Quinta do Vale Meão

Translated to mean “of the valley in the meander,” Quinta do Vale Meão is situated in some of the best terrain in the entire Douro River Valley. Quintas are wine houses in Portuguese, Hacienda in Spanish. The Quinta here is on a peninsula where the Douro River makes a 90 degree turn from west to north, then 180 degree turn south, and then a 90 degree turn back to the west towards Porto.What makes the vineyards here so exceptional are, basically, everything. The soil is rocky, forcing the grapes to send their roots down deep, resulting in profound complexity. The climate is dry and sunny but with good ground water. This is essential for disease prevention and good growth…mature grapes at harvest. This combination allows for the best possible product.I chose to visit Quinta do Vale Meão for three reasons. First, I have never been and have always loved their wine. Second, they produce extremely high quality wine and are located not far from my small vineyards. Third, they export most of it to the United States, so we can actually find it back home! Like almost all high quality Douro red wine, it will need age, a minimum of seven years in my opinion. Ten, up to Fifty is even better! It is worth the wait!They produce two relatively easy to find levels; a very good “Tinto” (red table wine) around the $25 a bottle range, and a high end Estate-Grand Reserve level. Expect to pay $100 plus a bottle for those. And of course they make Port Wine, with some of the best Vintage Port in the industry. Good luck finding those, as I was only able to obtain one bottle on this visit for myself.If you find yourself in the high Douro, near the Spanish border, definitely reserve a tour and tasting. They also have a helicopter pad for true ease of movement. Next, on to Spain and some grapes grown inside an internationally recognized nature preserve, very much off the beaten, touristic, path.

What is “Old Vine?”

“Old Vine,” “Ancient Vine,” I have even seen “Gnarled Vines” grace the label of many wine bottles. Like many things in the consumer world we must peel back the marketing to find any true meaning.So what is an “Old Vine,” how old does it have to be? There are no true legal age limits to the term “Old Vine.” In most of Spain, it’s older than 30 years. In California, the vines must be 40 plus. The rest of the world mostly falls into this age range.Why does the age of a grape vine matter? When does it matter? There are two main factors I look at when I specifically reach for true “Old Vine” wine.The first factor I consider is where the grapes are grown. If they are being grown in very rocky, mountainous terrain, then age matters. Like all plants, grape vines get everything they need from the sun and the soil. Grapes grown in rocky terrain really have to fight to get their roots down to the water table, which can be more than 20 feet down. It can take the roots up to 30 years to get that deep. Once there, magic happens. The grapes can have amazing potential at this point!The next factor I consider is grape variety. The two easiest to find are Grenache and Zinfandel. Again, if the vintner did everything correctly, something magical happens as those grape varieties pass 40. The same can be said for the Portuguese varieties of the Douro.Most of my vines are growing in soils of granite, mica, and schist, on steep slopes, in a harsh environment. The majority of my vines are passing 97 years! The roots go very deep, up to 30 feet or more! My vineyard is located in a DOC where, legally, you cannot irrigate the vines after the grapes form, ensuring the highest quality of juice…no dilution.So for my vines to thrive for 97 years, and still going strong, mean that these “Old Vines” can give you grapes with an essence of complexity that younger vines could never achieve. But don’t just trust the label on the bottle, do a little research before buying. And to really get the full experience of my grapes you will just have to share a bottle with me!

Why Portuguese Wine?

“Let’s just go to Porto now.” After one night in Madrid we decided to visit more of Spain at the end of our trip instead of in the middle and head to Portugal.

Everyone that knows me, and most of our readers know, that I am partial to Portugal and Portuguese wine, and for good reason. Family ties aside; few places in the World of Wine can do what a good Portuguese wine can do.

What can it do and why?…should be everyone’s question.

There are two special things happening here; the land and the indigenous grapes.

There are books written about, what the French call, “Terroir.” People have gone to blows about what it actually means. Once you, if you can, scrape away the emotions and marketing you do get to a truer sense of the word. It should not surprise anyone that if you grow two identical things the same way in two different locations (say an apple) they can, and often do, taste different.

The Terroir of Portugal, especially of the Douro, is unique on this planet. Between the steep slopes of Schist and Granite flows the River Douro (translated from low-Latin to mean “Of Gold”). Growing on those slopes are varietals of grapes, many indigenous to the Douro, that have still not been fully explored by the palate of the Wine World at large. The future of Douro wine is bright.

When most people hear Porto (only bad tourists call the city Oporto) only one wine comes to mind, Port Wine. I do love a Vintage Port! If you have had Port and perhaps didn’t care for it go back and read the multiple previous posts titled “So you think you’ve had Port.” Yet it is the red blends that I am after this trip. With the capacity to bring the drinker both the complexity of deep ripe fruit, elegant tannins, balanced acid, and a formidable, long finish. What many call the holy grail of wine.

Not every Portuguese wine on the shelf will give you that experience. Most bottles that do can fetch a very high price once the word gets out, so I do my research and go to the source. One of my favorite shops (of which I mentioned last year in a post of how important a few key translation words are) always has some of the hardest to find bottles at very good prices.

Next week we will travel into the high Douro, the Alto Douro Superior, nearly untouched by tourists, and continue to explore why the wines here have abilities unique in the World of Wine. Until then; A té logo.

Quinta do Bomfim

Less than a five minute walk from the Vintage House Hotel in downtown Pinhao is the Quinta do Bomfim, one of the jewels in the crown of the Symington family’s wines. Two of the biggest names in the Douro are the Symingtons and the Taylors. You would think that titans of this size would be detrimental to traditional, small family vineyards. But the opposite could not be more true. It is because of these two wine families that the traditional ways live on and many family Quintas still thrive. At Quinta do Bomfim you can tour the vineyards, walk through a small museum showing the history of wine in the Douro, and browse the wine shop. Tastings of course are offered, but the wine shop is my destination. There you can find the latest and best wines from the Symington’s premier vineyards at no mark up. Definitely worth your time!

Wine Trip to Portugal and Spain

The picture is a tile a-fixed to the entrance of my cousin's small vineyard near the Douro River in Portugal. We will be heading to Madrid, up to the Ribera del Deuro and Toro wine regions of Spain, and then cross the border into Portugal to visit my family in the Tras Os Montes and Douro DOC wine regions. Stay tuned for news on how our grapes are doing and what wines we find after a long absence from covid. There are a lot of fun wine events coming later in July, so be sure to head out and enjoy them!