“Drink wine, not labels.”

Today, my daughter, Miss T as we call her, came home exclaiming loudly that our elf on the shelf was soooooo boring. I stayed calm and gently explained that the elf was very tired from going back and forth at night to see Santa. Can we just level on this Elf on the Shelf for a minute? As if I don’t have enough going on to prepare for the holidays (not that I’m counting: shopping, decorating, cooking, decorating, wrapping, packing, cleaning entertaining, decorating) now we have this elf, which in my opinion is just another way for parents to fail at Christmas (Don’t act like you’ve never forgotten to move the elf. Two days in a row.). That said, if you have decided to breath life into the elf, the elf should not be BORING! So, put on your fun-parent-pants and get on Pinterest so you too can be the envy of all your child’s friends when she goes to school tomorrow: “My elf was sword fighting the nutcrackers with candy cane swords!”

It also got me thinking, wine should not be boring!

If you’re going to be drinking it, make sure it’s exciting! Variety is your friend—try something new and fun! We should always want to expand our reaches and try something new. . . just like that elf in my house who may or may not be scaling a fireplace for the first time in his life this evening.

What can I do to be different? How can I add variety? Well, I’m glad you asked.

One of my newest and favorite wine adventures has been exploring the wines of Portugal. If you can, please let me lead you down this road for a few moments and maybe you will find something to add a little spice to your Elf adventures. I meant to say wine adventures. My bad.

Portugal is very special in the wine world, mostly because fortified wine (Aka Port) has dominated the business, but also because the wine consists of grapes most of us have never heard of. Have you ever heard of the Ramisco grape? Exactly.

There are 250+ grapes alone, with Portugal growing as a quality standard bearer, and gaining more attention in the wine world, as well as being a UNESCO world heritage site. I’m ready for a visit, are you?

I recently attended a WINES OF PORTUGAL event, where I was able to taste through some current Portuguese wine. While I was there, I was able to talk to Jorge Monteiro, the president of ViniPortugal who highlighted the regions of Dao, Bairrada, Tras-O-Montes, and Alvarese as some of the exciting regions where wine quality is on a surge. ViniPortugal promotes the wines of Portugal, where the exports of Portuguese wine has been on the rise, especially the DOP/IGP labeled wines. Which is an indicator of quality wine coming to our shelves. Also, Portugal was just highlighted in Wine Enthusiast Magazine, top 100 buys:

Portuguese wines in the Top 100 Best Buys of 2018

https://www.winemag.com/toplists/bestbuys2017/

#11 Aveleda 2015 Follies Casa da Aguieira Touriga Nacional (Bairrada) – 92 points

#15 Sogrape 2016 Silk & Spice Red (Portuguese Table Wine) – 90 points

#22 Quinta de Chocapalha 2015 Castelão (Lisboa) – 91 points

“Don’t worry about what’s on the label, just enjoy what’s in the glass”

Because of the extreme variety, the styles of wine here are all over the wine map. You can find anything you want here to match your taste! The wine words feel different, and you may be confused, so here is a little cheat sheet to get you started when you go to the “Portugal” section (how impressive will you look!):

If you like Pinot Grigio, try Vinho Verde

If you like Chardonnay, try Encruzado

If you like Cabernet Sauvignon, try Touriga Nacional

Okay, now for a little more educational information so you can wow all your friends, like Miss T with her Elf.

Portugal, like most EU countries, have been divided up into wine regions

I’ll give you a 411 on styles you will find in your wine stores:

Douro (DOC/DOP)

In the Douro region, you will find wines made from Port grapes. It really wasn’t until a recent revolution where winemakers and growers started experimenting with exporting the wine which currently you will find on the shelf. There are many multiple grape varieties allowed here but likely you will see a blend of these red grapes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo). The region in general is hot and dry, so you’ll be tasting big, concentrated wines. Wines with Touriga Nacional tend to be lusher and more opulent, whereas Touriga Franca tend to have more spice and cinnamon. You can find great value for $10 and under, but it you want something to cellar, expect to spend about $20 and over. Look for Douro Branco, which is a crisp, mineral white wine.

The landscape here has good conditions for growing wine grapes, it is dominated by old, narrow, stone-walled terraces with more modern terracing and wider spacing happening. It is divided into three sections called Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo, and Douro Superior. All this to say, location can affect the style. The western region, Baixo Corgo is western near Atlantic Ocean and tends to be lighter in style. Try some pork, ham, sausage, and some roasted game with these.

Local wine stores (Montclair, NJ): Amanti Vinoyou can find: Nieport MC Tinto (17.99) and lavradores de feitoria tinto douo ($10.99). Also, at Grape collective(new store in town) you can source Doural tinto ($10), an excellent wine and Value!

DÃO(DOC/DOP)

This area is south of the Douro region, which produces around 80% red wine and a leading white wine from Encruzado grape. These are typically well-structured wines that tend to be lighter in style then Douro. These will typically be three grape varieties with Touriga nacional the most important, usually around 50% of the blend. The other important grapes here are Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz (aka Aragonez in Alentejo)

Style can vary on which grape is used.

DÃO TOURIGA NACIONAL: Full bodied red wine with deep black fruit.

DÃO JAEN (aka Menciá grape) Full bodied red wine with red fruit flavors

DÃO ALFROCHEIRO: Medium bodied red wine with red fruit flavors with a spicier finish

ENCRUZADO GRAPE: makes white wines that are elegant, well balanced, and full bodied, you will find as either a single variety or a blend.

BAIRRADA

This is a coastal region known for production of the Baga grape, which is a very deep structured, tannic, robust, and fruit driven wine. Leading the way here are wines that are single variety Baga, while a lot of producers are blending international grapes with Baga, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. Luis Pato is a modernizer here who is credited with bringing this struggling region up in quality and new techniques.

Drink this wine with Leitao, the roast suckling pig known in this region.

VINHO VEDRE DOC/DOP

(VR MINHO)

Until the 1980s, Vinho Verde was predominantly red, made in a naturally fizzy, acidic, bone-dry style from red grapes such as Azal, Vinhão, and Espadeiro. These wines are still made, but little of it leaves the north of Portugal.

Now, you will find a white wine that is light, fresh, aromatic and sometimes with a slight sparkle. These wines are meant for early consumption, meaning drink off the shelf. (VV mean ‘green wine’). This is a perfect wine for a picnic or a bright summer day. It just makes you feel happy!

The DOP is broken out into 9 sub-regions, which highlights the climatic & grape differences here that affect the outcome of the wine. You will find Alvarinho grape is specialty of sub region Moncão and Melgaco (northern part, where rainfall is lower) which gives a full-bodied dry wine with complex, subtle, fresh aroma of apricots, peaches and citrus. (according to Wines of Portugal)

South is sub regions of Lima, Cavado, and Ave, the grape here is Loureiro, Arinto, and Trajadura create fresh and aromatic wines.

A good thing to note from wines of Portugal: “The quality of Vinho Verde has improved greatly over recent years, thanks to to better training and renewed enthusiasm amongst today’s producers, and in part to better grapes. Where once the grape vines were growing up trees and over high-flung pergolas, many of the region’s vineyards today are trained along modern, wired rows. Here the grapes are better exposed to sunlight and breezes and the grapes and healthier and riper”

TRÃS-OS-MONTES DOC

(VR TRANSMONTANO)

This is a large region in Northeast Portugal, near Spain, north of the Douro region isolated by mountains. The translation literally means “behind the mountains”. Because of this location, the altitude for growing grapes is higher which creates white wines which are very aromatic and robust deep structured red wines. The grapes you will find here will be both local and international varieties. Look for Boral Branco, Malvasia Fina, Trincadeira and Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo)

The bottom line here is there is lots of variation to find and try wherever you live! I personally love surprising my friends with new wine to taste and enjoy! So, go out and try something new and let me know what you LOVE! Also, wine always helps with elf creativity! Cheers!

JUMPING INTO PORTUGAL