Travel Canada Cheaply: GRAPES

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

PORTUGAL’S INDIGENOUS GRAPES.

Although many wine producing countries, even those in Europe plant French, Italian and Spanish grape varieties, Portuguese have only now started experimenting with a few. They implicitly believe that their indigenous grapes are every bit as good as their world-famous brethren, albeit less well known, and probably more difficult to pronounce by English and French consumers.
When Portugal joined the European Union, wine research was minimal. Wineries and research institutes simply didn’t have the funds to conduct research. Since then, millions have been poured into in-depth vitivincultural research that has improved vineyard technology and helped young winemakers to produce scientifically and artistically better wines.
Here is a selection of Portugal’s indigenous grape varieties:

Alvarinho – acclaimed as the best white grape variety in northern Portugal Low yielding alvarinho yields aromatic, citrusy, mango and passion fruit smelling full-bodied wines. In can be cellared for up to five years.
The Spanish call it albarino and grow substantial quantities only a few kilometres away from Portugal in northwestern Spain.

Anato vaz – is at home in southern Alentejo, and yields full-bodied, aromatic, minerally and spicy wines. It is generally vinified as a varietal wine, but may be blended with arinto.

Arinto – at home in Bucelas close to the Atlantic Ocean, yields floral, fruity wines, that age well. In the north arinto tends to produce acid-driven wines better suited for blending.
Bical ripens early and has a good acid sugar balance. Planted in Dao and Bairrada, bical wines are generally used for sparkling wine production.

Encruzado – is at home in Dao yielding aromatic, harmonious, citrusy wines of note. Many wineries market a varietal version and another blended with bical under trade names.

Fernao pires (aka. Maria Gomes) – is the most popular of all and is planted in Dao, Douro, and Alentejo.It ripens early and yields abundantly. Fernao pires wines have a floral smell, are full bodied, and may be barrel fermented for complexity.

Loureiro – yields elegant and highly aromatic wines in Vinhos verdes region in northern Portugal Occasionally, a varietal vinho verde is made, but mostly loureiro goes into blends of vinho verde.

Malvasia fina- ripens early and yields abundantly, particularly in teh Douro valley. It yields honeyed, smoky wines that are used in white Port wine blends or as a vareital.

Moscatel – a centuries-old Mediterranean grape, thrives in Portugal, particularly around Setubal. Moscatel de Setubal is a sweet wine that smells of oranges and honey. Moscatel de Setubal is always high in alcohol and cellar worthy.

Sirio (a.k.a.) Roupeiro) yields delicate, acid-driven wines of finesse in Beira.
Alfrocheiro – is considered one of the best red wine grapes in Portugal. It grows well in Dao, Ribatejo, and Palmela, yields abundantly, and yields dark wines with powerful tannins. Usually blended with touriga nacional and aragonez . As a varietal, if skilfully made, it can be very appealing and rewarding.

Alicante Bouchet – is a cross between Bouchet and Grenache and developed in France late in the 19th century. It has been planted in Portugal for over a century and acclimatized well. It is used as a blending wine generally with trincadeira and aragonez.

Aragonez (tinta roriz) – originally from Rioja in Spain, aragonez ripens early in Portugal and yields powerful dark wines, when yields are kept low.

Baga – yields its best in Bairrada when yields are kept low and wines are carefully vinified. It ripens late, but yields elegant, high-alcohol, age worthy, fruity, and balanced wines.

Castelao - (a.ka. periqutia) – grows everywhere. It likes hot dry climates and sandy soils.
Often blended with other grapes. J.M. Fonseca produces a varietal that has good fruit, medium body and fine texture.

Tinta barroca – is at home in the Douro Valley but is also planted, in limited quantities, elsewhere in Portugal. Mostly, tinta barroca goes into port wine blends. It yields generously, ripens early, and is not sensitive to diseases. It produces easy drinking, jammy, and raisiny wines.

Tinta cao – constitutes one of the five most important grapes of port wine blends. It thrives in hot and dry regions. Tinta cao wines are elegant, with soft, harmonious texture and age well. It yields fine varietal table wines particularly in the Douro Valley close to the Atlantic Ocean.

Touriga franca – is one of the most important grape varieties of the Douro Valley. There are thousands of hectares of vineyards of touriga franca elsewhere in Portugal. It has the ability to resist grape diseases, ripens early and yields generously.
Besides being a component in port blends, it yields fruity, elegant, dark red, cellar worthy varietal table wines elsewhere.

Touriga nacional – yields noble table wines and constitutes one of the most important components of any red port blend. Originally from the Dao region, it was planted in the second half of the 20th century in the Douro Valley.
Touriga nacional wines waft aromas of blackberries, forest floor, and are always full-bodied. High in tannins, touriga nacional wines age well. Now it is planted in Bairrada, Ribatejo, Estremadura, Setubal, Alentejo and Algarve.

Trincadeira – like heat and has been traditionally planted in Alentejo. Under the name tinta amarela, it appears in the Douro Valley. Yields full-bodied, herbal tasting wines with high tannin. Trincadeira wines age well and are often blended with aragonez to result in succulent, well-extracted wines suitable to match with roast beef and hard cheeses.
Portugal has many other indigenous grape varieties in its different and diverse wine growing regions. The above are the most important.
Lately cabernet sauvignon, syrah, chardonnay, and grenache have been planted for blending with local grapes. Most of these blends are technically well made and sound wines that deserve the attention of consumers who like to experience a variety of tastes and textures.

Monday, January 31, 2011

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Now that some outstanding wines are produced in Ontario wineries, I think, it is time to think about the most suitable grape varieties for the terroir.

There is now sufficient data and expertise that certain varieties are more suitable than others. They can be listed as – chardonnay, Riesling, pinot noir, and cabernet franc. Gewurztraminer may also be a candidate, but as of yet quantities produced are insufficient to draw definite conclusions.

As a cool-climate continental region, Niagara is often compared to Burgundy, but there are many differences between the two. In Niagara, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, and to a lesser extent Lake Erie influence the climate favourably. Niagara and Lake Erie North Shore enjoy considerably more hours of sunshine than Burgundy, and lower precipitation.

The wines are fuller, more opulent, and filled with elegance and refinement, especially when they are aged in French oak barrels.

Le Clos Jordan regular, and single vineyard (Talon Ridge etc.) chardonnays can compete with the best in Burgundy, as do the series of Tawse Winery called Sketches of Niagara, Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay Reserve, and Hidden Bench Chardonnay Reserve.

In the un-oaked chardonnay category, the Flat Rock cellar’s version stands out among others.

Riesling is very suitable for Niagara peninsula’s and Prince Edward County’s limestone, gravel and clay soils. The bench are west of St. Catharines, and St. David’s Bench , and the Escarpment vineyards yield extraordinary Rieslings of refinement, and succulence with underlying minerality.

Vineland Estates’ St. Urban Riesling, Featherstone’s Old Vines Riesling, Chateau des Charmes Old Vine Riesling are highly recommended, particularly 2007 and 2008 vintages.

Ontario riesling also yields extraordinary icewines that are lush, elegant, balanced and refined.

Pinot noire is a fickle grape. It requires suitable limestone/gravel soils, with perfect sun exposure, the right cooling breezes at the right time and moisture just enough to plump the fruit.

Specific vineyard sites in Niagara and Prince Edward County have proven to be very well suited for pinot noir.

In successful vintages Ontario pinot noir exude cherry, plum aromas and earthy flavours.

Norman Hardie`s and Long Dog`s pinot noir from Prince Edward County are remarkable, as are those from Les Clos Jordanne and Wayne Gretzky`s estate.

Hidden bench, Reif and Lailley also produce very fine pinot noir wines worth the attention of wine connoisseurs.

Cabernet franc is considered the “spice” Bordeaux blends. It offers elegant and refined fruit with a little spice on midpalate to liven the texture. It ripens late and must be pruned to yield approximately five tons of fruit per hectare.

Thirty Bench, Reif, Chateau des Charmes, Tawse all blend cabernet franc into their wines. Few make cabernet franc varietal wine, but I am confident, more will do so in the near future.

Up to recently Ontario sparkling wines were few, and failed to capture the imagination and “palates” of Ontarians, but the situation is changing rapidly, as more and more grape growers understand how to grow sufficiently acid grapes for winemakers to achieve success.

Flat Rock Cellars, Chateau des Charmes, and Henry of Pelham are well noted fro their methode classique (methode champenoise) sparklers with that display of fine perlage, elegance, light texture and are fragrant with apple/pear aromas.

Icewine has now become the “flagship” of Ontario. The province produces more than 75 percent of the total Canadian output.

Icewine was invented, by an unfortunate event, which resulted in a miraculously sweet and rich wine.

Yet the credit to making internationally famous goes to Ontario wineries like Inniskillin and in particular Donald Ziraldo and Charlie Pillitteri of Pillitteri Estates winery.

Donald Ziraldo spent considerable time, funds and effort in Hong-Kong, China, and Japan, while Charlie Pillitteri continues his efforts in those countries, plus South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The first successful icewines were made using vidal , since then, riesling, cabernet franc, gewürztraminer, even chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, pinot blanc, semillon are employed to create variations on the theme.

Sparkling icewines are also beginning to make inroads into this highly specialized segment of the industry. Sparkling icewine was invented in Ontario and still today Canada is the only country that produces this excellent libation.

Ziraldo Estate Winery, Pillitteri Estates Malivoire, Reif, Vineland Estates, Château des Charmes, Konzelmann, are only some of the wineries that produce excellent icewines in Ontario.

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Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?

Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

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Tags: Grapes, Ontario, Terroir

This entry was posted on Monday, January 3rd, 2011 at 06:00 and is filed under Food & Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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