Having just come back from Portugal, I expected to be amazed by so many of the red wines. And I was. Many of the bottlings happening in the Douro are well known and well documented (from Quinta do Vale Meão to Quinta do Crasto to Niepoort etc.) while the equally large range of modern era reds emanating from DOC’s like Alentejo, Tejo, and Dão are stunning. What I didn’t frankly expect was coming away with a fresh respect for Portuguese white wines beyond the already popular Vinho Verde. So, as promised, a few thoughts on three varietals… Continue reading »

I was recently in Bairrada, an amazing appellation area in the Beiras region in the northwest of Portugal, and have to say how sincerely impressed I was by the wines. Though the neighboring Dão area generates the press and is historically more significant, Bairrada has quietly jumped on the scene producing an array of wines.

First, a little context, Portugal sits in the Iberian southwest of Europe and is geographically 575 miles long by 138 miles wide and has the 8th largest vineyard acreage in world (500,000 plus) (FYI, the USA is 6th). They enjoy their wine and have the 7th largest per capita wine consumption (15 gallons/person) while they are the 11th largest in total wine production in world (USA is 4th) and the 7th largest exporter to USA and growing at a staggering 34.7% with their red wine exports to USA up 126.4% in last three years. Continue reading »

Yes indeed the third Thursday of November is upon us shortly and with that comes the annual (albeit less and less awaited) arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. Pardon me if I don’t get too excited. Maybe I am too old? Too jaded? Or just too pragmatic?

When I started in the biz in the late 1970’s the yearly nouveau season was touted as big event and indeed it was. The wines, made from the Gamay grape in the French region of Beaujolais via a process called carbonic maceration, are unique- fresh, vibrant, electric fluorescent magenta in color and effusing aromas and flavors of fresh banana, bubble gum, gushing strawberry, grape, and raspberry fruit all enveloped in smooth soft to non-existent tannins (a resulting byproduct of carbonic) and easy to drink… going down as easy as Kool-Aid but with a bit of a kick and often a prickle of spritz from the carbon dioxide trapped in the wines as they are bottled, sold, and shipped off. Continue reading »

As a food and wine guy, I constantly teach folks about pairings and specifically about explaining, to the best of my ability, why certain combinations work while others do not. Red wine with red meat is a no brainer, while ‘stinky socks’ washed rind cheese and big red wine is simply awful unless you sincerely like recreating the sensation of taking a bong hit on a Clorox bottle. Then there’s this new conventional wisdom that you can have red wine with fish. Continue reading »