Paula Maia's Wine blog

Portugal has over 340 local grape varieties, but only about a dozen make quality wine. The ones used in the Douro wine region for the production of Port and still wines are Touriga Nacional,  Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cao, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Roriz- the Portuguese name for Tempranillo. In Porto, the city that gives name to its wine, there’s an institute and a museum dedicated just to Port wines- the Port Wine Institute and the Port Wine Museum, respectively.

The port wines are actually made in the wineries located in the Douro valley, and travel through the Douro river to Vila Nova de Gaia, across the city of Porto, where they are stored in the winery’s lodge. One can easily spend a day or two there, tasting Port and visiting the area, which is really beautiful. The view from either bank is gorgeous, specially at night. There’s great food and Fado on both sides, not to mention the wine, of course.

Oh, and the beaches… Right in the city you can go for a dip on your lunch break, or suntan while munching on a cod fritter. I wish I had more time to visit the Minho, a white wine region above Porto, where the Vinho Verde comes from and where the best surf beaches in Portugal are found. I always had a thing for surfing, but maybe it’s not a good idea now that I’ve developed a bigger thing for wine, or at least not the two combined…

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La Mancha happens to be the largest demarcated wine region in the world and it lies just 200km south of Madrid. I spent a whole day at Pago del Vicario, in its beautiful organically designed complex that blends in with the landscape and its surrounding vineyards. The region is so flat that anything would stand out, but the winery’s hotel and restaurant rather integrate with nature and cannot even be seen from afar.

Pago del Vicario is denominated Vino de la Tierra, the equivalent of Vins de Pays in France, which theoretically is one step below the DO wines, but allows the producer greater freedom, so experimentation runs wild. Having that said, it was Susana Lopes, the winemaker at Pago del Vicario who came up with the first Blanco de Tempranillo, a white wine made from the black grape Tempranillo- what the French call a Blanc du Noir- and I call heaven.

A delicious, refreshing, 100% free run juice with a delicate and yet racy palate. I brag on the fact that I was the first person to carry this wine in NY and having tasted every vintage since its release, I must say that its evolution is remarkable. The wine is leaner and elegant, which makes it a great afternoon wine or aperitif, not to mention a perfect sea food pairing. I could have had an entire bottle by their pool on that 104F degree afternoon, but a swimsuit wasn’t an option.

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The first wine region I visited in Spain was Toro, one of the DOs found in Castilla y Leon, located around the Duero river west of Ribera del Duero and northwest of Rueda. The Duero crosses the region from east to west, becoming the Douro as it drifts through Portugal. Toro wine history dates back to before the Romans and, as the name evokes, has always produced big and bold wines from pre-philloxera vines. Legend has it that it was Toro wines that accompanied Columbus on his journey to discover America.

In the last twenty  years Toro has experienced a complete revitalization, with many high-profile wineries such as Vega Sicilia investing in the area. It was in the year 2000, almost a decade before the giant group Louis Vouitton Moet & Chandon recognized the region’s potential, that Bodega Dos Victorias was born. Headed by Victoria Benavides, the winery carries its prior proprietor name, Elias Mora. Today Elias Mora is one of the best examples of traditional wine making in Spain.

Victoria Benavides with enologist Vanesa Perez Martinez produce wines from 100% free standing, very old Tinta de Toro bushes that grow on sandy soils covered with rocks. Hard to imagine that anything would thrive in this near-desert environment, but the native grape- a local variant of Tempranillo- loves it. That along with the altitude, harsh winters and short dry summers, yield a concentrated potion of ripe dark fruit, beautiful complex balance and eternal finish. No wonder every wine has achieved over 90 points from all critics and publications.

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