Behind the Cork™ - Wines of Alentejo Portugal (Part 2)

Alentejo (ah-len-TAY-zhoo) is one of seven wine regions in Portugal and a real up-and-comer in today’s global wine world.

With its distinct and diverse growing areas, hundreds of unusual grape varieties and ancient wine traditions, Portugal’s Alentejo region is a wine explorer’s paradise.

2018 Aldela de Portalegre Conventual Reserva ($25)

Founded in 1954, the Adega de Portalegre Winery has been distinguished by the quality and originality of their wines. The vineyards are located at an altitude around 2000 feet with the average age of the vineyards being 70 years old.

This wine is produced from 40% Arinto, 20% Fernão Pires, 20% Siria and 20% Bical. It was fermented in stainless steel vats and aged in French and American oak barrels. It is pale gold in color with aromas of citrus fruits, spices and beeswax. On the palate it has bold flavors of lemon and lime, minerality, moderate acidity and a bit of tartness. It is a “Reserva” which is the designation of superior quality for wines that must be certified by the certification body.

2021 Torre de Palma Arinto & Alvarinho ($40)

This wine is produced from 50% Arinto and 50% Alvarinho. It is fermented and aged for six months in used French oak barrels from Burgundy with bâttonage and sur lie. It is pale gold in color with delicate aromas of pear and honey. On the palate it has bold citrus flavors and excellent acidity and salinity with bit of tart pepper on the finish.

2020 Adega de Redondo Porta da Revessa Special Edition White ($15)

Porta da Revessa is inspired by the iconic door of the secular Castelo de Redondo, where the marks of the Vara (a long spiked lance used by a picador) and the Côvado (a unit of measure) are still visible today. This wine is produced from 40% Verdelho, 30% Arinto and 30% Antão Vaz. It is fermented in stainless steel tanks and followed by stirring on lees during the aging process. It is pale yellow in color with aromas of melon, pear, minerals and herbs. On the palate, the aging on lees contributes to a softer mouthfeel with good acidity on the finish.

If you are not familiar with Portugal’s native grapes and the flavors of their white wines, just think of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio and you’ll begin to understand their flavors. They are bright and fruity with refreshing acidity that goes great with a wide variety of foods. And, again, perfect to be the Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program and the Noted Wineries of Alentejo via Creative Palate Communications

Behind the Cork™ - Wines of Alentejo Portugal (Part 1)

Alentejo (ah-len-TAY-zhoo) is one of seven wine regions in Portugal and a real up-and-comer in today’s global wine world.

With its distinct and diverse growing areas, hundreds of unusual grape varieties and ancient wine traditions, Portugal’s Alentejo region is a wine explorer’s paradise.

2020 Rocim Mariana White ($16)

This wine is from the Vidigueira sub-region of Alentejo which is the southernmost sub-region where the climatic conditions are the most temperate of Alentejo and provide an excellent micro-climate for the production of quality wines.

It is produced with 60% Antão Vaz, 30% Arinto and 10% Alvarinho grapes that were fermented in stainless steel tanks to preserve the bright fruit flavors. It was then aged for five months in stainless steel and two months in the bottle before release. This wine in pale straw in color with delicate tropical fruit aromas. On the palate it has bright citrus flavors of lemon and lime, good acidity and subtle notes of honey.

2021 Herdade do Esporão Colheita Branco ($18)

This wine is produced solely from grapes grown at Herdade do Esporão under organic farming methods. It is produced with Antão Vaz, Viosinho, Alvarinho, Vermentino and other grapes. It was partially fermented in concrete tanks and left on the fine lees for four months. It is pale gold in color with aromas of tropical fruit, pear and honey. This wine has good acidity but having been on lees for four months produces as softer mouthfeel of tropical fruit and melon flavors.

2020 Marques de Borba Colheita ($13)

This wine is produced from 70% Arinto, 15% Antão Vaz and 15% Viognier grape varieties. It is medium gold in color with delicate aromas that include subtle herbal notes. It has bright fruit flavors and refreshing acidity with slightly tart finish.

If you are not familiar with Portugal’s native grapes and the flavors of their white wines, just think of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio and you’ll begin to understand their flavors. They are bright and fruity with refreshing acidity that goes great with a wide variety of foods. And perfect to be the Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program and the Noted Wineries of Alentejo via Creative Palate Communications

Ever Wonder? Should You Decant a White Wine?

When one thinks about decanting a wine, usually it’s a red wine. Decanting a red wine is generally done for several reasons including allowing any trapped off-smelling odors to quickly dissipate, allowing the wine to “open up” to reveal greater character and to help soften its tannin. But, decanting a white wine? Should it be done? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Just like red wines, white wines too can have off-odors and the simple act of pouring the wine into a decanter will quickly deal with those issues.

White wines are generally released to market earlier than red wines. But, this can result in a white wine being “closed” in its aromas and flavors. Again, simply pouring it into a decanter can quickly help to “open up” the wine so as to allow for greater aromas and flavors.

Another benefit of decanting a white wine is for temperature control. If the white wine has been stored in a standard refrigerator, it’s a bit too cold to be able to release its aromas and exhibit all of its flavors. So, pouring a white wine into a decanter will allow it to quickly come to the ideal drinking temperature of 45 to 55 degrees F. Also, if the wine is room temperature and you’d like to quickly put a slight chill on it, you’ll find that the thinner walls of a decanter will allow the wine to more quickly chill in a large bucket of ice or in the fridge.

While decanting a red wine can take 1 to 2 hours, decanting a white wine is quick — 15 minutes or less will generally do the job.

There is one caution regarding decanting white wine. If you pull the cork and discover that your white wine has oxidized (e.g., has changed to a dark golden color with some orange or brown color notes) decanting won’t help. It’s already seen too much oxygen in the bottle and giving it further oxygen will only make it worse.

Next time we’ll look at decanting sparkling wines. Yes, even sparkling wines can benefit from decanting! Until then, Cheers!

The White Wines of Piedmont Italy

Piedmont may be best known for its red wines but this famous wine region in Italy also produces several white wines of note.

The Moscato Bianco (moe-ska-toe bee-an-ko) grape is most notably from the Asti region of Piedmont. This grape is used in the production of Moscato d’Asti which is a sweet, semi-sparkling wine and Asti Spumante which is a refreshing, slightly sweet, sparkling white wine. This grape is also used to produce still wine (i.e., not a sparkling wine) and sweet dessert versions.

But the top white grapes of Piedmont are Cortese and Arneis.

Cortese (kort-tay-zay) is the white grape that is most famous for producing Gavi which is named for the town of Gavi in the southern part of Piedmont. Bright acidity, apple, peach and honeydew flavors are commonly associated with wines produced from this grape, along with lime, almond and light herbal or grassy aromas.

Arneis (Ar-NAYZ) is yet another grape that has recently been brought back from near extinction. Wines produced from the Arneis grape are known for their minerality along with flavors of peach, apple and hazelnut. The best Arneis wines are from the sub-regions of Roero and Langhe.

Finally, there are two other white wine grapes grown in Piedmont - Erbaluce and Nascetta. Neither of these grapes are are widely planted outside of northern Piedmont.

Erbaluce is used in the production of dry wines that are light-bodied with crisp apple flavor. Sparkling wines exhibit minerality, bold acidity and fresh, fruity flavors. Along with dry table wines, Erbaluce is used to make sweet wines with deep golden coloring, such as Passito.

Nascetta was also revived in the mid-1990s. It produces crisp wines with apple and citrus flavors along with notes of honey.

So, there’s a short overview of the variety of white wines produced in Piedmont. Next time, we’ll continue our wine tour of Italy. Until then, Salute!

Did You Know that White Wine Can be Made from Red Wine Grapes?

Traditionally, white wine is made from ‘green’ grapes and red wine is made from ‘red’ grapes. But, did you know that white wines can be made from red wine grapes?

First, let’s take a quick look at how white and red wines are made. In the production of white wines, the grapes are pressed to extract the juice from the grapes. The juice may undergo additional processes to remove particles so that fermentation begins with clear juice. But, with red wines, the grape juice, skins and seeds are all present for fermentation. Then, the fermented red wine is drained from the tanks either by allowing the wine to freely drain, or by pressing the mixture to extract the wine.

The key to producing a red wine is the time that the red grapes and seeds spend soaking in the fermenting juice. If you simply were to press the red grapes, you’d find that the juice is nearly clear. It’s the skins that impart the color. So, to produce a white wine from a red wine grape, you simply don’t allow for any contact between the grape juice and the skins and seeds. That is, you simply follow the white wine-making process but using red grapes.

One of the most famous white wines that is made from red grapes is Champagne. Traditional Champagne is made from two red grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (Pee-noh Mehr-n'yay)) and one white wine grape (Chardonnay). The Champagne is a white wine because the clear juice from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes are combined with the clear juice from the Chardonnay grape prior to fermentation with no skin contact.

And, other white wines are produced from red wine grapes. Interestingly enough one of the biggest red wine grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, is being made into a white wine. And that will be the subject of the next Behind the Cork™ wine of the week feature. Look for it! Cheers!