Are you sceptical to white port? Some people are and I was one of them. Until I tasted the 10 year old Viera de Sousa White Port from Sociedade Roncão Pequeno. This is an incredibly good port wine that shows that white port can also be of high quality. The wine is made with long [...]
Tag Archives | Portugal
What makes Portugal different from other wine countries?
What makes Portugal different from other wine countries? This is the main theme when the famous Portuguese wine journalist Rui Falcão gives his “master class” lecture in Malmö, on an afternoon in early April. Mostly it is sommeliers and restaurant people gathered to take part in this presentation of Portugal from a wine perspective. Rui [...]
Porto, a city worth visiting
Porto, at the mouth of the Douro River, is an interesting city. Its twin across the Douro, Vila Nova de Gaia, is where you find all the old port “lodges” (it is no longer an obligation to be there for a port producer). Porto itself is a superb city to visit, with its old city [...]
Using native yeast or selected yeast at Quevedo Wines in the Douro
Natural and cultured yeast are both used in the Douro Valley but in different ways One of the winemaker’s most important decisions is if he should use native yeasts or selected yeast strains for the fermentation. In this guest article Oscar Quevedo from the Quevedo Wines estate in the Douro explains the difference and why [...]
Wine tour to amarone-land, wine and food of Tuscany, restaurants in the Douro Valley in Portugal
A few memories from some travel destinations this autumn can perhaps brighten the dark winter days? Here are a few samples from the travel blog on BKWineTours.com: Italian lunches tend to take quite a long time and tend to include a lot of different things. It is almost inevitable to start with some charcuteries, dried [...]
A soul-full meeting with winemaker Sandra Tavares da Silva in the Douro Valley
Sandra Tavares da Silva is one of the young and talented wine growers today in the Douro Valley. Together with her husband, Jorge Borges Serôdio, she started the company Wine & Soul just over 10 years ago. She makes red and white Douro wines of high quality and she also knows how to attract new [...]
Wine with a soul: port & other wines from Wine & Soul in the Douro
A meeting with Sandra Tavares da Silva at her winery in the Douro Valley Far up the river Douro in northern Portugal, in a small village perching on a cliff overlooking the winding river and the terraced vineyards, we find the small and young winery called Wine & Soul. Britt went there to meet with [...]
Yes, one really should drink more Portuguese wines!
As if one needed convincing! We made an interview some time back (quite some time) with Sarah Ahmed on why Portuguese wines are so interesting. She had a whole bunch of good arguments. Watch the entire video interview with Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective, here: 5 reasons why Portuguese wines are great with Sarah Ahmed, [...]
Time to spend in Porto? Five hours on foot, then you deserve a glass of Quinta do Tedo!
Kay Steffey Bouchard at Quinta do Tedo in the Douro Valley writes an interesting blog about the life and the work at the quinta (the winery and vineyard) run by herself and her French husband Vincent Bouchard. Recently she shared with her readers her “addiction” to walking and she suggests a 5 hour walk in [...]
Wine producers have started making wine in amphora. Again.
Nothing new under the sun… Or: Dusting off the clay pots for winemaking The amphora is back. The ancient way of making and storing wine in clay amphora, like the Greeks and the Romans did, is high fashion today. Although the number of amphorae users is quite low they are very much talked about and [...]
5 reasons why Portuguese wines are great with Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective | BKWine TV
Interview with Sarah Ahmed on why wines from Portugal are so exciting Here are some of the key things on Portuguese wines that Sarah tells us in the interview: If you are a wine lover you can not help being exited about Portugal and Portuguese wines. The country has a treasure trove of native grape [...]
Good restaurants in Porto – some suggestions
Porto is a wonderful city to visit, but it is not, in our experience always easy to find a good restaurant. We were very happy with DOP, that we wrote about recently (see in the menu “Recommendations – Restaurants” on BKWine Magazine). Since we go to Porto every once in a while for the Douro [...]
More restaurant recommendations in Porto
Restaurants to try in and around Porto Porto is a great city to visit. For the wines of course, post and table wine, but also for its beauty and history. But we must confess that we have always found it challenging to find a good restaurant in Porto. We have found some, notably DOP. Look [...]
DOP, Rui Paula, restaurant Porto | BKWine Pick
One of the best meals we have had in Portugal was here at DOP in Porto. It is in the old city centre in the Palácio das Artes near the old Stock Exchange (Bolsa) in Porto in northern Portugal, at the mouth of the Douro river. The decoration is modern and elegant, almost minimalist. Stylish [...]
We taste Portuguese wines from Bacalhôa and Burgundies from Bichot
At a recent trade tasting with two producers in Sweden we had the occasion to taste through part of the range from the Portuguese wine producer Bacalhoa and the Burgundy négociant winemaker Bichot. It was a tasting in five rounds that alternated the Portuguese with the Burgundies. Peter Modin reports on the best wines in [...]
New internet wine shop targets Sweden: Iberian Wine Club
It is now possible for internet shops to sell directly to consumers (see other story). The latest addition is an eshop specialised in wines from Portugal and Spain (one must assume): Iberian Wine Club. The Iberian Wine Club launches slowly with shipping scheduled only at certain pre-defined dated. The selection is still very, very limited [...]
Portuguese wines from Bacalhôa and Burgundies from Bichot
A number of exciting wines from the Portuguese wine producer Bacalhoa, white, red and sweet, and from the Burgundy négociant Bichot, white wines, chablis, and red pinot noirs at a tasting with the Swedish importer with a representative from each of the two wineries. Peter Modin reports on the best wines in the tasting. On [...]
December – the port wine month
An introduction to port wine and its markets December is a good month for port. Some people do not drink port wine at any other period. And that is a shame of course. Port wine is well suited for many occasions. The grapes for the port wine are grown in the Douro Valley in northern [...]
Michelin star to Porto: The Yeatman
Porto, the second city of Portugal, has received its first Michelin star. The honour went to the restaurant at the new luxury hotel The Yeatman that opened in the summer of 2010. Well, actually it is not Porto that has received the star; it is Vila Nova de Gaia, where The Yeatman is situated with [...]
Gemelli Restaurant, Lisbon | BKWine Pick
Gemelli is one of the best restaurants we have been to in Lisbon – not that we have any claim to a wide experience. The chef is Augusto Gemelli who comes from Italy, which is something one also can see on the menu. The cuisine is actually more Italian than Portuguese: antipasti that includes salads [...]
Cortes de Cima: interview with Hans Kristian Jorgensen – a pioneer in Alentejo, Portugal
A while back we met with the founder of Cortes de Cima in his vineyard in Alentejo in Portugal. We had the opportunity to make a short video interview with Hans Kristian who, together with his wife Carrie, is the founder and owner of the winery Cortes de Cima. Cortes de Cima is one of [...]
Cortes de Cima Founder & Owner Hans Kristian Jorgensen | BKWine TV
Interview with the founder, owner and winemaker of the winery Cortes de Cima: Hans Kristian Jorgensen, in the vineyards of the estate. Cortes de Cima is one of the leading wine estates in the Alentejo, a wine region an hour or two east of Lisbon that has undergone a revival in the last few decades. [...]
Interview with Cortes de Cima winemaker on BKWine TV
We have a new video interview with the Cortes de Cima winemaker Hamilton Reis on the new video channel on BKWine Magazine. Cortes de Cima is one of the new generation wineries in Alentejo in Portugal. It was founded some 25 years ago by a Danish-American couple: Hans-Kristian and Carrie Jorgensen. Hamilton talks to us [...]
Chafariz do Vinho Enoteca, Lisbon | BKWine Pick, restaurant
The Chafariz do Vinho is primarily a wine bar. The restaurant element of it is modest although what they serve is very good. Architecturally and historically it is a curious place. The restaurant is located in what once was the end (the pumping station?) of an aqueduct and one can still almost feel the damp [...]
Cortes de Cima Winemaker Hamilton Reis | BKWine TV
Cortes de Cima: interview with winemaker Hamilton Reis. Cortes de Cima is a winery in the Alentejo region in Portugal, an hour an a half east of Lisbon. Their total range includes more than a dozen wines. The main: Chamine is the entry level wine, a blend with mainly Portuguese grape varieties (aragonez, trincadeira and [...]
How to dig a deeper and deeper hole
Or: “A Prima Donna shouts too loud”? – A Portuguese challenge First of all I want to apologise to all my Portuguese friends, winemakers and others. And to all other who love Portugal and its wines. I had wanted to leave this debacle with the 1º Encontro e Prova Internacional de Vinho / 1st International [...]
An experience in how not to market Portuguese wines
Comments on the 1st International Wine Meeting and Tasting (in Portugal) This post is really a comment on a blog post by Luiz Alberto over at The Wine Hub, but for some mysterious reason the full commentary refuses to publish on that blog. Last week there was the 1st International Wine Meeting and Tasting (1o [...]
Portugal dominates cork production
17 billion wine bottles were sealed in 2009. 11.3 billion (66%) used “natural” cork, 3.1 bn used screw cap, and 2.9 bn used synthetic corks. The by far biggest producer of ‘natural’ cork is Portugal. Here are the major cork producers (source: La Vigne, Apcor): Portugal: 157,000 tonnes (52%) Spain: 88,400 tonnes (29%) Italy: 17,000 [...]
Quinta do Vale Dona Maria, Douro Valley, Portugal – BKWine Pick
Cristiano van Zeller at Quinta do Vale Dona Maria is a well known person in the Douro-valley. He used to own Quinta de Noval which he sold in the middle of the 1990s to Axa Millésime. In 1996 Cristiano bought Quinta de Vale Dona Maria and spent some time renovating, investing and building a new [...]
Terras do Sado becomes Peninsula de Setubal
The Portuguese wine region Terras do Sado is located just south of Lisbon. It Has recently been renamed Península de Setúbal in an effort to make it better known. The new name will be uses from the 2009 harvest. www.vitisphere.com
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