I woke up this morning with a very odd thought clanking in my brain, “If the Fantastic Five port varietals are so famous, why don’t I have a clue as to how they each contribute to the pot?” I’ll readily admit that I rarely wake up…scratch that, I NEVER have woken up with a question about grape varietals springing to mind, but this morning was different. As I slowly came out of my groggy and rather disoriented state, exemplified by my tripping over the cat and jamming my shoulder into the door frame on my way to brew coffee, I was annoyed that I knew a ridiculous amount about Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, but absolutely nothing about Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão and Touriga Franca. If they’re important players, a girl needs to be informed!

So with cat in tow, I sat down with the “Oxford Companion to Wine”, “Jancis Robinson’s Guide to Wines Grapes”, and Richard Mayson’s book, “Port and the Douro“. I then flipped on my computer, watched my cat stretch across the keyboard in a clear effort to help with my research, and I opened a series of my favorite Portuguese wine websites.

Here’s what I found:

Touriga Nacional
Also known as Preto Mortãgua, it is the eighth most planted red grape in the Douro, but only accounts for 2 percent of the vine stock in Portugal. Renowned for its excessive vigor and variable yields, this small, thick-skinned berry produces some incredibly dark, tannic and intensely flavored wines with a high level of alcohol. I know this grape well, because its signature aromas are violets, roses and bergamot, exemplified in the majority of our tasting notes this past month. Touriga Nacional is one of my favorite grapes. Because it not …

Question time for Catavino readers: Who out there loves wine and chocolate? Although this may sound like the most obvious pairing in the world, it’s not. In my many years of both selling and writing about wine, I’ve heard numerous debates on the subject, both for and against this rather contentious chocolate and wine pairing. But among the numerous voices, one element always remains consistent, people either love it or hate it.

Chocolate can dramatically range in flavor from being the sweetest substance on earth to a thick, bitter and earthy experience. When I was young, I hated chocolate with a passion. The only chocolate I was familiar with was that sticky soft icing on birthday cakes - overly sweet and flavorless. Likewise, I never really fell for candy bars, Hershey kisses or any other manufactured chocolate flavored treat out there. It wasn’t until college when my eyes opened to authentic chocolate. I believe it was Michel Cluizel’s chocolates that tipped the scales for me, when I realized that I really did like chocolate. Slightly sweet and intensely bitter with an earthiness that revealed dark fruits, minerals and exotic spices, I loved it. Like wine, it was not immediately apparent, but over time, it rewarded those with patience. I remember having an epiphany when I realized that pure chocolate could be so magical. And as a result, I started to explore cocoa as a spice, in moles, and dry rubs on beef. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Fast forward to my life with wine. When I started to explore wine, I really never thought to put chocolate and wine together. Chocolate, having tannins and often bitter, seemed an odd bed fellow for a dry Cabernet. Because my learning had taught …

Quinta de la Rosa is a landmark in the Douro Valley, located right on the edge of the river, just above the railway line and a kilometer from Pinhão in the Cima Corgo region. Initially dedicated to the production of port, under the driving influence of the renowned winemaker, David Baverstock, they expanded their portfolio to now include both port wines and table wines.

However, Quinta de la Rosa is far from a newcomer to the region. Since 1906, it has belonged to the Swedish family, the Bergqvists, given to Sophia Bergqvist’s grandmother, Claire Feuerheerd, as a christening present. Under her leadership, between 1931 and 1986, the wines were sold to several famous houses in the Douro such as: Morgan Croft, Delaforce and Sandeman. But with the innovative spirit of Sophia and her father, Tim Bergqvist, what started as a family port shipping company, slowly transformed into an internationally renowned port and red wine company in 1988.

The original name of the property was Quinta das Bateiras (Bateiras is the name of a rapid in the river Torto, one of the many tributaries of the Douro River), but was later changed to De la Rosa. Curious, no? A Spanish named winery in the heart of the Douro Valley? But the name actually originates from a brand the Feuerheerd family sold in Jerez in the beginning of the twentieth century. Although the Feuerheerd family wine business was sold off in the 30s to Barros Almeida, Quinta de la Rosa remained, and eventually expanded to include: Quinta Amarela nas Bateiras in 1907, Quinta de Lameiro do Rego in 1973 (later renamed after Tim’s mother, Dona Clara), and Quinta das Lamelas in 1985.

By 2002, Jorge Moreira came aboard, a young Portuguese winemaker …

How many times have you heard yourself, or someone you know, say “Jeez, I’ve tried a couple of ports, but I’ve just never enjoyed them. They’re always so sweet and syrupy and just too much to enjoy”? If you were at dinner with us last night, you would have heard this at least half a dozen times. And with each utterance, I held myself back with sheer will power trying not to reach across the table, grabbing the guy by the lapels and say “Please tell me that you’ve tried every single style of port wine from several different producers, because if not, that is one massive generalization you’re making!” I’m pleased to say that I kept my cool, but I did learn one very important lesson: one month of port wine education can only do so much, but at least it’s a wonderful step towards breaking preconceived notions and mistruths as to what it is - a highly diverse style of wine that cannot fit neatly into a box and labeled ’sweet dessert wine’.

So, allow me to continue breaking down our assumptions of Port wine by introducing two styles that may be unfamiliar to you. Each of them fall outside of what we typically consider a “traditional” port wine, but both merit your attention.

LBV Port Wine
Don’t you love it when, yet another, acronym enters your life? I remember when I first heard the term ‘LBV’ and wondered if it was abbreviated because monolingual speakers like us tend to butcher most foreign names, but alas, there was no mystery. The name originated between the 1930’s and 1950’s, at the beginning of António de Oliveira Salazar’s dictatorship when Portugal suffered from a rather serious economic hardship. Therefore, any wine destined to become a …

Editor’s Note: Our newest contribution is from Eddie and Moses, founders of the recently created blog, The Algarve Buzz. If you haven’t had a chance to peruse their blog, I highly suggest doing so. The Algarve Buzz is not only an incredibly attractive site filled with interesting and well-written articles on everything from how Halloween in celebrated in Portugal to traditional recipes such as Risotto de Polvo (Octopus Risotto), but if you ever have a desire to visit the south of Portugal, their website will provide you a host of tips as to where spend your vacation when your time is rather limited. Today, in celebration of Port month at Catavino, they’ve offered some fabulous advice of places to check out if you’re a port lover in the Algarve.

Although port wine originates north of Algarve in the Douro that doesn’t stop southerners or the many tourist who visit the Algarve from enjoying the pleasures of a fine glass of port.

So how does one get the best of both worlds - the great weather of the Algarve plus, the fine flavors of port from the north, without actually having to travel there? Firstly, let’s qualify the difference between tasting port in Porto and tasting port in the Algarve.

In Porto you have the caves, the estates, the culture of wine and port in every breath you take. There is noting like being there, kind of like watching the world cup from gold seats and watching it on TV. However, the Algarve is stunningly beautiful, has incredible weather, nightlife, relaxing lifestyle, great food and its own exotic, warm charm and culture. So, like wine it all comes down to personal taste. If you want the authentic feel of dark …