acid, tannin, body, alcohol, fruit intensity. Oftentimes, you won't see the proportions of grape varieties broken out on a label, but that's OK. The thing you will be concerned with most is the style of Port you are choosing.

You have a ton of options. You may have noticed that these labels show many different terms on them. Below I will spell them out for you, and it will give you an idea of what to expect inside the bottle. Anything listed below can be enjoyed immediately on purchase and needs no decanting. Call these the "Instant Gratification Ports":

• Ruby or Fine Ruby Port: This is your least expensive option. These wines are typically aged 2-3 years in bulk. Stainless steel or neutral wood tanks might be used. After blending, filtering, and bottling, the result is a fiery, fruity berry-flavored wine. This is the most medicinal of the options, but it also makes a great choice for making a sauce with to glaze on an herbed roast pork loin.
• Reserve Ruby Port: Better-quality grapes used to make the Fine Ruby above. Has more color and depth of flavor.
• White Port: This exists! Made like a Ruby, but with white grapes instead of red. Often unaged, but aged examples can go as long as 18 months.
• Tawny or Fine Tawny Port: Usually a blend of Ruby and White Port
• Reserve Tawny Port: A Port wine that has aged in barrel for at least seven years
• Tawny Port with Age Indication (10, 20, 30, or Over 40 Years): These Ports don't necessarily reflect minimum amount of time in barrel, but rather reflect a style. In other words, these wines taste like they have spent 10, 20, 30, or 40 years in barrel, but are often a mix of vintages and ages to get to an "average" age.
• Colheita Port: a "Vintage Tawny," or Tawny Port from a single harvest. Minimum of seven years in barrel, but often aged much longer.

Got all that? Good. Now here are the styles that require some good old-fashioned time and patience. You may need to stick in the cellar, or purchase older vintages of to make them truly enjoyable, but there is no law that says you can't open these right away if you like, especially with the third style listed:

• Vintage Port: An extremely high-quality Port made in special years, which are declared by the IVDP (the governing body that regulates Port production). Ages two years in barrel then bottled, unfiltered. These wines are loaded with tannins, acids, alcohol, fruit concentration, and residual sugar...all components necessary to preserve a wine for decades. You can drink these early if you choose, but the components may not have harmonized enough for your palate to enjoy, so beware. These wines also have heavy sediment, so be sure to decant Vintage Ports before drinking.
• Single Quinta Vintage Port: Just like Vintage Port above, but all the product of a single quinta or farm. Think of this as Single Malt Scotch to Vintage Port's Blended Scotch. You will taste more of the individual character of one location.
• Late Bottled Vintage Port: can be a confusing term. A Port wine is aged in barrel for four to six years (rather than two in Vintage Port), then bottled after being filtered (for a modern style) or not (for a traditional style). The unfiltered versions can spend time in the cellar and get better with age, but you can also drink these right away if you choose.

So there you have it! A somewhat of a crash course in Port. Use this as a quick reference, or write me and ask questions. Want to know what we drank on Wednesday night so you can customize your own flight? Here's what we had...

Azul Portugal White Port ($15): Azul Portugal is a cooperative, so multiple vineyards send their grapes to the cooperative to make one style of wine. In this case, it's a white Port, and a great way to get introduced to the style. Floral and delicate, this also works well in a cocktail with tonic water and lime.

Graham's Six Grapes Ruby Reserve ($23): I feel this sits at the top end of the Ruby Reserve category, with deep dark berry fruit and baking spices. The fire is tempered by a rich texture that borders a Late Bottled Vintage Port.

Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 2009 ($26): A great bargain for a traditionally-styled LBV Port. Bottled after four years in barrel, this is like drinking chocolate-covered cherries and berries. It is unfiltered, so be sure to decant this or pour very slowly.

Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny Port ($55): To me, the 20 Year style gives you the best value for your dollar if you are wondering where to start on the spectrum of Tawny with Age Indicated. Taylor Fladgate's example has flavors of orange marmalade, peach jam, caramel, and walnuts, along with plenty of acidity to give this wine great balance with the sweetness.

Quinta do Noval Colheita Tawny 2000 (about $90): According to their web site, Quinta do Noval ages their single harvest expressions for ten to twelve years prior to bottling. There is a lot going on in here: fruitcake, roasted nuts, honey, toffee, and candied citrus. The flavors linger on the palate for a very long time. Enjoy a piece of salted caramel dark chocolate with this for maximum pleasure.

Dow's Vintage Port 2000 ($100+): This is an explosion of blackberry, blueberry, black cherries, cocoa powder, and coffee. Yes, this is going to cost you, but Vintage Port is built for the long haul in your cellar. While this could still use much more time in the bottle to let the tannins integrate with the other components more. If you have 70% dark chocolate or your favorite cigar on hand, go ahead and open it now for a real treat.

New In Town: Wine, Food, Music & More

After a little time off, I'm back with lots to share. With each passing day, I learn more and more about how vibrant my shore town is in the winter time. I am also fortunate to have landed at a great shop that isn't all about itself, but rather cultivates partnerships throughout the community to put on some fantastic events. 

This is a loaded week, and the Nor'easter will be out of here by the time we get started. If you are in the area, come by and see me or any of our great people in town!

Photo of the Douro Valley from the IVDP web site

Wednesday, January 25th, 7:00pm: I'm teaching a Port 101 course at the Divine Wine Emporium classroom! Port wine's fruity and fiery character makes it a great way to end a meal or enjoy as a nightcap. You will learn everything to do with Port from vineyard to bottle, and we are tasting six different styles (including a Vintage Port). All of this for just $20 per student. You can call us at the store, 860-691-1053, to register and make payment.

Thursday, January 26th, 6:30pm: Flanders Fish Market & Restaurant Food & Wine Series - Spanish Edition. Last week's Italian session welcomed 62 guests! Can we top that number this week? Ken Turcotte, Owner of Divine Wine Emporium, and Olivia Formica, Head Chef of Flanders Fish, will present four small plates and five wines for just $35 per person. Call Divine Wine to make your reservation. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback about these evenings, and we can't wait to bring it to you again on Thursday. Can't make it? No problem...next week's final session will be a French theme.

Friday, January 27th, 7:00pm: Chris Leigh, Director of the Mystic Blues Festival and Owner of the String Theory School of East Lyme, joins us for a concert in the classroom! He will be joined by another unbelievable local musician, Josi Davis, who has performed for us several times in the past. $10 payable at the door, all proceeds will go toward this summer's Mystic Blues Festival! Call the store to make your reservation!

Friday, January 27th-Sunday January 29th: Mohegan Sun Wine Fest. It's a huge show; I have never been, but possibly going on Sunday. Details are included right here for you!