Learning and sipping your way through the country
This past Saturday I did an introductory course to the wines of Portugal at IWEG (the independent wine education guild). When I saw the course was available in the summer I immediately signed up for it. I was excited to know more about wine and food from all over the beautiful country of Portugal.
I love Portugal. The country is breathtaking, the food is wonderful, the wine is delicious and the people are beautiful. Not to mention how affordable it is to travel throughout the country, in an array of different places. The region's are so different and there is so much history everywhere.
In my course, we went through an array of regions and wines from all over the country. We did 5 whites, 9 reds and 3 fortified wines. Each one was so different and reflected the terain of the area it was from. The main region's we focused on were Vinho Verde, the Douro valley and Porto, Dão, Bairrada, Alentejo and Lisboa.
I was so excited to taste all of the wines. The whites impressed me so much and were so different. An Alvarinho from the north, blended with Arinto was so different from the same blend of grapes from a southern region. I imagined how good they would have been with seafood overlooking the ocean. The reds were as to be expected, wonderful with bold flavours of black fruit and tannin, perfect to be paired with food
Top picks from the tasting
-Quinta Do Covao White 2016 ($21.80 lcbo)-pear, honey, vanilla, citrus and lemon peel
Perfect with pork and seafood or served by itself
-Dona Santana 2009 ($28.65 lcbo)-juicy black fruit and bold tannins
Try it on steak night instead of your regular cabernet from California
The LCBO by the Stockyards has the largest selection of Portuguese wines, so you’re best bet is to head on up there to make your purchases
I will also add my top picks for places to go all over Portugal in another post, so keep your eyes posted if you're planning on travelling soon!
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