When asked about the wine of Portugal, one generally remembers that Portugal gives its name to port wine and if you read a lot of Austen, Bronte and Dickens that Madeira (one of the small resort islands) also produces a wine as well. What one generally doesn't know is that Portugal is the seventh largest producer of wine globally, which is quite impressive considering that it is roughly the same size as Maine. The breadth of production is phenomenal; with over 500 varieties of grapes, you could drink a different bottle every day for the rest of your lifetime and never taste them all. Funnily enough, for all their production, there are relatively few Portuguese wines available to buy in the States. Below, two that I've drank lately that you can track down for your own pleasure.
Broadbent Vinho Verde ($10.99 at Black Sheep Wines)
Vinho Verde is an exclusively Portuguese wine. The word Verde (pretty easy for you romance language people) means green and refers to the fact that the grapes are not allowed to reach a high sugar content, and therefore do not require an aging process. This particular bottle was a joy to drink. One of my tasters described the initial taster as "sour, but good. I'm looking for a word that describes when something's sour, but not sour . . ." I suggested "tart," and she immediately agreed.
The first flavor reminded us of Granny Smith Apples. As the wine began to warm, the flavor grew sweeter, evoking thoughts of bananas still a day from being ripe. The major problem I had with this wine was the height of the bottle. The bottle is significantly taller than most, making it very difficult for me to wedge it into my fridge so I could appropriately chill it. Because of the grape, it is recommended that one serve Vinho Verde at a cooler temperature than other white wines. However, the design of the label, which was painted by the maker's four-year-old niece, is rather adorable. This is good picnic wine and also is very easy to drink alone as an aperitif.
Encosta da Estrela 2001 Dao (tinto) ($8.99 at Provisions)
This is a red wine from the aptly named Dao region of Portugal (in the northwest of the country for our friends playing at home). My tasters and I found this wine to be quite shockingly different. It is a very deep wine, tasting of dried plums and really heavy spices. Oddly enough, it is not very thick in the mouth for so much heaviness. It isn't very tannic either. The wine needs some food. For some reason, I thought gorgonzola pasta when I drank it; I think it could stand up to the pungent cheese. This is definitely not a "I'm just going to have a glass of wine before dinner" wine. The bottle is surprisingly lightweight and seems smaller than a bottle, but it is in fact full-sized. In summation, a lot of wine for very little money.