|
Food & Drink in the Algarve, Portugal
what to drink during your stay in the Algarve
Wines of Portugal - more about Food & Wines Pairings
Bom Dia
Welcome to the Algarve Retreats wine article for December.
 More Port news for you - hot from our recent tasting in Northampton where we entertained a sizeable group of guests to a stunning selection of diverse wines (see the tasting sheet below).
As ever the tasting began with that wonderful aperitif, White Port, this one from Noval - clean and refreshing and something most present had not previously experienced. I suggested they spend more time in Portugal, thereby experiencing more of this great wine, and also to serve it on the rocks topped up with tonic water; a long, refreshing drink for the Algarve climate - Portonic.
Next came a flight of three Red, or Ruby, Port wines starting with a classic example of a young, everyday wine, from the house of Croft, followed by a Reserve from Dow (available respectively from Majestic Wine Warehouses and Waitrose) and then back to Noval for their unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage from 1999.
 Many Ports and indeed other wines indicate `unfiltered' on the label; the premise being that if we filter a wine too much when bottling some of the goodness and therefore flavours that actually come from the wines' natural lees and deposits are lost. LBV Ports bottled usually 6 years after the vintage, do their maturing in cask rather than bottle and are not designed to be laid down and kept like Vintage Ports.
The Tawny was of course a wine that we use a lot as it is just such a good example, and one that I have mentioned many times before. Just ahead of a switch to introduce a couple of Madeiras, the group talked about the potential food matching opportunities for Port and I was again able to mention our Chocolate pairing sessions where Ruby Ports are so often the perfect foil for dark, bitter chocolate. The Tawny is a great match to hard mature cheeses like Cheddar.
 The pair of Madeiras showed two of the classic grape varieties of the island - the off dry Verdelho and the sweet Malmsey (both wines again available from Waitrose); wines that again I have mentioned previously and also used in tastings. Somebody said for years they had drunk Malmsey Madeira at Christmas with their roast beef! There's a new one on me, and one to try at home - let me know if you do and if it works (or not).
Finally a real treat for the tasters, the chance to taste a really mature wine in the Borges Vintage 1980; spirity in character from a light vintage and showing really well. Don't forget a Vintage Port at Christmas really is a must - open a day in advance, decant carefully through a muslin cloth and consume within a couple of days. Please don't leave it to deteriorate in the decanter.
 Just as an aside, I had fun telling a group at one of our recent Wine & Food weekends (for details of upcoming weekends please email us at wineeducators@aol.com), about a Californian winemaker called Andrew Quady, whose winery is in Madera County. He produces a range of wines including one which is in the style of Port. Of course Port is very much a protected name and term and quite simply cannot be used, at least within the European Union, for any wine that does not come from Portugal's demarcated Douro wine region. So Andrew's name for his wine is therefore - Starboard! I reminded the group, that should they happen to serve this at a dinner party instead of Port, which of course none of our readers would even consider doing, then the decanter must of course be passed the opposite way to normal around the table!
 Dates for your diary
Thursday 14th December - Wines for Christmas Tasting, featuring Port & Madeira, in Northampton.
Thursday 8th February 2007 - Wine & Chocolate Tasting in Northampton
News from Wines of Portugal:
 For the 5th year in a row, Wines of Portugal is taking its wines and producers to a UK location outside London. After Leeds in 2006, Edinburgh has been chosen for 2007. The date for this is THURSDAY 29TH MARCH 2007.
At the recent Wine Show London around 14.000 visitors attended, with the Wines of Portugal stand being amongst the most visited, noticeable by the large volume of sales made during the fair. Amongst other Wines of Portugal events on schedule during the fair were Tim Atkin and Charles Metcalfe's “Portuguese Wine Walks”, food and wine matching tasting, 5 best wines of the stand and a “Theatre Session” all with Charles Metcalfe.
Nick Oakley of the specialist Portuguese merchant Oakley Wine Agencies has recently taken over the chairmanship of APWI - the Association of Portuguese Wine Importers
Martin Ward
Wine Educators International
www.wine-educators.com
CLASSIC PORTS & MADEIRA
for ESPORTA NORTHAMPTON
Thursday 9th November 2006
Wine Educators International in conjunction with
THE PORT WINE INSTITUTE & ICEP
Presenter: Martin Ward
Noval Extra Dry White
Croft's Triple Crown
Dow's Finest Reserve
Noval Late Bottled Vintage 1999
Quinta de La Rosa Tonel 12, 10 yr. old Tawny
Henriques & Henriques 15 yr. old Verdelho (Madeira)
Henriques & Henriques 15 yr. old Malmsey (Madeira)
Borges Vintage 1980
If you would like to know more about Portuguese Food and Drink, why don't you dip into our Restaurants in the Algarve section and our series of articles on Portuguese Wines and Ports. We also feature some Traditional Portuguese Recipes and a glossary of useful Portuguese food & drink words and phrases
Choose Algarve Retreats for your Algarve holiday accommodation
apartments villas hotels Pousadas cruises enquiries home
For further information, please ring 01283 821072 or
email enquiries@algarve-retreats.com
|
