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Introduction to wines of Portugal and occasionally some personal recommendations by Bill Silvert, Webmaster for this site.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Good cheap wine
Recently we have been drinking Azinhaga de Ouro as our basic house wine. It is quite satisfactory, and at €1,29 it is a real bargain. I have only seen it for sale at Lidl. [Added note - in August 2007 we could no longer find this wine, it seems to have been discontinued. We tried to contact the producer without luck.]
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Alternate Blog
Go to the Expats in Portugal blog for the current food info. I will continue to add very personal stuff here, but that is the place to go for the best information!
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Fortified Wines
Fortified wines are ones which have been enriched with brandy. The best known is port wine, Vinho do Porto, although Madeira is another popular type. They tend to be fairly sweet. Ruby Port is very sweet, almost sticky, and I prefer Tawny Port. White Port makes a nice aperitif and is usually drunk chilled.
You may enjoy visiting the Port wineries in Vila Nova de Gaia when you go to Porto.
You may enjoy visiting the Port wineries in Vila Nova de Gaia when you go to Porto.
Aguardiente
Aguardiente is Portuguese brandy, and has a lot more character than most brandies (including cognac). The best is aguardiente velha, old brandy, which has to be tried to be appreciated.
Vinho Verde
Vinho verde literally means "green wine" but almost all are light white wines with a bit of a crackle to them, and they make for refreshing drinking on a hot summer day.
The red green wines, vinhos verdes tintos, are quite different - very acidic and hard to get used to. They go well with greasy foods like pork, but some people prefer to use them as paint remover!
The red green wines, vinhos verdes tintos, are quite different - very acidic and hard to get used to. They go well with greasy foods like pork, but some people prefer to use them as paint remover!
White Wines
White wines, vinhos brancos, can be good but in general they are not as good or as popular as the red wines. The most popular are the vinhos verdes, but mature white wines exist and can be very nice.
Red Wines
Red wines, vinhos tintos, are the most common and for the most part the best wines in Portugal. There are many different kinds from all over the country.
Vocabulary
Here are some basic terms:
Vinho - wine
Tinto - red
Branco - white
Verde - green, but for wine it means young
Maduro - mature
Aguardiente - brandy
Casta - type of grape used (Portuguese varietals are unique!)
Vinho - wine
Tinto - red
Branco - white
Verde - green, but for wine it means young
Maduro - mature
Aguardiente - brandy
Casta - type of grape used (Portuguese varietals are unique!)
Introduction
This blog provides an overview of the wines of Portugal with a few specific recommendations. These all reflect the personal views of Bill Silvert and are not expert opinions.
