Thursday, June 2, 2011

PORT IN THE NEWS

For those of you who haven't heard it yet, a few months ago I became a Wine Location Specialist. What does it exactly mean? 
Well, it means that I have a mission: To educate people about the importance of location when it comes to wine (particularly those from Champagne in France and Porto in Portugal.)

"While excellent wine is produced around the world, it is important to know where your wine comes from. If you are unsure, we encourage you to ask and demand that a wine’s true origin be clearly identified on its label. Truth-in-labeling is important so you can make informed decisions when buying and enjoying wines." 
Do you want to become a Wine Location Specialist?
Check this out: www.wineorigins.com

A few key articles I would like to share on Port:
 
2009 Vintage Port: A Tale of Two Shippers, <http://blogs.wsj.com/wine/2011/05/09/2009-vintage-port-a-tale-of-two-shippers-2/> The Wall Street Journal
The English have always appreciated the charms of vintage port. As I wrote in February it was two young wine merchants from Liverpool who accidentally discovered a beverage high in alcohol and sweetness while exporting wines from the northern Portuguese city of Lamego. Like fine red Bordeaux or vintage Champagne, these are hand-made wines, crafted on the steep-sided slopes of the Douro, that in terms of longevity are unrivalled. Given their quality and the resources that go into making them they are not prohibitively expensive either.

Port wine, sweet temptation, <http://www.wineandsparkle.com/blog/port-wine-sweet-temptation/> Wine and Sparkle

Port wines are produced in Oporto, a Portuguese city that lies in the Atlantic coast. In Douro valley grow the finest grapes used to produce this wine. Keeping old techniques and processes the winemakers in this area keep alive the production of one of the finest wines worldwide. Other Port style fortified wines are produced in other regions of the world, especially in Australia and South Africa wine areas.

Wine With Those Girl Scout Cookies?, <http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/wine-with-those-girl-scout-cookies-4>  MaplewoodPatch

Many of you have had tawny ports. A port is good wine to go with for some of these cookies, as is Madeira. Some of you may even have had a white port, which can be dry or off-dry, or a little sweeter than off-dry, akin to the drier sherry styles. But I am going to venture a guess that most of you have not had a white tawny port, because in all the wine shopping I’ve done,  professionally and personally, I’ve only seen two of them on the shelves ever, one a sublime 30 Year White Tawny that I have referred to as Liquid Gold or the Great White Tawny (made one time only by a Portuguese producer and retailing around $80 a bottle if you can find it) and a 10 Year White Tawny that I discovered kicking around the wine shops on Ferry St. in Newark, for a much more reasonable, very nice quality to price ratio of $18, and, serendipitously, open on my kitchen counter.

10 Things You Don't Know About Portuguese Wine , Huffington Post

I have always loved port. Especially 20-year-old tawny ports. Sweet and bold, complex and delicious. But now I've discovered dry wines being produced in Portugal, thanks to a recent trade tasting put on by ViniPortugal <http://www.viniportugal.pt/index.php?lang=en> . The wines are diverse and interesting, and considering the quality, a good deal. Here's 10 things you don't, but should, know about Portuguese wine.


I'll be posting Port news in a regular basis. Stay tuned.

Cheers,
LA


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