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 4th wine: Vida Nova Syrah / Aragónez 2007 Algarve, Portugal.

Known as the “the tourist destination” of Portugal, the Algarve is located in the sunny and beach laden south occupying 5,412 square kilometers. And though wine only takes up a small percentage of their exports,  producing much less than its fish, seafood, orange, carob bean, fig and almond production, it has become a hotspot for high end gastronomical delights.

Historically, wine took a greater precedence, but tourism has been the bane of its existence; substituting hotels, golf courses and shopping malls for large swaths of lush, green vineyards. In the last couple of years, investments have been made to revitalise the wine sector, but very few wineries have come out as true champions, such as Vida Nova.

Vida Nova, the Cliff Richard wine, is situated in Guia, a few kilometres northwest of Albufeira in the middle of the Algarve. The winey is situated at the top of Quinta do Miradouro and was built to produce high quality wine from three surrounding Quintas: Quinta do Moinho, Quinta do Miradouro and Vale do Sobreiro.

The wine is spicy and intense and goes superbly with Iberian pork fillets grilled with salt and lemon.

Another option is to go off the beaten path and pair this wine with octopus, a traditional and very appreciated ingredient in the Algarve. Although we traditionally might not suggest seafood with red wine, the tomato risotto may have enough richness to compliment it.

This receipe was taken from the “The Algarve Buzz“:

Risotto de Polvo

Source: Adapted from – Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa
Serves 2 generously, and can be doubled easily

• 1k polvo – cleaned
• ½ med. sized onion, whole
• 3/4 cup risotto rice
• ½ med sized onion, finely chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves- finely chopped
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes (or use fresh)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2tbsp tomato paste
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1tsp paprika
• pinch pepper
• 4 tbsp cilantro
• pinch of sugar
• ½ cup white wine
• fish stock, reserved from octopus
• boiling water

Prepare Octopus
Place octopus in med size pot halfway full of boiling water (aprox. 4 cups water), add ½ whole onion, and let boil for 10min, on medium high heat.

Drain octopus and reserve onion

Fill pot half full again and let come to boil place octopus back in with onion and cook for another 25 min. Until fork pierces tentacles easily.

When cooked, separate octopus from stock, place octopus on plate to cool and reserve stock. You can discard the onion.

When Octopus has cooled, chop into small chunks. Set aside.

*Note. Octopus is a bit slippery when raw but will firm up nicely once cooked. It will be rubbery when cooked for only a few minutes, it needs to cook until tender about 30min. It may also have a thin purplish skin, most of it will come off during the first blanching, any remain bits are fine and don’t need to be removed unless you prefer.

Prepare Risotto
In a sauté pan, add olive oil and garlic, let oil cook for a couple of minutes to infuse with garlic, then add chopped onion and cook until onions are transparent.

Add diced tomatoes in juice, tomato paste, bay leaf, a ½ cilantro, pepper, paprika and let tomatoes cook into sauce for about 10-15 minutes on medium heat.

Add pinch of sugar, this helps round out the acidity on the tomatoes, blend well into the sauce.

Add rice and coat well with sauce, then add half of the stock and gently stir. Keep hot water close by to add when rice begins to dry. Make sure to taste sauce with each small addition of water, you can substitute stock for water if you prefer a stronger seafood flavour.

Follow package directions for rice and add water as needed unit rice start to become tender, keep stirring to ensure creaminess of rice.

Just as rice becomes slightly tender, add chopped octopus, mix well, then add white wine, mix well again. Taste for salt. Octopus stock may already have enough salt so taste before adding more.

Risotto is best served immediately, sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve.

*Note. For a less fishy flavour you can substitute the octopus stock for a knorr seafood stock cube. Melt cube in 1 cup hot water and substitute for octopus stock.

The BIG Tasting with Oz Clarke is fast approaching, and after weeks of endless meetings, e-mails, phone calls and decisions, the event is finally planned, all the promotional material is in place, the website is live….so let the countdown begin.

The employees at Waitrose Canary Wharf and John Lewis on Oxford Street have been busy with the technology side of things. They have the responsibility to ensure that all the live streaming works on the night, so test runs have been happening in store to ensure that it all goes smoothly.

We asked Nick Room the wine buyer for Waitrose how this fun and exciting tasting benefits Waitrose and the image of Portuguese wines.

He said “The event gives good exposure to Portuguese wine and the broadcast is fronted by an excellent host, Oz Clarke, who is well known to millions. The event  is good publicity for Portuguese wine, as soon as people try Portuguese table wines they’ll love them enough to want to go on to purchase, this is because of the diversity, unique flavours, structure, weight, fruitiness, superb balance – all good attributes and delivering excellent value for money!”

Well Nick we couldn’t agree more! If you want to learn more about the Big tasting Visit the site! Or send us a question!

See you all soon!

The blends of the earth

Wine Detective Sarah Ahmed took charge of this year’s 50 Great Portuguese Wines selection, in which native grape varieties and even white wines enjoyed some deserved recognition

The first thing that struck the guests at this year’s 50 Great Portuguese Wines tasting in London – apart from the mass of bodies scrambling to sample Sarah Ahmed’s selections – was the unusual nature of wines one to 14. They were all white.

It was an unprecedented figure for the annual event, which is curated each year by a different trade personality. Richard Mayson’s inaugural selection, in 2005, was entirely red. But as Ahmed was at pains to point out, much has changed in Portuguese winemaking.

Not only are producers achieving remarkable results with white wines – Alvarinho was singled out for particular praise on this front – but Portugal has a new belief in its traditional grape varieties, and its famously intricate blends. Rather than being embarrassments in a wine market apparently obsessed with international varietals, these are trump cards, emphasising Portugal’s uniqueness.

Ahmed took a major interest in Portugal thanks to a 2004 WSET bursary, and was already making regular visits as part of her contributions to leading reference books when ViniPortugal appointed her this year’s judge.

Her selections are a mixture of “heart-stopping wines” and “ground-breakers”, meaning the top 50 list contains some of Portugal’s most feted wines but also many which “surpass the regional norm”, including debutantes from the Algarve and Colares.

Ahmed is in no doubt that Portugal can crack the UK market, and is encouraged by recent figures pointing to a 14% rise in volumes and a 10% increase in value. Her optimism is based on two main elements: “winemaking bravado, wed to viticultural excellence” and a marked improvement in bottle presentation.

“There’s a growing confidence and pride among Portuguese producers, and that’s really reflected in the style of the wines,” she says.

“Portuguese wine bottles used to be a bit stuffy and old-fashioned but there’s some wonderful labels now.” Crucially, she adds, more back labels are appearing in English.

Ahmed likes the “modesty” of Portuguese wines, which she believes matches the personality of the nation generally. “They don’t shout at you; you’re drawn back to the glass and you discover more and more things,” she says.

“You have people like Raymond Reynolds and Nick Oakley, total evangelists at distributor level, pushing Portugal and slowly building some momentum. I’ve certainly noticed that a lot more people are discovering Portugal, especially at the independent level and in the on-trade. And that’s completely understandable because they’re not wines where people will necessarily understand the grape varieties or back labels.”

Ahmed is evidently delighted to have been able to include 14 wines within her selection. “Five years ago there were none, and for good reason,” she says. “It’s an area where Portugal has improved immensely. I think people are going to notice clean, fruity wines – beautiful fruit, with minerality as well.

“There are some fantastic whites out there. Vinho Verde is a really exciting region and I’m really hoping that people will start to understand that. Alvarinho for me is going to be the white Touriga Nacional. It has sheer class and also mass appeal. It’s got that peachiness and apricot flavour but also Vinho Verde freshness and acidity.

“Among the reds, the Douro has really good consistent quality across a range of price points. Other regions like Dao are coming up: Dao used to make wines with fabulous structure, but they lacked a bit of flesh on the bones. They now have that flesh on the bones, without losing their Portuguese-ness. There’s an edge of tannin and acidity to balance them.”

Portugal is, like France, a country where the region is often more important than the variety, Ahmed maintains. “I think Portugal has a fantastic legacy in the Douro and Dao: old vines, mixed vineyards that just bring their own natural balance into the wine, and integrated complexity. That’s a massive trump card, for sure.

“Portugal has gone through a phase of single varietals in response to a perceived market demand, but because of greater confidence and pride they’re saying, let’s do it our way a little bit more. There’s more confidence to use native grape varieties than there was in the past.”

It’s a point vividly illustrated by Cristiano Van Zeller, winemaker at Lemos & Van Zeller in the Douro Valley, whose CV and Quinta Vale Dona Maria were both included in the 50 wines showcased in London. Each contains more than 25 varieties.

“The Douro is the best example of the great mixture of different grape varieties,” Van Zeller says. “Any vineyards before 1970 were planted with a big mixture of different grape varieties. A few producers still keep some of these older vineyards to make something that has unique character.”

He dismisses the suggestion that growers often had no idea what was in their vineyards. “They knew exactly what they were planting,” he insists. “It was based on empirical knowledge: not every disease attacks every variety at the same time; some varieties produce more grapes some years, some less; there are also variations in acidity and structure; some varieties are floral, some fruity. So it was the blend that produced the consistency and the exquisite complexity in the wine. That’s what makes it different.

“I think we as producers are learning that we can make wines that differentiate themselves from the rest of the world. A lot of winemakers are understanding that they can produce better wines, more complex wines, by blending. In some cases, even blending before fermentation.”

But at the other end of the scale, Ahmed’s selection also includes Quinta do Monte d’Oiro Reserva 2006, a Vinho Regional Lisboa, made of 96% Syrah and 4% Viognier. Winemaker José Bento dos Santos is equally proud of his pure Viognier, which he is happy to compare to Condrieu.

His wines are in limited production but have won acclaim in the US, Hong Kong and even France. As yet he has not identified a UK importer, but is hopeful of achieving success here among discerning consumers.

“I think people understand that wine is either something that is singular – it comes from a certain area, it’s made with passion – or it comes from anywhere,” he says. “We are producing a gastronomic wine. All my life I’ve been involved in gastronomy. Wine for me only makes sense if it is drunk with a meal.”

Judy Kendrick, whose JK Marketing business organises the 50 Greatest Wines project – and other UK events  for ViniPortugal – is hopeful that a breakthrough is imminent.

“Portugal makes some fantastic wines and even at the top level they are great value for money,” she says. Importers like Raymond Reynolds and Oakley, long-standing supporters of Portugal, are reaping hard-earned rewards and brands are creating more consumer awareness.

“Waitrose, Majestic, the Wine Society and Direct Wines are doing an absolutely brilliant job – and others as well,” she adds. “They’re building their ranges, even in the recession. The UK remains Portugal’s second largest market – and our mission this year is to get even more distribution.”

article by Graham Holter