There is no way I can start this post without sharing my elation that my hand is free to type. For those of you who are not in the know, I have been in a cast for exactly 78 days, as reminded to me by my doctor this morning. But now, my cast is gone, and from its hard powdery depths springs a hand that is dying for some sun, a splash in the sea and the ability to type at lightening speed without hearing “clunk” “clunk” every time my plaster thumb hit the space bar. Ahhh, life is officially good.

So getting back to today’s topic, our featured wines of the week consists of a big, bold Portuguese wine called Preta, in addition to a line of wines called “Sexy”. Portuguese winemaker, António Moita Macanita, along with English viticulturist, David Booth, have attempted to design a simple, yet provocative, red, white and rose that are intended to be light, easy drinking and compliment food.

The question though, as posed by Jamie Good of Wine Anorak, is, “Can a wine be sexy?” Jamie argues that these wines don’t necessarily show sex appeal, but more a “hint of seriousness”. If I’m reading Jamie correctly, this isn’t your run of the mill blond bombshell like Pamela Anderson, but instead, more of the demure, sensual and soft spoken type that you’d bring home to mom; essentially, Charlize Theron with glasses working the Dewey Decimal System.

Ok, jetlag is done, culture shock is mitigated, and my life is starting to get back to its crazy usual self. I’ve inoculated my system with some fresh Iberian wines and assorted tapas. So what happened in Minnesota you may ask? Well a lot. One wedding, one 60th birthday party and at least 4 wine filled dinners. So rather than give you a play by play, I’ll bullet point some of the highlights and ask you a few questions, or rather, state some observations from the visit.

Jason Kallsen, the man behind the World Class Wines Blog, invited me to talk about blogging and Iberian wine on the second night I was in town! Thankfully, it was a great success. Held at the cafe across the street (space purposes) from SoloVino in St.Paul, we talked about wine, blogging and the intersection of the two. Take away thoughts? Well, I was shocked by how few of the “wine geeks” in attendance actually read blogs. While about half had read a blog, very few actually frequented them. If anyone who attended has anything to say about this, please chime in!

I tasted wines twice with old buddies/wine geeks. First night, I tried two Pinot Noirs, one of which was a Bergstrom 2002 PN that was beautiful, seductive, and well worth it. The other, as a result of my desire to carry over wines that were unique and different, was a Kosta Brown RRV 2005 that was undrinkable, or at the least, not a wine that I would ever purposefully go out and buy. Hot, thick, clunky, this was a wine that was better distilled than consumed. Oh, and at 14.7% alcohol?! Give …

Last Tuesday, during a very hectic and busy day tasting wines, we had scheduled a lunch with Cortes de Cima, a winery located in the Alentejo. And typically, when you schedule a lunch like this, you are met with an export manager who is so professional that each crease and fold is perfectly starched and ironed without a wrinkle to be seen. Trust me, I’ve looked. But today was different. What stood before us shaking our hand was one of the winemaker’s of Cortes de Cima, António Cláudio. António is a large man, standing 6 feet tall with broad shoulders, curly black hair and a sweet boyish smile. He packed us in his little blue car and rushed us off to Solar dos Presuntos, a fabulous seafood restaurant complete with air conditioning that we desperately called for after two days of 40 degree heat. Relaxed, while feeling our body core come back to a normal temperature, we leisurely listened to António’s experience of the winery, his journey to being a winemaker and his overall impression of his wines - which of course, were his pride and joy.

Cortes de Cima began in 1988 after Hans Kristian and Carrie Jorgensen traveled the world by boat in search of a home for their winery. Although fond of California, they eventually found themselves in the southern Alentejo region finding both the culture, the people and the land ideal for their project. With a little elbow grease, they renovated the house, installed both a dam and irrigation to help with the desert like conditions of the region, and planted 50 ha of Aragonez (Tempranillo) vines along with Trincadeira, Periquita and Syrah. Since then, however, they have decided to change Periquita for Touriga Nacional, as a result of Periquita’s …

Last month, when I was in Alicante, I received a mixed case of wines from Bodega Salvador Poveda. Four bottles were from a series of wines called, Toscar. All monovarietals, they were created to demonstrate the region’s terroir as it relates to each varietals unique characteristics. Over the past two weeks, Gabriella and I have been slowly making our way through each bottle, discussing the pros and cons as we experienced them. Being that they came from 3 different vintages, it was hard to tell if the wine was better/different due to the varietal’s influence from the Alicante terroir or if the vintage was affecting the quality and style. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are both Crianzas, while the Monastrell and Syrah are Jovens. Personally, we both fell in love with the Cabernet. Rich and complex, the 2003 was a very ripe yea, allowing for the Cabernet fruit to fully mature. All of the others had their moments, meaning that the wines went from being fresh and alive shortly after opening and then fading to the opposite extreme. For example, it wasn’t until the very last sip when we both looked at each other in silent understanding that the Monastrell was just showing itself off.

Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to try a horizontal of these wines at some point to see how they stand up to each other on equal vintage footing. These wines are widely available and I do suggest seeking them out.

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

2005 Salvador Poveda Alicante Toscar, Monastrell - Spain, Valencia, Alicante (4/18/2007)Nose of dark fruits and deep earthy pepper. Brambly and rough, with smoke, black pepper and earth. In the mouth the tannins are not forceful and the acidity is medium. Dark black berry, …

I would be hard pressed to find a more agreeable wine producing region than Jumilla. Adventurous, avant garde wines being made with grapes less commonly found in Spain mixed with Spanish grapes such as Monastrell that has been making its comeback for years but that always seems to miss out on the glory. A red, very sweet grape, Monastrell makes deeply colored wines characterized by a high alcoholic content and often a cherry liqueur kind of undertone.