PORTUGUESE WINE IS THE BEST VALUE OLD-WORLD WINE AT THE MOMENT

Research shows that the consumption of wine is evident in southern Portugal as early as the 7th century BC and that texts and excavation show that production was already prevalent by the 5th century BC. In northern Portugal, it took a little longer, but of course the Romans made sure that viticulture was fully developed there, too, once the Iberian Peninsula was folded into the Roman Empire by 218 BC.

Portugal lies solidly within the northern hemisphere latitudinal Wine Belt, and there are at least 300 known native varietals. However, like Spain, in the twentieth century when wine became globally recognized with France at the forefront, Portugal tried to enter the market by planting French varietals in lieu of its native varietals. Now oenologists and winemakers realize this was misguided, and Portugal has made a concerted effort since the beginning of the 21st century to get back to its illustrious native varietal roots. The government of Portugal, fully cognizant of the natural commercial asset of Portuguese wine, has actively subsidized winegrowers and winemakers to get more bottles on international shelves. Because of these subsidies a $10–16 bottle of quality Portuguese wine, for example, is the equivalent of a $30-$50 bottle from another country, and this is particularly true of the Douro Valley red wines.

Portugal is divided into 14 regional wine (“vinho regional”) areas. DOC stands for Denominação de Origem Controlada and means that the wine comes from a strictly defined geographical area with recommended and permitted grapes and maximum vine yields (to control quality). Technically, there are 31 DOCs in Portugal, although 3 of them overlap.

We could do at least four wine club months on Portugal considering the breadth of its wine industry, so it was difficult to pick only three wines. With this in mind, we decided to emphasize producers who are innovators to reflect the Portuguese wine industry’s newfound “finding itself again” movement. Our selections ended up being from only two regions; however, we urge you to explore the Portuguese gems that are already on our shelves from the Tejo, Vinho Verde, Alentejo, Beira, and Douro Valley regions, all of course at great prices.

Up close look at the terraced vineyards of Douro Valley.

A WHITE WINE IN A REGION FAMOUS FOR RED WINE AND PORT

Douro Valley is by far the most recognizable wine region in Portugal, accounting for 22 percent of the country’s production, and it is also the home of Portugal’s famous fortified, sweet wine: Port. The hills along the Douro River have been worked by hand into terraced stairsteps for over two thousand years, and in fact the entire region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest protected region of origin for wine in the world.

Most of the wine from this region is full-bodied, tannic, age-worthy red wines. But we decided to feature a white wine for the Douro region (we have multiple reds from Douro Valley on our shelves already if you’re hankering for one). Interestingly, despite the red wines of the Douro Valley being notoriously full-bodied, the white wines in this region tend to be light, flinty and mineral, with minimal fruit notes. They are also more difficult to find as they account for only 10 percent of production in the region. The typical native white varietals are Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio, Códega, Donzelinho, Malvasia Fina, and Folgazão, which are the same used to make white Port.

Macro-view of the terraced vineyards of Douro.

Luís Seabra in the winery.

Featured April Amaro Wine Club Portuguese wine: Luis Seabra Xisto Illimitado Branco (2022)
VARIETALS: 60% Rabigato, 15% Gouveio, 15% Códega, 10% Viosinho

Luís Seabra is an example of Portugal rising to the challenge of getting back to its native winemaking. Luís has dedicated his business to terroir-driven still wines through minimal intervention winemaking. He manages vineyards of 30- to 45-year-old vines planted in mica schist soil at 500 to 600 meters (1,640 to 1,968 feet) above sea level in Cima Corgo, a region known for volatile high and low temperatures from day to night. For this wine, the grapes undergo indigenous yeast fermentation, 90 percent fermented in used barrel and the other 10 percent in stainless steel, and then the blend sits a full year on its lees with no battonage.

FOOD PAIRINGS: roast poultry dishes, white fish, polvo à lagareiro, caldo verde, various seafood, spicy cuisine

MAKING A GRAPE VARIETAL GREAT AGAIN IN BARRAIDA

Barraida is a relatively small region near the Atlantic Ocean and part of the larger Beira Atlântico region. The ocean currents have a moderating effect on the climate, resulting in mild winters and abundant rainfall, but there is enough flat land in between where most of the vineyards are planted. Although the region is largely unknown outside of Portugal, its wines are at the top of the country’s wine classification. Interestingly, about two-thirds of its production are sparkling wines, although it is also known for its red wines and an emerging rosé production. The major native red grape in the region is Baga, which has traditionally been used to make sparkling red wines typical to the region. Even though more beer is consumed in northern Portugal, more sparkling wine is consumed than beer in Barraida.

Hilly terrain of Barraida, but the vineyards are…

… planted on flat ground in between the hills.

Because the Baga varietal is finicky, thin-skinned, and late ripening, many of its vineyards were ripped out in the late 20th century in favor of “international” (mostly French) varietals to take advantage of the emerging international interest in wine. But winemakers now realize that beyond sparkling wine, Baga, with its unusual combination of high acidity and big tannins can make seriously complex savory wines along the lines of Nebbiolo, Cabernet Franc, or Syrah, if farmed properly and treated the right way in the cellar.

Caves São João was founded by the three brothers José, Manuel and Albano Costa in 1920 and is now the oldest company in Bairrada that has been always owned and managed by members of the same family. They started out as a port producer, but laws changed in the 1930s prohibiting producers outside of Douro Valley from producing port, so the trio focused on Bairrada table wines and sparkling wines, even bringing over French oenologist Gaston Mainousson to show them how to make them via the traditional method.

Caves São João sources its grapes from local growers in Bairrada and Dao, but also owns the Quinta do Poço o Lobo vineyard estate and the wines made from these vineyards are aged many years.

The current winemaker represents Portugal’s young, modern wine movement. Thirty-nine-year-old Jose Antonio Neves Carvalheira has been at Caves São João since 2002 after obtaining an oenologist degree and following a career as a teacher in a wine school in the Bairrada region.

Featured April Amaro Wine Club Portuguese wine: Caves Sao Joao Bairrada Baga Novo (2023)
VARIETALS: Baga

For this wine, Carvalheira wanted to express the Baga varietal with a light, low-alcohol wine. To do this, he harvested the Baga grapes at an optimal earliest ripeness to ensure the low alcohol content. Fermentation happened in stainless steel tanks with only 5-day skin maceration, and in the cellar, Carvalheira’s winemaking approach was minimalist and non-interventionist.

FOOD PAIRINGS: bacalhau à brás, arroz de pato, polvo à lagareiro, amêijoas à bulhão pato, pulpo a la gallega, patatas bravas, croquetas, gazpacho

Cellars of Caves São João

PORT FROM A NATIVE INNOVATOR

Even though the entire world knows Port as a product of Portugal, it wasn’t really a Portuguese creation per se, but rather a circumstance of trade with England. Throughout the 17th century, England and France were at various times either at war or close to it, so the English could not easily import their favored Bordeaux wine. Hence, they turned to Portugal where they found comparable full-bodied reds in the Douro Valley. The hitch was that Portugal, especially when having to skirt France, was a lengthy trading destination; hence, British importers decided that to keep the wine from spoiling on the long ship voyage, they would fortify it with brandy.

In the 17th century, Europeans also liked their wine sweet, so winemakers usually kept some of the natural sugar of the grapes unfermented during the wine making process. Hence, the Brits were fortifying a sweet Portuguese wine, and this recipe has not changed much since.

Port is made from native varietals used for the full-bodied red blend wines of the region: Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Amarela, and Tinto Cão. There are four main categories of Port: Ruby, Tawny, White, and Rosé. Ruby is consumed after two years of aging. Tawny ages longer and in smaller barrels. White is made from white grapes and bottled young like Ruby. And Rosé is relatively new, with minimal skin contact during fermentation and bottled young.

Source: https://www.winetourism.com/wine-region/porto-douro/

The name "Port" came from the seaport city of Porto, located at the mouth of the Douro River, considerably downriver from the Douro Valley, where the Port wine was shipped for export. And if you ever wondered why a handful of Port producers have English names, it’s because British merchants, seeing the British market demand skyrocket for the beverage, created fortified wine production operations of their own in Portugal to meet increasing British market demand since most Portuguese winemakers were content to stick to unfortified winemaking to satisfy domestic demand. But of course, entrepreneurs know no nationality, so Portuguese merchants also got into the game to satisfy British demand. We selected a producer from this latter camp.

Quinta do Infantado was founded in 1816 in the Cima Corgo, the same sub-region from which our Douro white wine selection hails. The Roseira family has owned it since the end of the nineteenth century, and third generation João Roseira is both the winemaker and vineyard manager, while other family members run other aspects of the operation.

While most Port producers are known for large-scale production, Infantado has always been an innovator. Until the 1970s, it became the first estate to exclusively bottle estate-grown wines even though laws at the time prohibited it from selling these wines outside of Portugal (The laws changed in 1986 when Portugal joined the EU). Infantado also owns exclusively A-grade, terraced vineyard sites, which is the Douro equivalent of having nothing but grand cru vineyards, and it also produces only medium-dry (meio-seco) Port rather than fully sweet Port.

City of Port where the product was loaded on ships for export..

João Roseira giving a tour of his estate.

Featured April Amaro Wine Club Portuguese wine: Quinta do Infantado Tawny Port
VARIETALS: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz

Most Port comes from average fruit that is quickly fermented after the earliest ripening, leaving a lot of residual sugar unfermented before fortifying with large doses of brandy. Infantado, instead, harvests the grapes fully ripened, leaves less residual sugar and has less of a need for as much fortification; their ports have thirty percent less brandy than a standard Port.

For this Tawny Port, the grapes are hand-harvested, partly destemmed and fermented in lagar and tank, and fermentation is stopped with fortification by 77 percent ABV brandy. It is then aged in old pipas (550-liter wooden cask) and finishes at 19.5 percent ABV with 70 grams per liter of residual sugar, which is considerably drier than most Tawny ports. The average age in the bottle is 4-5 years.

FOOD PAIRINGS: Crème brûlée, caramel tarts, pastries with figs, pecan pie, almond tart, German chocolate cake, cinnamon-crusted apple pie, eggy pastries, fruitcake.