“I believe in wine with terroir, and I believe in wine that has a story behind it,” says Paulo Laureano with a smile in his cheerful Australian-accented English, as I walk inside the BL Lounge restaurant. It is a modern, yet laid-back place in the wine resort town of Evora, with a sleek looking [...]
Dinner with Luis Duarte “Why do you smile so much?” Luis Duarte’s mother often asked himas a child. Though in the picture above he appears rather reflective, Luis Duarte has a very engaging, energetic personality as belies a winemaker who has won Portugal’s “Winemaker of the Year” not once but twice (1997 and 2007) [...]
“A pink marble spitoon?” I am here, arriving in the very comfortable and warm tasting room of the J. Portugal Ramos winery in Alentejo, with export manager Maria Pica. Of course, with so many Marias in Portugal everyone calls her “Pica” — and she looks the party with a happy energetic smile and wavy black [...]
“I remember you!” says Nuno Franco, General Manager of Terra d’Alter in the chilly air outside the Alentejo Wine Route office. It’s a chilly night in Alentejo, and even though I’ve been here only six hours I’m charmed by the city of Evora which is surrounded by ancient walls. Dry leaves are falling onto [...]
With a world full of wine stories, Adrian Bridge, CEO of the Fladgate Partnership, can easily rival the famed Scherezade, whose fantastic weaving of fascinating stories saved her life. We first meet at Aureole restaurant in New York, perhaps the only table with bottles of ten and twenty year old Port on the table. In [...]
Today was an excellent presentation in NYC of the “50 Great Portuguese Wines Luncheon and Awards Presentation. The event kicked off with a fabulous 2005 Murganheira Vintage Bruto Espumante Tavora Varosa, that could equal any fine champagne in terms of brioche flavors and elegance paired with amuse bouche of smoked salmon. Doug Frost MS/MW and [...]
Welcome to the Wine Media Guild’s first tasting of dry Portuguese reds! Lucky members of the Wine Media Guild were greeted by dozens of bottles of delicious dry red wines from Portugal, thanks to the exhaustive help of Erica Nonni of Colangelo & Partners as well as Jeff Ghi, distributor for Quevedo in NYC, and [...]
… so when you think of Portugal, you probably think of Port, yes? And it’s true, Port has been the signature drink of the country for decades. Yet in the last twenty years, still (and sparkling) wine from Lisbon has taken center stage. Recently I accompanied several other wine educators to Lisbon to learn [...]
“Let’s keep Portuguese wine a secret,” says a vino-friendly acquaintance. “A few nights back I bought a Portuguese wine for $60 at a five-star restaurant. It was a delicious value.” Most people associate Portugal with Port wine, the sweet after-dinner…
