Gourmet Guide - a la carte
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1.
The Renaissance of Grappa
People used to drink grappa to warm themselves up ...read more
2.
Southern Comfort – The Grand Old Drink of the South
The idea is as simple as it is ingenious: Over 135 years ago a barkeeper mixed whiskey ...read more
3.
Chablis
When the question arises about which wine goes well with fish and seafood, many people think of Chablis first ...read more
4.
We don’t want to make more wine, we want to make better wines
Torres, the Spanish family business, was recently placed atop the British “Green List” of environmentally friendly winer ...read more
5.
Noblesse oblige
Within just a few years the Schloss Proschwitz winery has become the hallmark of Saxon wine culture ...read more
6.
Cocoa – the Bittersweet Temptation
No matter whether it’s a bar or cake, biscuits or confectionary, pudding or praline ...read more
7.
Milk
One of humanity’s oldest forms of natural nutrition, milk is the universal ...read more
8.
Silvaner – Goethe’s Favourite Drink
Up to the 1970s Silvaner was the most widely cultivated grape variety in Germany ...read more
9.
Off to Hungary for the wine
Goethe had an appreciation for Tokay, the Hungarian dessert wine, but he was not the only one ...read more
10.
Sparkling Freshness: Crémant d’Alsace
With sparkling wine from France everyone first immediately thinks of Champagne ...read more
11.
Federweißer – New Wine with Lots of Flavour
The wine harvest just coming to a close bestows us not only new wine ...read more
12.
Harvesting Cava in Penedès
Once the grapes are fully ripe at the end of August ...read more
13.
Punches – fruity thirst-quenchers
Along with summer comes thirst – and the time for punches ...read more
14.
Noilly Prat – more than just an aperitif
It is used extensively in making sauces because it goes well with fish ...read more
15.
Beer – a very special juice
Hardly any drink is as versatile and old as beer ...read more
16.
Sake – Diversity of Aromas
"Good sake is like the water of a pure mountain spring,” say the Japanese ...read more
17.
Wines of Madeira
Madera wine, often shortened to "Madeira" ...read more
18.
Eco wine – mystic power plants
In this era of globalization increasing ...read more
19.
Hope at the Cape
In spite of a century-old tradition, many successful periods ...read more
20.
Model pupil from the Languedoc
No wine coming from the family of the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild ...read more
21.
A Lot New in the West
No country in the world has as many separate varieties of grapes as Portugal ...read more
22.
Vineland South Tyrol
For a long time wine from South Tyrol (Trentino Alto Adige) had a bad name ...read more
23.
Portugal’s red wines – moving up to the top
“Every Portuguese has his vineyard”, goes the saying in Portugal ...read more
24.
Franciacorta – effervescent Italy
Franciacorta is to Italy what Champagne is to France ...read more
25.
Prosecco – the sparkling Italian
A summer without Prosecco? Inconceivable ...read more
26.
Sherry – proud and elegant
It is as pale as straw and young, or as dark as toffee ...read more
27.
A place with plenty of time
In Lynchburg, Tennessee, bourbon is being made the same way ...read more
28.
Things are happening in Languedoc-Roussillon
Almost 40 per cent of French wine comes from the Mediterranean region of Languedoc-Roussillon ...read more

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DRINKING STORY
Portugal’s red wines – moving up to the top
Portugal’s red wines – moving up to the top
“Every Portuguese has his vineyard”, goes the saying in Portugal. Indeed: in no country in the world is there such a wide variety of native grape types and individual wines as in the Iberian republic.


In view of the global triumph of Cabernet and Merlot, Portugal with its 500 or so indigenous grape varieties – types that are found nowhere else in the world – remains one of the last bastions of diversity and autonomy. Although there are sporadic instances of experimentation with wine in the international style, the key emphasis of wine production in Portugal lies on the country’s own traditional grape varieties. They are cultivated in 32 regions of classified quality, some which were only recently established; 26 of these have been granted the higher D.O.C. status – “Denominaçao de Origem Controlada”.
Some of the best red wines come from the Douro valley, the home of port in the north-west of the republic. Stretching away to the east of Porto along the Douro river are arid, weather-beaten terraces cut into slate slopes on which such varieties as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Roriz (called Tempranillo in Spain) are grown. Touriga Nacional creates dark red wines with a fine fruitiness (blackcurrants), a complex ensemble of tastes and thick tannins. Wine made from Touriga Francesa is somewhat lighter and gentler than that of the Touriga Nacional and is outstanding for its delicate aromas and sumptuous bouquet. Tinta Roriz, which is now increasingly cultivated as a single varietal, offers an extensive range of fruity flavours (cherry, blackberry, mulberry), a deep tannin structure and a ruby red to inky violet colour.
In the Dão region north-east of Lisbon the wines pressed from Touriga Nacional grapes are full-bodied and age well. The coastal region Bairrada between Lisbon and Porto owes its name to the clay (barro) which, together with the widespread limey soil, gives the region’s wines their distinctive character. Bairrada is also home to the Baga grape, the most broadly cultivated black grape in Portugal, from which highly tannic, decidedly acidic, dark red wines with fruity bouquets are made, which also age well.
Ribatejo – quality as well as quantity
About a dozen small wine-growing districts in the eastern hinterland of Lisbon make up the Ribatejo region on the shores of the Tagus river, where the best wines are made. Until recently the wines from Portugal’s second largest wine-producing region were characterized by their consistent structure and natural complexity, but tended to lack expressive fragrance and distinctive character. However, several young viticulturists have now adopted an innovative approach, raising hopes that here too exciting things can be expected.
The south-eastern region of Alentejo, called “Portuguese California” due to its hot climate, is the flavour of the moment among wine lovers. The area produces high-end wines from international as well as native varietals – such as Tinta Roriz (here known as Aragonez), Periquita and Trincadeira – which are made by both modern and traditional methods. Unfortunately, the most interesting Portuguese wines are often exorbitantly expensive outside the country. And occasionally, when the wine’s woodiness smothers the flavours of fruit, one cannot help feeling that it has lain for too long in the barrel. For serious oenophiles Portugal is certainly worth a visit!