Don’t expect to find an amazing wine at every tasting.

“This was the first tasting that I didn’t buy anything.” I got that last week from a relatively new taster to our area. “That’s okay.” I replied. I continued; “It is still fun, and you learned more wine stuff. Don’t feel like you have to buy a bottle at every tasting, unless you want to.” That is a pretty profound statement to a relatively new taster who is a wine lover. This led me to suggest a few wine tasting rules:

• First rule: Go to every tasting to have a good time.
• Second rule: TRY EVERYTHING!
• Third rule: Think about what you tasted, for wines you like and didn’t like. If you liked that wine, figure out why you liked it, both the mouth feel and taste. Wine has both. Got some dark cherries but left your mouth feeling dry? Remember to taste AND feel.
• Fourth rule: Don’t be a wine snob (see my previous post on wine snobs).
• Fifth rule: Don’t feel like you have to buy a bottle. Some wines were okay but nothing really stood out? That’s okay.
• Final rule: Have a good time! This is not a repeat of rule 1. If you are going through the tasting and are not having a good time, don’t force it! Just head home and come out to the next tasting.

Tonight’s crowd favorite by a slim majority was MERF Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. It was good, okay, decent, not bad. Some folks bought, others didn’t. Nothing really stood out to a lot of tasters, but it was a good time with fun people. That’s the secret to good wine, start with good people.

Napa Valley Day 2, Part 2 Château Montelena

What’s a good way to tell if you are a wine geek or not? A wine geek not only knows about the Judgement of Paris, but they can also explain it. A brief history refresher. Before 1976 wines from “The States” were not really taken seriously. Sure there were some good ones, but nothing compared to the likes of the best from Bordeaux or Burgundy. A blind tasting was arranged to test the “best” wines in the world at the time, which came from France, against some wines from Napa. There was a red category and a white category. A Napa wine won both categories, blowing up the wine world! It is THE reason people why when people hear “Napa” they think quality wine. The winner of the red category was a 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. The winner of the white category was a 1973 Chardonnay from Château Montelena.

The 1976 Judgement of Paris has regained some popularity recently from the Netflix show “Somm 3.” Therefore a chance to visit either one of the two Napa Wineries that totally upturned the world of wine is worth taking! We were able to get into a tasting at Château Montelena on this visit, so we took the opportunity. You can look up the history of the Château on your own, but it is a beautiful estate. The tasting included their 2019 Chardonnay at $70 a bottle , their Estate Zinfandel at $45 (not sweet, nothing like most of the Zins from Lodi), a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at $85, and finally their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon at $200 a bottle! The staff was knowledgeable and enthusiastic which was a pleasant surprise considering the tourist Mecca that Château Montelena is. A walk about the idyllic grounds and the Jade Lake concluded our wine pilgrimage. Was it worth it? That depends on what you are after. If you are after a piece of wine history and a fun experience, then yes! Hope to see everyone back at our local GulfCoastWine tastings soon.

Napa Valley Day 2, Part 1 Laura Michael Winery

Sometimes you have more success going solo. Other times it pays to be part of a team. My Napa wine adventures on day 1 were a solo affair. On day two I was able to take a few members of my team to enjoy an amazing wine experience. My first choice to begin their Napa wine journey was Laura Michael Winery, just outside the town of Calistoga.Calistoga sits at the northern end of Napa Valley. The valley here is less than two miles wide. Fires wreaked havoc in this area in 2020, so be weary of any Napa wine wearing a 2020 on its label. The Winery, owned by wife Laura and husband Michael specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and a 50/50 Zinfandel Petite Sirah desert wine, which is my favorite. In a previous post I talked about how you can taste the business culture of a winery in their wine. How do they treat guests, conduct their tasting, etc. And again, do everything that you can to make reservations, but I am always interested in how a winery handles the ones that just show up. Michael and Laura are some of the nicest people in Napa, and will do their best to try and accommodate you. They are knowledgeable and just great people to share a glass of wine with! Laura Michael’s is the refreshing antithesis of the big, impersonal, touristy wineries that everyone thinks that they “must” visit in Napa. Thank you to Laura and Michael for a great visit!

Napa Valley, Day 1, Part 2. Gandona Winery and Vineyards.

Wow! It is all I could say as I drove back down the unmarked, potholed, steep and winding driveway back into the valley. I had done a significant amount of research before going to Napa this year. My first visit was a year before, at which point I realized how little I knew even though I had done a lot of research prior to that trip as well. So I had a decent plan of where I wanted to go after my tasting at Robert Craig. I also did not have any reservations (an outcome of my fluctuating work schedule) which is bad and good. Good, in fact, great in this case.

Disclaimer. Unless you have some serious connections, of which apparently I do now, DO NOT expect to just walk into this experience!! I HIGHLY recommend having reservations for anywhere that you really want to visit!

SO, at the end of my Robert Craig tasting, KC (read part 1) asked where I was going next. I told him my ideas and rough plan. His next question; “Do you have any reservations?” “No.” I answered and explained my crazy work schedule that can change day to day. So he recommended a Winery owned by a man from Portugal, and not just Portugal, from the Douro, which is where my mother is from! A quick phone call to the Winery was not answered so he said to try and drive up (up is the key word) there and maybe you can find someone. A Wine Safari, I liked the idea.

Gandona has no fancy sign, is mostly unmarked, off of the main roads inside Napa Valley. This is not a place that you would just happen upon. Even with Google and Apple Maps it took me 40 minutes to find, even after they both said that I “have arrived at your destination.” Determined, and after driving up, up, up, up the third unmarked, rutted and potholed driveway, I reached the top and found it! There was only one other vehicle in the small gravel parking area. I stepped out and start walking towards the winery which had its big barn-like door open when another gentleman walked out. This gentleman, Adam, turned out to be The wine maker at Gandona. After a “Who are you and why are you here” question session; with me, very humbly, explaining my story he invited me in. And I am not trying to sound like some kind of elitist here, but it was during this “who are you” questioning that everyone else would have been turned away. Take the time and make reservations if at all possible.

As I walked in to the winery with Adam we discussed their wine making philosophy, and their techniques for different varieties. He showed me their wine presses, their different wine storage areas, and their barrel room. Outside we toured the main estate vineyard, discussed the soil, the different valley winds, the specific clones of their varieties. Note: and to not get into the weeds here; after the phylloxera outbreak in the mid 1860s, almost all European grape varieties in the world are clones and or hybrids. Back inside we got back on the topic of his wine making approach, especially with Port Style wine. Gandona is one of the few vineyards growing a Portuguese Native grape Touriga National, one of the main varieties in Port Wine. Gandona makes a Port Style wine, a vintage no less. You cannot call a wine a Port Wine unless it is from Portugal. It must be labeled “Port Style,” or just “Dessert” Wine. I had the privilege to try their 2014 vintage Port Style wine and it was incredible! Definitely a Wine of Note. Finally I was lucky enough to buy some as they do not sell to the general public. If you are interested you must contact them and sign up to be on their allocation list for a chance to buy some.

At the end of my three hour visit and tour of Gandona I thanked Adam graciously. He ended the visit with “Yeah, we don’t do this kind of thing [visit], but you didn’t seem entitled to it, it was a pleasure.” Thank you Adam! Stay turned next week for Day 2 of Napa.

Napa Valley, Day 1, Part 1. Wine Tasting at Robert Craig

There are SOOOO many great wineries to visit in Napa. For me, a combination of research, recommendations, and dumb luck have shaped my Napa experience. My visit to Robert Craig’s tasting salon (fancy sounding I know) was possible with a combination of outstanding friends and research.The tasting room manager and Certified Wine Educator (CWE) KC gave me a superlative experience. It has become the bar to measure all other wine experiences to. As the two of us tasted through a sample of their wine portfolio I was given an education in the soil of that vineyard, how that affects the taste; the climate that year, and how that affects the taste; the vision that their wine maker had for that vintage, and, of course, how we get to that point of wine to mouth. It was enlightening, even to someone who others call a “ wine expert.” I generally don’t like being called that, because I don’t think that I am a wine expert, and I know that there are very, very few true experts out there.As renowned as Robert Craig’s wines are, I was amazed to find out that the entire operation only has eight employees, and that includes the owner!! Bob Craig (who passed several years ago) was a partner with the world famous Robert Mondavi before setting out on his own many decades ago. The winery, Robert Craig, specializes in mountain fruit. They have vineyards on top of all of the surrounding mountain tops. Therefore a tasting with them gives you a sample tour of the best that the Vacas and Mayacamas Mountains can offer. In the end I left with two bottles that are not available in stores; a Cabernet Franc and a Cabernet Sauvignon, both from their Mount Veeder estate. You can drink both of them now, but they will only get better with time. These two wines, today, would be the Wine of Note at any tasting! After a few more years in the bottle they will be right where I want them to be, and I will share them with my friends who recommended the visit, and think back to KC and my amazing time!

Planning a visit to Napa Valley, California

Napa. The word, the location, has come to define “fine” wine from the United States. But what is Napa? It’s the main town (really a small city) at the southern end, the mouth, of the namesake’s Valley. Yet in the world of wine, Napa is Napa Valley, the 1st AVA (American Viticultural Area) in California, and the 2nd in the U.S. Then within Napa Valley (Just “Napa”for the rest of this article) there are 16 nested AVAs! According to the Napa Vintners association, Napa AVA is 122,735 acres, 612 recognized wineries with more than 400 vineyards! Ooofff, where to start?!The main thing that makes Napa so special, and the reason that there are 16 nested AVAs with the main Napa AVA, is the unbelievable diversity of “Terroir.” Terroir is everything, ground, climate, etc, that influences a grape by the time of harvest. To keep the geology simple; Napa sits between volcanic soil and ancient seabed soil, containing both. It sits at the confluence of hot winds blowing south and cool bay winds blowing north. Therefore there are hundreds of Terroir possibilities for grapes, so there can be large taste differences in Napa wine depending on where those grapes where grown.It can get complicated! With a little bit of knowledge you can begin to break Napa down and choose where to visit. I would break it down in this way: first; Valley grown grapes from the north, middle, and south. Second; mountain grown grapes. The Vaca Mountains on the east side of Napa Valley are volcanic. The Mayacamas Mountains on the west side are ancient sea bed, and form the boundary between Napa and Sonoma. Break down the mountain ranges the same way as the Valley; from north, to mid/central, to south. You could easily go from south to north, one direction is not better than the other.The biggest differences in Napa wine come from Valley grapes vs Mountain grapes. Next are the differences between grapes grown on the Vacas vs the Mayacamas. Finally, the differences in latitude (south to north or vice versa). Keeping it as simple as possible (because there are 16 different AVA’s), that’s three main wine tasting areas to plan a visit; the Valley, the Mayacamas, and the Vacas.SOOO, you could potentially do one of those three areas in one day, but only if you run and gun through your wineries, and with A LOT of planning! More realistically, I would plan at least two days for each of the three main areas, and that still might be pushing it. If you have only one day, DO SOME RESEARCH! You could do four wineries, with tasting at each, in one day, but it will be a FULL day, and you would need a DD, and bring a lunch! I would also highly recommend doing a Napa visit in the late winter/early spring, and during the week. The fall is fantastic, but very busy.So that is my recommendation on how to break down Napa for a wine trip. At a minimum, drive the entire valley, roughly 40 miles from top to bottom. Go up (or down) the Silverado Trail and then use Rt 121 to reverse course. Silverado Trail is the “original” road on the eastern side of the valley and Rt. 121 in on western side.Stay turned for next week where I will tell the stories of three Napa Wineries!Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Galentine’s Day, or at least cheers to enjoying a glass of good wine!

Don’t just go to the big name locations. St. Amant Winery

Lodi; that’s where they grow Zinfandel. Lodi; that’s where the Michael David Winery is. Yes and yes. And you should have Zinfandel and go to Michael David. I had been before and was after someone else, something new. I love trying wines that are “experimental.” Experimental is in quotations because almost all wine, especially new world wine, is experimental. But something like native Portuguese varieties growing in California. Yes, I want to try that!If you feel the same way then St. Amant Winery needs to be on your list. Land in California is uber expensive, and has been for a long time. All the land right around Lodi has been in many of the same families for 100+ years. So relatively new (1979 is relatively new around here) wineries have their vineyards farther away but their tasting room and warehouse facilities in town. St. Amant’s winery is located in part of an industrial complex. If I had not done my research I would have never just happened in on this place. Their speciality are Portuguese varieties, such as Touriga National, Souzao, Tinta Cao, along with others. They have limited amounts of their wine so if you are hunting for a specific one, call ahead. Or just stop in for and taste whatever great wine they have in stock. Also very friendly folks. Go to the big ones, but definitely stop into the small ones.

Extremely Friendly! Klinker Brick Winery

When you taste wine with people who are enthusiastic about wine, who are true wine lovers, that sentiment can actually come through in the taste of the wine itself. The “vibe” that you get visiting wineries and how that “vibe” can, and does, translate into how that wine tastes is uncanny. It should probably be a research topic. People who are enthusiastic about the process and product have better wine.

Klinker Brick Winery was the epitome of this. The staff in the tasting room was extremely nice and went out of their way to answer semi obscure wine questions. They were excited to tell the story about the winery, the buildings, and of course, the vines. This came through in the old vine Syrah that I tasted and then purchased. Some wineries make you feel like a bother. When you ask questions you get questions back, like “are you part of our wine club?” I won’t be with that attitude. What does your wine club have to do with the age of the vines or how much oak aging does that wine get? I didn’t get any of that at Klinker Brick, and the enthusiasm of the staff made for great tasting wine! I shall definitely return!

Old Vine Zinfandel, Harney Lane Winery

Most people only think Zinfandel when they hear or see Lodi in the wine world, and rightly so. A little geography. Lodi is in the Central Valley of California. You start to see vineyards a while before you get to town. The first time that I saw it, and how flat it was, I thought to myself “I cannot believe this is where my favorite Zinfandel comes from!” Yet certain grape varieties love it here.Something magical happens when a grape vine begins to reach “old.” It has to do with how deep the roots are. In a 50 year old vine, depending on variety, that could be 30 to 40 feet deep at that age. Old vine, in most of the world, means 50 years. At that point the vine can take in so much more minerals and better regulate its water.One of the best vintners of Old Vine Zinfandel is Harney Lane Winery. They have vines well into their 80s and some over 100! The family that still owns Harney Lane was part of the original experiment to grow grapes around Lodi. Time is the ultimate test when it comes to wine, and wines from here have been acing that test for generations. My first bottle of Old Vine Zin is in my bag. On to the next winery.

Welcome to Lodi! Bokisch Vineyards

Welcome to Lodi California! An AVA (American Viticultural Area) that produces more wine by volume than all of the other AVAs in California. Yup. An area that is often, either, looked down upon when compared to Napa or Paso Robles, and/or misunderstood. What do you think when you see Lodi on the bottle?Before my first visit it was my go to area for wines made from Old Vine Zinfandel, and it still is. Yet now it is also a place where I can seek out exceptional wines made from the best grape varieties of the Iberian Peninsula; Tempranillo and Touriga National being the top two. Yes, grapes from Spain and Portugal have been at home here for more than 30, some more than 40, years!The first stop on my list is Bokisch Vineyards. About a twelve or so minute drive east of Lodi, Bokisch sits where the hills of the Sierra Nevada begin. They specialize in several Spanish varieties. For me that means Tempranillo. Their style of Tempranillo is a little bit of Rioja and Toro but of course not either one. It is recognizable but different in a good way. I recommend the same amount of aging in the bottle as any of the best from Rioja and Toro, a minimum of 7 years from the bottle date. I can’t wait to drink my Bokisch Tempranillo with some of my friends from Spain; see if they can tell the difference. On to my next Lodi Winery!

“If you want to impress someone serve a Barolo.” East Hill Bottle Shop 18 Jan.

One of my favorite parts of wine tasting is listening to bold wine statements, said with such passion that it MUST be true. They don’t happen often, but when they do my entertainment factor goes to the next level. There were two “bold” wine statements this evening. The first was from a taster that was innocent yet passionate. The second by one of the employees in an attempt to answer a question. Both were wrong, and can absolutely mislead other tasters.“If you want to impress someone serve a Barolo.” This came from a fellow taster. “Wow,” I said, “Is there one that you go to?” The response was “No, they are all good.” I taste a fair amount of wine, and I have had some very good Barolos, but I have also had others that were so earthy and acidic that I poured them out. Barolo is a Demarcated Wine region in the north of Italy, a DOCG to be exact. Very intrigued I asked a few more questions to my fellow taster and quickly realized that my fellow taster thought Barolo was a grape. Soooo, I brought up some wines that I like to serve to “impress” someone. “Those sound great!” was my fellow taster's response, after realizing that the “bold” statement was not a good one. It was a great conversation, cordial and fun, that ended with a little more knowledge about “bold” wine statements.The second was from an employee. I will preface this with: The rest of the staff is above and beyond in wine knowledge and recommendations. So a bad apple can really be an issue. Also, people do make mistakes and misspeak. Sadly that was not the case with this individual, not the first, or third misspeak that I have witnessed. I asked about the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in our Crowd Favorite from tonight. The accepted rule (law in some areas) is that if it has 75% or more of a grape varietal, then the wine maker does not have to put the other varietals on the bottle. A fellow taster on the same wine asked why I asked that. I explained the above information when the employee who poured the wine jumped in very “correctively” and said “No no, it’s 70%.” Well I took several steps back to enjoy the wine and pulled up the California Wine rules and after a few minutes went to the side and showed him. He was a little dismissive but more importantly I showed my fellow taster. Misinformation can really throw off folks sorting through the huge world of wine.So, two Crowd Favorites tonight. Twin Vines Vinho Verde 2020 from Portugal, and Caparzo Sangiovese Toscana 2019 from Italy. Tasting notes? They were good.

A Few Wine Storage Basics

“Should I store my bottle of wine laying down?” I got that question from a very good friend of mine several months after a work trip that included a quick side trip to Lodi California. My friend, who self proclaimed as “not a wine person” bought a nice, relatively expensive bottle of wine for his wife that he would also enjoy. After the tasting at the winery he was actually pretty excited about his purchase. My advice on the wine that he had purchased was to give it at least one more year in the bottle to be at the peak of that wine’s potential. His response was “Sure thing.”Several months later he asked me that question, which led to a few more tips to ensure that his prized bottle of stored wine will be as good as possible when he uncorked it. So here are a few basic steps to store your wine in order of importance. First and foremost: DO NOT store your bottle of wine where it will get hit by any direct sun light! Even indirect sun light is bad. So find a dark space to place it in. Second would be temperature. Try to store it in a place that is relatively stable in temperature. No lower than 40 degrees F, and definitely not hotter than 80! Preferably 65-70 degrees for reds, 40-50 degrees for whites. Forgetting your bottle of wine in the back seat of your vehicle in summer will kill any wine. Third; should you lay it flat (horizontal) or upright (vertical)? It depends on two things. Is your wine bottle closed with a cork or screw cap, and how long are you going to keep it before drinking? If your wine is screw capped then store it upright. If it is corked (even if it is not real cork, just not screw capped), and you are going to drink your wine relatively soon then you can store it upright. Well, how long is relatively soon? It depends on your climate and your storage. Corked (with real cork) wines are stored flat (horizontal) because a wet cork expands and ensures that no air is getting in. If the cork dries out then air could potentially get to your wine, slowly turning it into vinegar. So if you live on the Gulf Coast, where it is mostly humid, and your storage is temperature stable, you could safely store your corked wine upright for a year or more. If you live in the desert of Nevada, maybe only a month. Going to keep that bottle for a few years? Well, you and I are in the vast minority and you should store and age your wine laying down (horizontal). A long story for a few basics. If you have questions about storing wine e-mail us. Cheers to that future glass of wine!

Aragon’s Tasting 1 Dec

Aragon Wine Market, owner Charlotte and Wine Expert Pepper, have created a wine shop with an atmosphere that really is amazing. Great people who will guide you to the right bottle of wine for you, not what a distributor is pushing. That truly is rare.I also very rarely write about more than one wine from a tasting that only has six or less wines to taste; unless we encounter something unique and special, to which our fellow tasters must also agree. So tonight we had two Wines of Note. Jasmine Monet, an Organic Blanc de Blancs from Argentina! And Moric Hausmarke Super Natural from Austria. What?!?Jasmine Monet is a 100% Chardonnay Sparkling wine. Everything agreed that it had just the right amount of bubbles which allowed for light green apple and soft pear, gentle minerality, and then finishing with those bubbles. And it is Certified Organic, from Argentina! This bottle will be part of my New Year. Moric with their, translated, Super Natural House blend, combines 80% Gruner Veltliner and 20% Chardonnay. Finished on oak, this SUPER complex white wine hits the mouth with a crisp tornado of stone fruit, mountain flowers, woody spice, acid and that quintessential petrol mouth feel. Super unique, and excellent with roast chicken or some very good fried rice. Looking for the right bottle of wine? Go local and ask an expert.

East Hill Bottle Shop Tasting 23 Nov

The best way to buy wine that you will like is to taste it first. Sounds ridiculously obvious, but most people, maybe you, buy wine based on something else without ever tasting it. A catchy label and a biased wine score (do you have the same pallet as James Suckling, or the tasters at Wine Enthusiast? Maybe. But probably not!) round out the top two reasons, outside of price, that people pick an unfamiliar wine off of the shelf.We are very fortunate to have so many great and frequent wine tastings in the Pensacola area that there should be almost no reason to buy a wine that you haven’t tried first, just to find out later that 92 points by James Suckling doesn’t mean that you will like it.We had a tie for Crowd Favorite this evening at the East Hill Bottle Shop, and both are great picks for Thanksgiving, or that upcoming holiday party. The two were Dehesa Gago 2016, a Spanish Tempranillo; and Austin Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon. Both were easy drinking and would pair well with a holiday meal. Dehesa Gago, at $12 a bottle is a little more earthy. Austin (wine maker Austin Hope), at $23 a bottle, is a little more deeper in fruit, but not fruity. Which one should you get? Well, go to the tastings and find out for yourself.

Wines for Thanksgiving

A little history. Amazingly, the first Thanksgiving (at least what we are classifying as Thanksgiving) occurred in Spanish Florida, outside St Augustine, in early December of 1565. As a native Virginian, we had claimed the first Thanksgiving, held in the Spring of 1610 in Jamestown. The Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock fame, had theirs in October of 1621. Who gets credit for the first one is a great argument while eating your choice of bird. One thing everyone agrees on is that the Spanish had wine at their Thanksgiving, and the fluffy collared Pilgrims certainly did not. So what should you base your Thanksgiving wine choices on?

Turkey, tofurkey, and all the accoutrements. A few wine principals will let you pick a wine that will agree with all. If you are picking a red find one that has less than 14% alcohol with medium/velvety tannins. Higher alcohol wine, 14.5% and higher, will most likely over power your meal. Too much tannins and lower alcohol (less than 13.5%ish) wine will tend to give you cotton mouth, so 13.5% alcohol is a good starting point. You will have to ask or research about the tannin. If you are picking a white look for one with equal amounts of acidity and flavor complexity. What does that mean? A Chardonnay that is not overly oaky/butter, or a Sauvignon Blanc that is not a citrusy/grapefruit bomb. Bottom line; pleasant, middle of the road wines that still give you great flavor and will not out compete your Thanksgiving meal.

Two of my favorites: Barboursville Chardonnay Reserve 2019 from Virginia (yes, Virginia), and Fuenteseca Paraje 2021 Bobal/Cabernet Sauvignon blend from near Valencia Spain. The Chardonnay is equal parts oak/butter/acid so it will have enough complexity to not get totally washed out by the mash potatoes. The Bobal (2nd most grown grape varietal in Spain behind Tempranillo) blend comes in at 13.5% alcohol, equal amounts of fruit and earth flavors with velvety tannins which results in an almost meaty mouth feel. Impressively good! And great with cranberries. It’s also certified Organic and Vegan. Tofurkey, here I come…I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Hacienda Zorita. A great last wine stop before heading home

Spain produces some fabulous wine, definitely some of the world’s best. Most people are familiar with the reds of Rioja and Priorat, the sparkling Cavas, but the Duero River (Douro in Portugal) including the Toro area, are home to superb wines. Our problem is that most of the best Duero wines don’t leave Spain. Hacienda Zorita is a perfect example. Their wines have won multiple gold medals in Europe, but they do not sell outside of Spain and will only ship as far as Portugal. A way they ensure the quality of their wines. The hacienda is also a luxury 5 star small hotel and dates back to the 1300s. Truly a wine experience of a lifetime!

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!

The Vintage House Hotel, downtown Pinhao Portugal

My favorite first place to stop when I arrive in the town (village really) of Pinhao is the Vintage House Hotel. It is right on the Douro River and is just down the street (there is really only one main street) from the train station, which is especially convenient if you are staying in Porto and are taking the train to Pinhao. For me it is centrally located, has good parking, a good restaurant with a great view, and most importantly an excellent wine shop. The Hotel is owned and run by Croft, which is one of the oldest wine producers in the Douro. Croft is owned by the Taylor’s but there isn’t enough room for a history of the Douro and it’s wine production here. Their wine shop is well stocked with a good variety from the best producers of all the types of Douro wine. Stop in and check them out! After lunch and the first few bottles purchased it is a very easy walk to one of my favorite Quintas in the entire Douro.

Choosing a Wine You Like

My Portuguese is a little rusty. I still understand it pretty well but I don’t speak it often so what comes out is a combination of Portu-spanglish. The result is that I am understood most of the time. A lot of Portuguese speak English, but you can’t guarantee that when you walk into a small place. So what do you do if you don’t speak the language, walk into a place, they don’t speak English, and you need something? In this case hard to find Vintage Port and Douro Wines.

Research! And a few key/gateway words. This applies to any “foreign” situation. You don’t need to do hours and hours of research, unless you want to. Just like at a wine tasting; you tasted something that you liked. Research the attributes of that wine you liked. Then research a few key/gateway words in that language to convey those attributes. I always have multiple wines (vintages, types, etc) that I am looking for when I walk into wine shops, foreign or domestic. If they don’t have what I am looking for then I thank them and move to the next shop. But often, and especially when they do have what I am looking for, they will have something else that I should try, based on the attributes I shared with them. These “experiment” wines (within a reasonable price) have usually been outstanding!

Research and Key Words Pay Off!

This was the last Porto wine shop on my list to visit on this trip. It is very unassuming and is half convenience/grocery store. Other than a window display of some random wine, what you see when you walk by is the convenience/grocery store. But if you walk in and turn the corner you encounter a treasure trove of hard to find regional wine. The purveyor speaks no English and can be a little pushy, but is very nice and respected what I was searching for. My research and a few key words resulted in two bottles of very rare 2015 “200 Year Anniversary Duke of Wellington” (defeat of Napoleon) Crusted Port! I had a bottle of that wine at my house with a few of my neighbors three days after hurricane Sally to celibate the power coming back on. It was so good that I have been searching for another bottle since. One of my neighbors brings up how good it was at least once every few months! Moral of the story; a little thoughtful research and a few key words to translate can really open the door to a treasure! This coming week we will be traveling up into the heart of the Douro DOC wine region. Let’s see what we find!