Summer Fun Equals Vinho Verde

(img via: http://www.winesofvinhoverde.com/maps/vinho-verde-sub-regions-2/)

With summer very nearly upon us, I will once again renew my call for you to drink vinho verde wines. These are wines, from Portugal, that epitomize that refreshing glass of wine on a warm day. I drink my fair share of vinho verde, alongside riesling and sparkling wines because when it's hot out and I don't want something to weigh me down (or get me too tipsy!), low alcohol plus high acid equals awesome.

Smart public relations firms doing what they do, this week a campaign called Passport to Vinho Verde came out. In addition to hosting tastings and events where you can taste Vinho Verde wines, there's also a chance to win a trip to Portugal's Vinho Verde region. Scroll to the bottom of this post for more details. It's super easy to sign up for, took me about a minute.

To refresh your memory, here are some quick facts I found here: http://www.winesofvinhoverde.com/about-vinho-verde/vinho-verde-101/

• Vinho Verde is pronounced veeng-yo vaird.
• Vinho Verde does not mean ‘green’ wine. ‘Verde’ refers to it being a young wine; the wines are released 3-6 months after harvest.
• The Vinho Verde region has produced wine for over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest wine regions in Portugal.
• Vinho Verde wines are made from the combination of carefully selected varietals. Recommended white varietals include Alvarinho, Avesso, Azal, Arinto, Loureiro, and Trajadura.
• The wines of Vinho Verde have long been known for their vibrant fruit, low alcohol and refreshing qualities -a combination that makes them one of the most versatile partners with food.
• Vinho Verde is an ideal wine pairing for salads, seafood and Asian cuisine, and can be served alone or as an aperitif.

This week I was sent a list of cities in the U.S. that are hosting "Passport to Vinho Verde" events, where wine lovers can visit selected retail shops and taste the different styles that are making their way to our shores. So far, New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. are getting all the love, click on the link above to select your city and find a retailer. Needless to say, I highly encourage the people running this PR campaign to add more cities to the list!

(img via: http://www.winesofvinhoverde.com/region-estate-photos/arcos-valdevez-giela-house/)

And finally, I found out that you could actually win a trip for two to Vinho Verde (Portugal!!) just by going Facebook page and entering. It's free and the amount of personal information they request is the bare minimum. If you've ever wanted to visit Portugal, this could be your chance.
over to their

More news can be found at the Vinho Verde Twitter Account, should be a tweeter like I am.

Beau Carufel

Vinho Verde, Wine You Should Drink Often

Believe it or not people still ask me for wine recommendations, especially when the seasons change. While that might not make me a "Top 10" wine blogger or some other nonsensical crap, it does make me deeply appreciative of the opportunities I have to sample some unique, outstanding wines...Then turn around and recommend the ones I like to folks who trust my opinion.

(attribution: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Bourrichon)

Vinho Verde. Green wine, in Portuguese. The wine isn't green colored, but green in the sense of being young. Technically it has a tiny amount of bubbles, but not even enough to equal Moscato d'Asti from Italy. Some of the grapes used in vinho verde are Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura, Avesso, and Azal.

Turning logic somewhat on its head, I recommend drinking vinho verde during the fall months in addition to those hot summer months. You might ask why, and would certainly be correct to do so. The key is acidity, perhaps the singularly most important component in making a wine food-friendly and versatile.

Think about it, around this time of the year we are (well, we in the northern states) having hearty fare, warm fare, food to survive on. We're also having holiday parties!

Holiday parties invariably involve alliteration..wait..no...that was an awful joke. Picture tables full of various finger foods, bodies packed into an overly heated room, and that weird guy taking pictures of his ass on a copy machine. And cake. Ring any bells? Do you really want to be drinking the 22 year old social media interns jungle juice? Is your company cool enough to spring for real Champagne at their parties?

A "no" answer to either question indicates you should try vinho verde at the office parties or other holiday gatherings. Lots of acidity, low alcohol (so you can drink a lot!), and the potential to look reasonably cool and sophisticated make this delightfully quaffable Portuguese sipper worthy of consideration. Oh and it's a massive crowd pleaser too.

Let's talk about some bottles of vinho verde then. Each of these wines is readily available in most major markets. Don't hesitate to email me if you need help finding one.

2010 Trajarinho Vinho Verde: A blend of 60% alvarinho, 40% trajadura. Bright nose of cut grass, flowers, green apple, and hints of apricot. Impressive complexity for such an inexpensive wine. On the palate a slight effervescence reveals more of the apples and flowers, sweet pear, and touches of green. Vibrant acidity creates a nice finish, clean and compact. I would happily pair this with fried foods, Mexican cuisine, or tapas plates. $9.  11.5% abv.

2010 Grinalda Vinho Verde: This was perhaps the most simple of the bunch, with aromas of citrus and sea breeze. It lacked the verve of the above wines, relying almost solely on a bright acidic streak through the center. Tasted later in the day, I suspect that this wine was just a simple, bulk vinho verde. 11.5% abv. $14 SRP.

2011 Cruziero Branco Vinho Verde: This was a very interesting vinho verde for me, as it had this interesting, funky mineral note that struck me right out of the glass. Tertiary aromas of melon and stone fruit complemented a zingy lime juice core. None of that funk was on the palate though, as this wine is all about the acidity. Lots of sweet Meyer lemon and stone fruit go along with a briny, drying finish. Great fun at only 9% abv. $12 SRP

2009 Adamado Vinho Verde: Made by a cooperative, this vinho verde seems all about the minerality and melon. There is also a subtle stone fruit aroma at play. It's softer on the palate than the Cruziero Branco, but equally fun to drink. I was particularly impressed by the clean, drying finish. By being a bit softer, I think this example is a better gateway to the region and wine than the previous two. 10% abv. $8 SRP.

NV Casal Garcia Vinho Verde: Imagine wet gravel on a steel pan. Barely-ripe peaches and sliced limes surround the pan. This gem has a ton of acidity, keeping the palate very clean and focused. During warmer weather, it would be a fantastic sipper, one that you could drink a bottle of and be fine. It's a bit too light (taken in context) for the holiday smorgasbord though. Still, worth seeking out and enjoying on its own. 10.0% abv. $8 SRP.

2011 Quinta de Gomariz QG Loureiro Colheita Seleccionada: Gorgeous notes of summer melon, citrus, sea breeze, and fruit blossom all come out on the nose of this wine. It had the most complex bouquet of all the vinho verdes I tasted. Also, it was perhaps the fizziest (is that a word?) out of the six here. Lots of melon and lime on the palate, ending in a burst of bubbles and acidity. 11.5% abv. $10 SRP.






2009 Casa de Vila Verde Alvarinho Minho: Fresh lemons and ocean breezes waft out of the glass in this wine made in a sub-region of vinho verde. Although there is a bit more alcohol, it helps lend weight to the tropical fruit and lemon flavors that come through on the palate. There is a slight bittering on the finish that distracts from what could be an excellent wine, and I felt that this might be past its peak already. Still, an interesting exercise into a tiny sub-region. 13.5% abv. $11 SRP.






It's not often I get a chance to taste through this many wines from a single region, but taste I did! Some of these wines were still quite good on the second day, retaining that tiny bit of fizz and mouthwatering acidity. It's important that these wines be viewed for what they are, simple, tasty, and accessible. That's why I suggest them for the holidays. When you're cooking for a crowd and don't want to break out the Champagne but still need refreshing relief, why not a cheap, glug-worthy vinho verde?

These wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Exploring Port Wines For the Holidays

As the leaves change color in the vineyards, the temperature drops and the air takes on a crisp, snappy feel, we know it's fall. Like it or not, the holidays are upon us, surely to contain excess food and drink, office parties, over-shopping, wine club shipments, and ballooning credit card balances. Each of these events carries with it a certain amount of stress upon we humans, sometimes the stress is good and sometimes it's bad. I'm writing this blog post to share what I consider a nice remedy to that holiday-induced stress.

Port wine, something of a favorite tipple in my household. Many people (myself included) consume Port year-round, so let's pat ourselves on the back for a moment. "The Holidays" provide a perfect excuse to explore Port, to drink more Port, and to share our affinity with our friends and even..just maybe..our family.

And so it goes, I was sent three bottles of Port, the real kind (hint: from Portugal) to sample. Another bottle of "port" comes from California, and I should call it port-style wine, a truer description. That bottle was contributed by my good friend Dan of Wine is Serious Business fame. As a quick shout-out, Dan and Chas do one of the most entertaining, authentic video wine blogs out there, period.

I was sent bottles of Fonseca Bin 27, Taylor Fladgate LBV 2005, and Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny to taste. The California Port-style wine was a bottle of Terra d'Oro Zinfandel Port. The first three are wines made from well established producers in Portugal, and very easy to find on retailers shelves. The Terra d'Oro is available through the winery website and it looks like they can ship most places.

Before I get into the tasting notes on each of these fortified wines, let's go through a very brief Port primer, to better understand what I'll be talking about. Hopefully after the primer, you'll be able to place these wines into proper context.

Port can be made with 48 (WOW) different grape varieties but five are considered the best and most widely used: Touriga National, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Cão. The Douro river is considered the source of the best Port grapes.

Port wines can be divided into two main styles: Ruby and Tawny. Most Ports are blended wines from various years with the aim of producing a consistent house style. Ruby ports are often dark purple in color with rich fruity and spicy overtones, and a sweet character. Tawny Ports are amber in color with flavors of toffee, dried fruits and nuts. More complex (and expensive) Tawny Ports have an indication of age on the bottle: 10, 20, even 40-year old Tawny. Late Bottled Vintage, or LBV Ports spend between four to six years in oak prior to bottling, softening the acid and tannin which then allows them to be consumed at a younger age. They combine the mellow flavors of a Tawny Port while retaining the fruitiness of a Ruby.

Terra d'Oro Zinfandel Port NV: Right away I was picking up zinfandel notes. Plum, black pepper, raisin, and cherry preserve all waft out of the glass. The unmistakable scent of alcohol was there too, something I tend to pick up in all but the oldest, most expensive vintage Ports. On the palate the Terra d'Oro is smooth and rich, with a sweet, candied nut flavor to go with the grapey component. For about $12 per 375ml bottle, it's a really good deal. I think my friend Chas made a great point when he said it's close to a regular zinfandel bottling, lighter than a typical syrupy Port.



Fonseca Bin No. 27 Porto: Next up is a ruby Port, the real deal. Fonseca has been making Port wines for a long time and this is their entry-level bottling. True to it's nature, the nose has cherry preserve, brandy, hints of dark chocolate and earth. I think for a $15-$20 bottle of Port, this is very approachable. I tasted more of the sweet cherry, oak, dark chocolate, and earth along with a little bit of acidity that helped liven up the wine. It wasn't my favorite of the tasting and is more for people who do like sweeter wines. This is a good introduction to Port wines and is equally at home on its own or with a chocolate sampler.

Taylor Fladgate Late Bottle Vintage 2005 Porto: This LBV smelled great to me, lots of nutty aromas mixed with oak, red and black fruit, and some spice mix going on too. One thing about Late Bottled Vintage Port that I always enjoy is the way that a lot of what I smell carries over onto the palate. The Taylor Fladgate LBV tastes a lot like it smells with regards to the oak and spices mixed with berry flavors. My initial taste was of oak and fruit and that quickly gave way to a tannin and woodsy mid-palate, ending with a bit of heat from the alcohol. When you do drink Ports though, it's important to remember that they're higher in alcohol and you probably will feel both the burn of the ethanol, and if you're not careful, the effects too. That is one of the reasons Port is not served in the same quantities as unfortified wine. At around $24, it's a great value that I highly recommend.

Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny Porto: The final Port was this 20 year old Tawny, meaning that the average age of the wine inside is 20 years, not that it was made 20 years ago. There could be equal parts 30 year and 10 year Ports, respectively. When Port starts to age, it truly turns into a magnificent beverage. The bouquet is lovely, with whiffs of cherry and toasted nuts, warm oak, and hints of cigar box. Warm and rich on the palate, there's a subtle earth note along with a beautiful mix of toasted almond and cherry preserves. I love the balance and integration of the flavors, there's no sense of a beginning or end to each specific aroma, everything seamlessly flows together. At $35-40 a bottle it's a bit pricier but also showcases what makes Port wine so excellent.


Hopefully you've now got an idea of the different styles of Port and what makes it so delicious. The Center for Wine Origins is working to promote awareness that real Port only comes from Portugal, and that is a message this blog supports. January 27th, 2012 is Port Day,and there will be tastings all over the country. If you're on Twitter, you can use the hashtag "#PortDay" to connect with other wine lovers taking part. If you've ever been curious about Port wines, this is a day to use to your advantage.

The Port wines in this blog were all media samples.

Beau Carufel

A Port Wine Primer

File this under the category "useful". Ever been curious about Port wine? To the beginning wine drinker, Ports can be very confusing. There's a lot of misinformation being peddled by ignorant "wine people" that causes a lot of you to hesitate before ordering or buying a Port.

If you study this ‘Port 101’ from Fladgate Partnership winemaker David Guimaraens, you'll get a good foundation of knowledge to help your initial foray into these fascinating wines. As always, tasting is of course mandatory! Also, ask questions! I can't stress that enough, especially about wines like Portos.

What is Port?  Port is a fortified wine produced from grapes grown exclusively in Portugal’s Douro region.  Port was created in the 1700’s so the British would have wine to drink while at war with the French. As wines spoiled during the voyage to England, they were fortified to improve shelf-life. (Factoid: A wine is “fortified” by adding a neutral grape spirit to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine.)

Port Grapes:  Port can be made with 48 different grape varieties but five are considered the best and most widely used: Touriga National, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Cão.  Vineyards are cultivated on steep terraced slopes along the Douro River, arduous and costly work. 

Grape Stomping:  Grapes are hand-harvested, and in order to quickly extract colors and flavors without getting harsh tannins from the pits, the finest producers opt for the traditional way of crushing grapes by human foot treading in shallow stone tanks called lagares. 

Port Styles:  Simply put, Port can be divided into two main styles:  Ruby and Tawny.  Most Ports are blended wines from various years with the aim of producing a consistent house style (much like Champagne).

Ruby Ports:  Dark purple in color with rich fruity and spicy overtones, and a sweet character.  Bottles marked “Ruby Reserve” offer more complexity than a basic Ruby as they are aged longer before bottling and are generally higher quality blends.  

Vintage Ports:  Vintage Ports are the highest quality Ruby Ports from one single year. A Port producer will ‘declare’ a vintage in exceptional harvests.  Vintage Ports can be consumed young, but will develop in the bottle for decades, with powerful fruit flavors and tannins mellowing with age. Vintage Ports need to be decanted as they develop sediment in the bottle.  (Factoid: 2009 is the 4^th vintage declaration of this decade, a rarity over the past three centuries.)

Tawny Ports: Aged in large oak casks, Tawny Ports are amber in color with flavors of toffee, dried fruits and nuts.  Ready to drink when bottled, Tawny Ports don’t need to be decanted.  More complex Tawny Ports have an indication of age on the bottle, e.g. 10, 20, 30 or 40-year old Tawny.  Their mellow, nutty, character comes from contact with air during long maturation in oak casks. (Factoid: Tawny Ports are delicious chilled served with or without ice.)

Late-Bottled Vintage (LBV):  LBV Ports spend between four to six years in oak prior to bottling.  The wines combine the mellow flavors of a Tawny Port while retaining the potent fruitiness of a Ruby Port. They do not need to be decanted. 

Port Pairings:  Ports can be enjoyed on their own at the end of the meal but are also an excellent dessert pairings. Ruby Ports are delicious with blue cheeses like Stilton or Roquefort and rich chocolate desserts. Tawny Ports are best accompanied with caramel and toffee desserts like crème brûlée or apple crumble.


I confess that the original press release that I copied into this blog did contain Port recommendations from Taylor's and Fonseca, two well-respected Port houses. I can certainly recommend Ports from each one. In fact one of my favorite Ports of all time is Taylor's 1985. The recommendations were deleted so as to remove any apperance of bias.

Tomorrow night at 5pm pst, I'll be participating in a live, virtual tasting of a new Port from Croft. It's unlike any I've tasted before, a rosé style Port made by extracting fresh, fruity flavors and a subtle, delicate pink color from the grapes. The result: a vibrant, lighter Port.

Follow along using the Twitter hashtags "#TGTaste" and "#CroftPink" as I (and other wine bloggers around the country) open and taste this interesting development in Port wines. I think it'll be fascinating to watch the bloggers react to Croft Pink.

Beau Carufel

Vinho Verde in Rosé Form, Superb!

I love vinho verde! Let's get that out of the way. If you're looking for a lightly bubbly, refreshing, crisp white/rosé wine for a sweltering hot day, choose vinho verde. The low alcohol (11% in this one!) lets you have more than a glass or two and it's versatile enough to pair with all manner of foods including Thai, Latin, and sushi. Getting Thai takeout this summer? Try a vinho verde out and experience how the bubbles and acidity cleanse your palate after each bite of food. That fish burrito from the taco shop? Vinho verde will pair beautifully!

The majority of vinho verde that I have tasted has been white or more appropriately, green. When I got the chance to sample the 2010 Muralhas de Moncao Rosé, I happily said yes! Another gem sent by my friend Luis at Vinos Unico. Much like the Urbanite Cellars Caliberico I wrote up, this is a reasonably priced, food-friendly wine that takes you in a different direction than you might normally drink.

Produced by a regional cooperative called Adega de Moncao. There about 1,700 member-growers farming about 1,200 hectares of vineyards without any irrigation. Around two acres of vines for each grower mean that they can devote their time to maximizing the grape quality. This particular cooperative is the single largest producer of the alvarinho grape (albarino across the river in Spain) within the Moncao sub-region.

So what's in the Muralhas de Moncao? It's a blend of alvarelhão, pedral, and vinhao resulting in a gorgeous rosé-colored bottle of awesomeness. The wine sees no oak at all, fermentation takes place in large stainless steel tanks and there's also no malolactic fermentation either. The result is a purely fruit-driven wine retaining a beautifully accessible acid profile. I found some red berry notes; think sun warmed strawberries and raspberries, watermelon, and a hint of minerality on the finish. While this vinho verde does have bubbles, they're a lot smaller and milder than what you might find in a Champagne or Cava, lending to a softer mouthfeel compared to those sparkling wines.

I made vegetarian fajitas with the Muralhas de Moncao and the pairing was awesome. Bell peppers and onions sauteed in garlic, spices, and white wine. All of that inside a warm tortilla filled with cheese, then crisped in a pan. Home made guacamole on top (mine has some extra kick to it) and the meal worked out perfectly. Plus there wasn't a lot of cleanup afterwards, always a plus. Why is it that making a mess is great fun, yet cleaning up the mess seems like the most tedious task ever?

Luis told me that this wine currently isn't distributed in San Diego, and like the Caliberico, it's clear we are missing the boat on some superb, affordable summer wines. If you're looking for the 2010 Muralhas de Moncao Rosé, the best thing to do is contact Vinos Unico and ask them who carries it in your neighborhood. For us San Diegans, we must go to our local wine shops and ask for these wines! That is the only way the merchants will get them in stock especially if they haven't sampled or don't know about them. For those of you in Los Angeles and Orange County, you're in luck. Currently the retail is between $10 and $14, which nails the QPR.

There are so many reasons to try the 2010 Muralhas de Moncao Rosé and none to avoid it. Pick up a bottle or two and experiement with summer foods. I have a feeling you'll be surprised and happy.

This wine was a media sample for review purposes from Vinos Unico.

Beau Carufel

Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Pinot Noir Central Coast 2009

 (img src http://lashahull.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/pinot-noir-grapes.jpg)

Another wine from Trader Joe's. This is one of their private label wines, of which there are multiple designations (and price points). The Petit Reserve is one of the cheapest of the "Trader Joe's" labels, usually somewhere between $5.99 and $8.99 per bottle. At the upper end are the "Grand Reserve" wines, around $12-14 a bottle. One can find gems hidden in each segment, but most of the wines are for me, pretty boring. There's nothing necessarily wrong (from a technical standpoint) with these wines, they are just not that interesting for a wine geek to taste.

The usual story given out is that somewhere in the world, a famous, well known producer needed to sell some of his wine and heroically of course, Trader Joe was there with a briefcase of cash and a custom labeling facility. Joe promised not to disclose who the producer was, but did promise to take all xx,xxx cases off said producer's hands and re-brand it as Trader Joe's wine. In trying to track down who does produce a lot of these private label wines, I've often come across shell companies, fake wineries, and even good old Fred Franzia's Bronco Wine Company. As for the 2009 Petit Reserve Pinot, I didn't do a lot of digging but was assured the wine was from a top Pinot Noir producer making "big labels" up in San Luis Obispo.

Interestingly, and perhaps telling, was the fact that 4.8% of the wine is actually Souzão. Grown primarily in Portugal, Souzão is used in the production of Port wines, often to add color and flavor. Makes sense to add such a big, dark, heavy grape to Pinot Noir, right? No, it doesn't. But I'm not the big name producer or Trader Joe's so I don't make the rules here.

Poured into my glass, this is a somewhat pale Pinot, especially for California and even San Luis Obispo. The cooler climate keeps acidity a bit high and allows more fruit nuances of raspberry and sour cherry to manifest. In the Petit Reserve Pinot, the nose gives hints of those fruits along with oak (presumably this is barrel aged) and some alcoholic heat. At 13.7% the alcohol is smack in the middle of the Pinot Noir I've been tasting for the past few years.

I think I could taste added structure the Souzão gave this wine, in the form of a firm tannic backbone that interacted with the acidity. More of the soft vanilla, sour cherry and bits of raspberry were playing on my palate too. More of the alcoholic heat too, which disappointed me to some extent. No strong flavors and nothing that jumped out, this is a weak wine structurally.

The finish was straightforward and brief, nothing lingered as if trying to draw out the experience. As I sat and thought about this wine, I was left with the singular notion that it didn't have much soul. I couldn't detect much terroir influence, rather this seemed to be a cobbled together wine. In essence, it was there to be sold and consumed without much thought. I graded it a C and Do Not recommend you try it, despite the very consumer-friendly $5.99 price tag.

If you must try this, pair it with a pizza or something equally simple. Even then, I'd rather open a Chianti or Merlot.

I'll keep my eyes open for more low-priced wines from Trader Joe's.

Beau Carufel