sportpix

We're almost at the one-month before flight date and still awaiting to hear from Ryanair to say that our flights to Portugal are cancelled, even though they don't appear on their website.

Trying to be positive and to keep committed to visiting Portugal with a view to moving there as soon as it works out, we decided to try Portuguese wine.

My wife bought her usual case of mixed Aus/NZ red/white wines and opted for the "free" bottles of Portuguese reds by way of a loyalty programme.

I have in my hand a glass of (says on the bottle) Vinha do Fava 2017, touriga nacional, what ever that means.

I have tasted plenty of reds from a wide variety of countries over the years, but this one does nothing for me except to haste me on to bedtime.

My preference is for Australian Shiraz. Does Portugal have anything remotely similar?

Thanks in advance of replies,

Richard

riv

Do you know yet which area you intend to settle in ?

Portugal has excellent wines of all types. I am no expert and cannot myself give direct advice on the subject.

But only to say that the Algarve Resident weekly paper ( in English ) has an excellent wine correspondent. If you follow his recommendations you will not go far wrong.

And I believe if you search you will find the paper online, including older, archived, editions , with his columns.

A lot of what he recommends is available in the Apolónia supermarkets : will you have one near you when you arrive ? My experience there is that the gent/s in charge of that section can also provide useful advice if you tell them the style you want to try.

Loafing Along

Some wonderful wines - One good website is https://www.portugalvineyards.com/en/ and there is an excellent App : Vivino with recommendations. Shiraz you will find mainly in some Alentejo wines but also the Lisbon area and Douro. Touriga grape is one of the most common and but tends to be in heavier wines , typical of the Douro valley.

Suggest you start with some of the excellent Alentejo reds - they typically use Aragonez grape ( tempranillo in Spain ) - the one variety that survived after the disater in France late 19th century that destroyed many vines. You with also find Cabernet Sauvignon and , of course Shiraz. Just check the label on the back of the bottle.

If you get anywhere near a Continente supermarket twice a year they run some great promotions..

Red Eric

A wine made with 100% Touriga Nacional really ought to be pretty rich and smooth and that particular one comes from a highly-regarded outfit.

It could be that it's simply not to your taste, although your palate might need a bit of time for adjustment if it's been assaulted for too long by Aussie reds. Old World wines are quite different in character, as I'm sure you're aware if you've sampled from around the globe.

The other possibility is that it might be tainted, which would rob it of the fruity fullness and make it taste acidic and musty. Was it in a bottle with a cork?

macliam

Single-caste, dated, wines from any country or region are always a gamble - bad years happen..... and when there is one, the wine may be more available to companies looking to maximise profit.... by buying cheap and selling it to a less knowledgable clientele.

Most wines in Portugal are made from a mix of grapes, traditionally national varieties, but now with Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, etc. added to the mix. This allows it to vary and produce a more consistant wine "type" across the years. Single variety wines are more for those who know them well - and region, if not terroir, as well as the method of vinification and storage will make a difference between any two wines from the same region made by the same grape The wine you tried is a Vinho Regional, so better than a Vinho da mesa, but not the "top" standard of DO (or DOC). If the year was not a bad one, it should have been OK, but travel, storage-in-bottle and reaction to the cork can spoil any wine (Shiraz is normally screw-cap here and a "young" or unaged product.) Wine is a natural product, if you treat it badly, it won't react well.

Touriga Nacional makes great wines traditionally in the Douro and Dão regions, but is now grown throughout Portugal. Personally, I avoid wines from the Setubal peninsula, as they don't suit me (although there are exceptions, as always). The wines in the Alentejo are generally closer to new world wines, so might suit you better, but there is no point recommending any, because it will depend what is available to you.

One word of warning though. I too quite like Australian Shiraz as a "glugging" wine..... when outside Portugal. But I have found some (not always cheap) which tastes artificially "vanillized", or oversweet - and/or a bit "dead" and juice-like or artificial. If you actually like any of these "qualities", it's unlikely you'll find them in a wine-drinking (as opposed to wine-exporting) country. Lately, I have found a cheap Spanish Shiraz available here which has a bit of life to it and I have changed to that for day-to-day (as Portuguese wine is still a rarity in the UK).

The number of national wines available in Portugal will blow your mind. Some are excellent, most are good, some are not to my taste. If and when you arrive, you will be on an adventure.... I'm still learning after 30 years!!

toots sweet

The OH,being a PT himself,only drinks wine from the Alentejo. Will not touch wines from Setubal area,says they're acidic and metallic.
Me.. I go along with him but I also like a couple of Douro wines,especially the white and red CANCELLUS. Cheap as chips.Can get them for €3.99 a bottle when they're on offer.The one exception for Alentejo ones are from the Carmin brand near Reguengos. Not keen on them at all.

macliam

- When in Portugal, Alentejo is still my go-to, for day-to-day or better (Herdade do Grous). I love a good Douro, but it must be good - and a good Dão is a pleasure. I don't appreciate old-style Bairrada wines, but I think the Baga is a great grape. I was recommended a "special" Dona Ermelinda bottle (Setubal), made up of my favouroite grapes, but ended up serving it to others and going back to a much cheaper Borba.

Red Eric

Just a minor observation as I'm certainly no kind of expert (I don't know much about wine but I know what I like ) but I wouldn't set too much store by putting all PT wines into a straight league table of quality by those classifications. There are plenty of DOC / DOP wines about which are neither expensive nor superior to Regional.

What prevents this wine having a DO classification is the grape variety, since the Setubal Peninsula has only 2 DOC certifications - one stipulating a minimum % of Moscatel grape and the other a minimum of Castelão. A wine made in the region entirely of another grape therefore cannot qualify for DO status, regardless of how good it is.

Looking at the wine the OP says he has a preference for - from the Shiraz grape - that variety is gaining in popularity with Alentejo winemakers but you may well not find any DO classified wines containing it because of the regulations pertaining to each of the Alentejo DOC sub-regions. A 100% Alentejo Shiraz (Syrah) would be allowed Alentejo Regional status though.

Rorypens

I second the recommendation to use the vivino app. Helps me a lot. You can order a couple of well rated PT bottles and a few "average" rated to try yourself. I have been using it in lockdown (Uk) and delivery is within 4/5 days (shipping is usually 5 quid).

guesswork

When you get here I would suggest you. go into Continente and see what they have on offer. The offers are often 60% or so off. So you could pay 3€ for something that would normally be a great deal more

sportpix

I wish I knew how this ‘quote’ thing works. When I hit the icon and start to type I get italic script which just seems weird so I give up. Anyway...
Aussies are good at some things other than producing very good wines (Red Eric) but I’d have to sit down for a week or so to think of them ... ok, just good red wines 😁.
the bottle of PT wine I started last night indeed had a cork, which broke half way through the extraction process... It was drinkable but didn’t land on my delicate pallet like a butterfly, if you know what I mean ... I was actually disappointed with the wines on our visit to Spain last year as they were quite wishy washy. I was told by friends who know PT well that I would not be disappointed on our planned visit next month, which sadly is now postponed 😔. Thanks for all comments. We have no idea where we will relocate to as we have yet to do our visit to see what’s on offer. We are not totally clueless, however, as we spent our honeymoon on the algarve the year after our daughter was born. Long story ...

sportpix

I forgot to add that our daughter is now 33 ...

Pistolpete2

When in the UK, we were members of the Sunday Times Wine Club and from time to time they had a reasonable selection of Portuguese wines on offer, though precious little from the Alentejo region, but beggars can't be choosers and apart from Douro and Dao at ASDA, I really couldn't source Portuguese wines in the UK otherwise, other than the off-chance at Waitrose.

When we had extended stays near Tavira in the Eastern Algarve, we were astounded at the range of wines, both bottled and boxed, in all the local mini-markets (of which there were four in little Santa Luzia), often at better prices than the specials?? at the nearest Lidl or Soares. The near best boxed could be 8-10 euros for 5 litres and no cork problems to deal with. SO access to the good stuff shouldn't be restricted wherever you are in PT.

I ended up getting my best/favoured Port (incl white) from the mini-markets, where prices were often better than the specials on offer at Continente. Not quite sure how they 'do' it. Coviran chain of mini-markets have a good range of their own name wines and brut sparklers too.

Once you get there, should be no problems. Portuguese wine, particularly RED, is a huge part of the Portugal experience, in terms of both quality and value and the reds can go so well with some of the fish on offer too.

Could use a good Herdade de Grous here these days, which is a blend of 'your' aforementioned Touriga Nacional and Syrah/Shiraz, Alicante Bouschet and Aragon. It's the good blends that one looks for IMHO.

GeniB

Hi Sportix I wish you well, in first of all being able to get here. All airports closed , no flights except for emergency ,government . army etc. So I don't think you will have to worry too much about Portuguese wines for some time to come. On that sad note. I think the wine you tasted will have been badly stored . If the cork broke up it's not been laid in a good situation. A 'corked' wine would have been disgusting to smell, and undrinkable. The single grape Touriga National does produce some very good wines. Obviously that one you drank wasn't one of them.. How do you measure a piece of string. ? Your taste won't be mine ,Mine won't be someone else's I have had favourites all my life that have changed with the wind. Nuit St George Comtesse de Pomerol. i can't drink them now. I certainly can't drink exported French wines as they often contain 'starters and finishers' which I am allergic to . As I age ,so does my taste buds. I absolutely love a wine called 'Gaudio' right now. from the above mentioned Apalonia supermarket . Just the right balance, and chocolatey flavour with superb after taste. Its from the Alentejo which is making great strides into the blooming Portuguese wine market. .We have had the pleasure of staying at the superb wine hotel the ' Yeatman ' in Vila Nova de Guia opposite the lovely city of Oporto. The cellar is superb.The chief sommelier, Marco ,comes from Praia da Luz so we were instantly at 'home' with him He showed us some superb wines ,We of course, tasted quite a few .All delicious .The hotel has a Michelin starred restaurant so we had a couple of opportunities during our special anniversary visit. I like that for the very odd occasion, but I prefer a good, every 'weekend' wine that won't blow my head off in the morning ,or empty my purse. We have only been here 10 yrs so still have a very long way to go ..Good luck with your hunt

GeniB

PS Suggest you go to Jancis Robinson's many articles on Portuguese wines. She is a world famous wine expert and writer for the Times . Indeed has an OBE for her work . I have a long list of wines she has recommended but i have yet to try