Port carving by Weshoyot Alvitre — learn more https://www.weshoyot.com
Dessert is tricky for wine pairings because the wine needs to be sweeter than the dessert, and what’s the point of a dessert that has no sweetness to it? In general, I’m a solid NO when it comes to pairing dessert with wine– unless that wine is a dessert wine like Madeira or Port from Portugal.
So what wine to pair with dessert, especially dark chocolate? How about these two Port wines from Portugal?
Portugal has an astounding number of native grapes, second only to Italy which often produces mono-varietal wines from its native grapes while Portugal generally plants a few kinds in the vineyard and blends them. Some Portuguese producers make mono-varietal Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Antão Vaz, Baga, Loureiro, and others, however, generally Portuguese wines are blends like two of the three we have below and these four from Alentejo.
But as we discussed here in “Discover Portugal’s Native Grapes in Esporao Organic Blends Paired Alentejo Pork and Clams,” some of these grapes are better known by their Spanish or international names while others are not known at all. This month, the Wine Pairing Weekend crew of writers investigates wines from grapes that are new to us (scroll down for links!), and since for Sue and I at this point those wines are rare and few and far in between, we decided to focus on Portugal, where we found a wine which is completely new to us– BAGA.
Like other wines from Portugal, Baga is actually really well know to wine lovers of a certain generation: Continue reading
Riding through the rolling hills of Portugal from Lisbon to Evora in the Alentejo, sleepy from jet lag and struggling to keep my eyes open, listening to my hosts share tidbits of culture and facts about wine along the way, I was startled wide awake when I heard that Portugal Continue reading
Slow Wine Guide 2022
Can food be a bridge to peace? The Slow Wine Coalition, as part of the wider Slow Food network, believes it can: “through inclusion and exchange, we can cultivate a better future together.”
The Slow Wine Coalition started in Italy inspired by the Slow Food Movement which began in 1986 after a “demonstration on the intended site of a McDonald’s at the Spanish Steps in Rome.” Since then,the movement advocates “a comprehensive approach to food that recognizes the strong connections between plate, planet, people, politics and culture.”
“Speed became our shackles. We fell prey to the same virus: ‘the fast life.’”
How do we find peace and freedom? Slow down! Share organic food and wine!
According to the Slow Food website, “Slow Food believes that wine, just as with food, must be good, clean, and fair — not just good.”
La Maliosa: organic, natural wines
On her 160 hectare farm in the Maremman Hills in southwestern Tuscany, Fattoria La Maliosa’s owner Antonella Manuli makes natural wine using indigenous grapes that have been certified organic and biodynamic since 2010. She also holds the patent for the Metodo Corino, a regenerative agricultural method which, while similar to biodynamics, uses no animal products.
What exactly does all that mean? What’s the difference between wine that is organic, natural, biodynamic, or not? This is the question Italian Food Wine Travel group of writers is exploring this March with host Katarina Andersson.
“Natural wine is … living wine from living soil,” Continue reading
this vineyard is located just below the F for Fillmore along the 126 in Ventura County
I have a great story to tell about this vineyard. About head training. About drought. About climate change. About wandering around in a citrus orchard on a cold windy wintry day. About sandwiches from Roan. About the Block F Zinfandel made from the first harvest from this vineyard that the bears didn’t get. Continue reading
2 reds from 8 at the Gate paired with meat pie floater
In the spirit of reconciliation, Eight at the Gate acknowledges the First Nations people of our region, the Bindjali people who are the traditional custodians of the land, and their spiritual relationship with this country. So states Eight at the Gate prominently on their website setting a tone for respect for people and place.
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 