^
good post, good wine list
I had an mid-level expensive wine from Douro tonight -- Quinta Vale Dona Maria 2014. Was solid.
But I am leaning more towards Dao and Alentejo as my favorite Portuguese wine regions. The encruzado grape from dao makes a nice, unique white wine.
I tried to find older Mouchaos, but the only one I could find was 2011. Anyway, I tried their entry level, a younger one, Dom Rafael. Liked it, but again, price point puts it out of "I have to drink this again" category. I think the one you describe is 100% alicante bouchet, so if one was in Portugal and had the money, it should be a no brainer.
Morales, you'd be shocked what is available for Canadian wines now, but that is a different post (hit me up if you decide to visit).
Last day of my trip, and I will say that where Portugal shines on wine is at the table wine price point (slightly better than other table wines), can hold steady under $35 USD, and then loses ground above that (given the choice, most would go for a French, Italian, or USA wine over $35).
Since this is the Porto thread, I recommend visiting the wine shop Touriga. The staff there will set you up with some solid wines for your stay.
Quote: (10-09-2017 06:00 PM)Icarus Wrote:
Perhaps wine is "classy" and "elitist" in North America. In Portugal, everyone drinks it. The rich can afford to drink exquisite vintage Port over a century old, of course. But even broke students can afford pretty decent wine.
What is "classy" and "elitist" in Portugal is craft beer. It's a new trend, and hipsters seem to be all over it. If you actually do love beer, you probably won't tolerate the major Portuguese brands of beer. You will be looking for a craft beer shop, too.
It's like you are writing to a crazed straw man version of me.
I'm talking about value wines here, my man. $15-$35 USD. Of course if you drank a $100 wine I would expect it to be good. The question is, is it as good/memorable as a French/Italian $100 bottle? If not, why am I paying for it -- because it is the only thing that is available?
I'm sorry you are so sad that I don't think Portugal makes the best wines in the world. And I am excited for you to discover Canadian wines, because they are much better than you think.