Portugal Areas
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Portugal Areas
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A great source of misunderstood wines, particularly useful during Cornish sardine season. Light, fresh reds and whites accompany oily fish and Atlantic sunsets perfectly. (CW 23/01/12)
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There`s gold in them thar hills, but for reasons of fashion it`s not the same gold it used to be. The Douro is all about Port, but consumption of fortified wines in general is dropping despite the moral panic over alcohol consumption engendered by over paid 12 year old GPs with their enormous pension pots. So with the drop in Port drinking, producers have turned their hands and their very high...
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Home to and exponent of the Baga grape, which makes dark coloured wine that ages very well for years. Indeed, you might argue that the wines need ageing for years before they are remotely drinkable. There has been some introduction of grapes like Cabernet to soften and enrich the Baga wines, but it does pretty well on its own, thank you. (CW 23/01/12)
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Portugal as an economy is still marked by the effects of the Salazar dictatorship and Dao in particular was cursed by the powers given to the co-ops, effectively hobbling the private producers and merchants. The EU, bless them, basically overturned this and private producers, including Sogrape, now flourish in the region. Grapes grown include Baga, Touriga Nacional and Tempranillo for reds, while...
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Another region recovering from co-op dominated trade through legislation, this region has few excellent producers but should be capable of much more. (CW 23/01/12)
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As much the home of cork as of wine – it produces nearly half the world`s wine corks. Formerly concentrating on supplying the local market, it is now looking to higher quality wines and export. (CW 23/01/12)
