Lindsay du Vin

I should be back in France, but because of the now infamous volcanic eruption in Iceland my return flight has been delayed a week, which means I am still in my home state of Rhode Island (if the volcano behaves, I’ll be flying back tomorrow…)

Since being back, I’ve been taking full-advantage of the great diversity of well… the non-French wines you can find in the area. Yes, you can certainly find wines from all over the world here (perhaps not in the same selection as in larger metropolitan areas, but enough to keep things interesting). However, there are two particular categories of wine which you can find in abundance in Rhode Island: Italian and Portuguese.

This has to do with our state’s cultural heritage: Rhode Island has both the highest percentage of Italian-Americans (19% – including yours truly!) and also Portuguese-Americans (9%) of all U.S. states. Both cultures are very fond of wine—in fact, many people here prefer to make their own wine rather than buy it from the store.

So, this leads me to a very interesting tasting I attended last night highlighting wines from Portugal. The tasting was held “just over the border” in Swansea, Massachusetts (incidently, the state with the 2nd highest percentage of Portuguese-Americans) at Chris Gasbarro’s Fine Wines & Spirits. There were about thirty different Portuguese wines available for sampling, ranging in all colors and almost all styles (I wouldn’t quite call Vinho Verde a sparkling wine, but it does offer a nice fizz) from a variety of appellations (Denominação de Origem) and regions (Vinho Regional = same concept as the Vin de Pays in France).

Here is a breakdown of the kinds of wine sampled at last night’s tasting (pardon my limited map—it’s missing Madeira and has no mention of Porto):

• Vinho Verde DOC – branco
• Alentejo DOC – branco, tinto, rosé
• Dão DOC – tinto
• Douro DOC – tinto
• Porto DOC – tinto
• Madeira DOC
• Terras do Saco VR – tinto (as of 2010 this VR is now referred to as Península de Setúbal)

Otherwise, below are a few take-away impressions I had from this tasting in regards to Portuguese wines (of course, I’m generalizing a bit—this is just to sum things up):

1. The reds are well-balanced and food-friendly, but also quite tasty on their own merit. I’m talking about the still red wines. These wines aren’t heavy at all, and there’s a good amount of acidity and spiciness which compliments well with food; yet at the same time, there’s a lot of subtle fruit flavor that makes them pleasant to drink on their own.
2. Adega de Borba from Alentejo is one fabulous producer to begin with. Its Reserve Red (a blend of 75% Aragonez - a synonym for Tempranillo – and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon) could rival any Cabernet-blend from Bordeaux or Tuscany within its price category (for that matter, at just $13.49/bottle, it could rival such blends selling for $30+). The Rosé (100% Aragonez) is also quite fabulous: bone dry, but full of fruit flavor rounded off with a very nice biscuit aspect on the finish (and retails for just $5.99).
3. The Portuguese know how to blend. In addition to the red example I gave above from Adega de Borba, I also tasted several white blends from the Alentejo region that were dry, with little to no fruit flavor, but a lot of minerality—for sure wines meant to be served with food. I was also impressed by several red wines from the Douro region that were made with the same grapes used for port, but produced as a still wine.
4. Nothing says refreshing like Vinho Verde. This is the ultimate “lounging by the pool on a hot summer day” wine. I like the Santola brand, which had some bright citrus notes and a smooth, integrated flavor with just the slightest fizz. However, I was also amused by the Gatao Vinho Verde, which literally had so much carbonation it was like drinking Sprite!
5. Port should not be synonymous with Portugal. Yes, Port is held dear by many wine lovers, but believe me—there is so much more to Portuguese wine than Port (in fact, there was only one at the tasting, which tells you something…)
6. At these prices, you can drink Portuguese every day! The value for money ratio is incredible regarding Portuguese wines.  Honestly, they are the only wines I know of that can sell for under $10 and still be decent. All the wines we tasted were under $20—in fact, most were under $15 and no less than 14 Portuguese wines (including all colors) were retailing for under $10!