As you must know by now, I love Portugal. What’s not to love, with the sights, culinary delights and, of course, all of the undiscovered wine? I had to bring it to life for my pals at a recent Wine Tribe tasting.
Luckily, I was aided by Fatima Hemmons. Tina, as everyone calls her, is the owner of Seattle’s Luso Food and Wine, where she features the delicious products of Portugal. Tina and I decided to create a classic Portuguese meal: sausage made with smoked paprika, garlic shrimp and finally, delightful custard pastries called pastel de nata, all of which pair delightfully with Portuguese wine.
And Wine, Of Course
To complement our meal, we chose two Vinho Verdes, the “green wine” of Portugal, so-called because of its young, fresh, even effervescent qualities. We followed those with two red blends, one from the major Portuguese wine producing region of Douro and the other from the Alentejo region, which is known as the breadbasket of Portugal.
First, we disguised the bottles by placing them in brown paper bags. Then we tasted them both without and with food. As always, folks remarked on the perceptual differences of the wines once paired with food (and I’m finally realizing that wines I would normally dismiss as being too acidic are usually quite nice with chow).
Before I get into details on the wines, it is worth mentioning that no one hated anything. In fact, my pals found everything quite drinkable. This is remarkable because we usually get one wine that everyone universally pans. Not this time. Thanks for the recos, Tina. And thank you, Portugal, for making terrific wines.
Green Wines…Really?
One Portuguese wine which is always a surprising crowd pleaser is Vinho Verde. Vinho Verdes are easy to drink, lower in alcohol than many wines and typically priced between $8 and $12, which is why they are gaining in popularity in the United States. The two we tried, a non-vintage Broadbent and a 2013 Aveleda, both retail for about $10. Overall, the Broadbent is drier, crisper and more acidic than the Aveleda, which is a richer, sweeter wine with a fuller mouthfeel.
The Aveleda was the favorite of both Balanced Tribe and Complex Tribe members (if you don’t know what Wine Tribes are, check this out). They detected scents of the tropics and liked its flavors of Bartlett pear, lemon and honey. One Balanced Tribe member said that she wanted “head to the backyard with a big glass.” Sounds yummy, no?
The folks who didn’t love this wine noted that it was a little too sweet and compared it to Fresca, Jolly Ranchers and “fizzy bubblegum.”
The Broadbent Vinho Verde was the love of the Developed Tribe, whose members noted scents of green apple and cut grass. They appreciated the flavors of citrus, apple and pepper and liked the hint of effervescence. One tribe member noted that it was an “easy drinking wine that would be good for a patio party.” Those who didn’t care for this wine called out its “lemony puckery-ness,” but a couple of them noted that it mellowed with food.
The bottom line on these Vinho Verdes is both are highly quaffable. So enjoy!
Now, on to the reds.
Crowd-Pleasing Grapes You’ve Never Heard Of
We tried the 2012 Casaleiro Reserva ($14) and the Domini 2008 Red Table Wine ($18). The Casaleiro is made with three grapes: Touriga Nacional, Castelao and Trincadeira. This wine was the clear favorite of the Balanced Tribe and was liked, though not loved, by the other tribes represented. The Balanced Tribe members appreciated the scents of red fruit and wood and liked the tastes of almonds and currents, with a hint of spice.
The Domini was the preference of the Developed and Complex Tribes. They detected a variety of scents, including cherries, caramel, melted plastic and acetone. Not all of these are the most enticing of smells, but the wine delivered loads of flavor for these tasters, who detected caramel, cardamom, pepper and plum.
Portuguese Wine: Tastes Great, Less Moolah
Bottom line: go get yourself some Portuguese wine. They taste great and are a great value.
If you are in the Balanced Tribe, consider the Aveleda Vinho Verde and the Casaleiro Red. For the Developed Tribe, stick with the Broadbent Vinho Verde and the Domini Red. And if you are in the Complex Tribe, the Aveleda and the Domini are for you. While we didn’t have anyone from the Accessible Tribe at this tasting, my educated guess is that they would like the Aveleda and want to skip the reds.
As a bonus, here is the recipe for the best garlic shrimp ever. Given that this is pretty much what Big Red and I ate throughout our honeymoon in Portugal, it is now a house special. Enjoy!
Garlic Shrimp (Serves 4)
2 lbs large (21-25 per lb) shrimp, peeled, tail on*
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs salted butter
8 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tsp dried red pepper flakes
¾ cup Italian parsley, chopped
1 tsp + kosher salt
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Once it is hot, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir until fragrant and the garlic is clear. Add the butter, swirl it around and add the shrimp. Cook shrimp about 2 minutes on each side. Stir in parsley and salt. Serve immediately with crusty bread for dipping. Yum!
* I prefer fresh shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico, but if you want to cheat, get the 2 pound bag of frozen shrimp from Costco.
Now, please leave a comment and tell me about your favorite Portuguese wine—I want to keep on discovering them. Muito Obrigado!