Wines for The Big Tasting: Quinta de la Rosa Reserva 2008
Continuing our mission to highlight every wine that will be tasted during The Big Tasting with Oz Clark on April 12th, we’ve now moved on to the 3rd wine: Quinta de la Rosa Reserva 2008.
The Quinta de la Rosa vineyard is located in beautiful terraced vineyards carved by the winding Douro River. The region itself contains primarily schist soils and is surrounded by the Marão and Montemuro mountain ranges. Consequently, despite the 250,000 hectares in the Douro, only 40,000 of it has been dedicated to culturing vines. Working the vines is primarily done by hand as the combination of slippery and sharp soils in conjunction with incredibly steep terrain makes vine growing in the area more of an extreme sport than a romantic vocation.
The winery is run by the father and daughter team, Tim and Sophia Bergquist, along with the support of Sophia’s brother, Phillip. The winery was originally given to Sophia’s grandmother as a christening present over 100 years ago.
Sophia Bergquist describes this wine as big, juicy and surprisingly good. She recommends steak, stews, meats, cheese, and even chicken to go with this wine.
We thought a good recipe might be: Costelas Vinho d’alhos (Wine and Garlic Marinated Pork Ribs)
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon molho picante (hot chili sauce)
1 cup wine
5 pounds meaty pork ribs
- In a large non-reactive ceramic, glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the garlic, salt, lemon juice, chili sauce, and wine.
- If you have the ribs in a rack, separate them by cutting between the ribs to separate them. Place all the ribs in the bowl, turning them in the marinade to coat thoroughly. You can double the marinade recipe if needed.
- Marinate the ribs 24 to 36 hours. Grill over medium hot coals or wood fire , turning as needed, cooking until the meat is nearly falling off the bone.
Variation: You can also toss them in a roasting pan, marinade and all, braise the ribs in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degree F. and then transfer them to the grill for the finishing touch.
What kinds of foods or music would you pair with this wine?
Share your thoughts on the wine!
