October 2024 Wine of the Month Club

Portugal

     Portugal is famous for its wide array of wine regions, each presenting distinct varieties and styles. While many are aware of the Douro Valley, known for its Port wine and celebrated as one of the oldest wine-producing areas globally, the demand for Portuguese wines in the United States has been consistently rising in recent years, driven by a burgeoning interest in the country's varied wine selections. This month we've chosen to highlight two wines from regions beyond the Douro Valley, aiming to broaden your understanding of Portuguese wines and introduce you to different grape varieties.

     Bairrada is situated in northern-central Portugal between the Atlantic Ocean and the Dão region. Its proximity to the coast influences the climate, providing a unique terroir. The region has a mix of clay and limestone soils, which contribute to the distinct character of the wines. The Atlantic influence moderates temperatures and adds freshness. Famous for its sparkling wines and rich reds, particularly those made from the Baga grape, Bairrada is gaining recognition both nationally and internationally, making it an exciting region for wine enthusiasts to explore.

     Our red this month is called V Puro (“Puro” is the Portuguese word for pure) and is the passion project of two long-time friends, enologists, and viticulturists, Nuno Mira do Ó and João Soares. The pair love old vines and have a passion for hunting down and working with old vine Baga. Their discovery of an ancient vineyard in Bairrada with vines between 80 to 120 years of age sealed their partnership. Nuno is a first generation winemaker from an agricultural family. He studied agricultural engineering and fell in love with wines in college. Admittedly, he finds vines to be more interesting than cows, so he found his way to viticulture and then moved on to winemaking. From there he fell very fast for the old clones that made distinctly better wines than he found around him. Often it is one bottle of great wine that moves people into action, but in this case it was a dust-covered bottle of Baga found in the garage of a local farmer during a bit of vineyard negotiation that propelled Nuno from curiosity into perpetual motion. Despite the farmer not recalling the exact age, it was clearly old enough to be forgotten, made for household consumption, and uncorked for some time already.... and yet it sang as if it was young and well kept in a pristine cellar. He thought then if the grape could be this good, this old, without human care, then the vines that made it must be super stuff. And so the hunt began...

     Lisboa, the wine appellation along Portugal’s Atlantic Coast near Lisbon, stretches from the ocean to the foothills of the Serra de Sintra mountains. It has some of the country’s most historic vineyards, but beachfront development has mostly displaced viticulture in its various sub-regions such as Carcavelos, Bucelas, and, most famously, Colares, where vines grow wild on the beach, willing their way down through layers of sand to burrow into the clay underneath. Lisboa is primarily recognized for their white grape varieties such as Arinto, Fernão Pires, and Malvasia, which stand out due to their vibrant freshness and sharp acidity. These wines typically exhibit a crisp, aromatic profile, often revealing notes of flowers and citrus.

     This month’s white wine offers us a chance to experience the extreme terroir of Lisboa and its trove of native grapes, thanks to 93-year-old António Bernardino Paulo da Silva, who continues a family winemaking tradition that dates back to 1898. While other Portuguese wine firms look for large tracts of land to plant more-mainstream varieties like Touriga Nacional (along with “internationals” like Syrah), Paulo da Silva continues to contract with a wide array of tiny local farmers growing grapes most people have never heard of.  

Cheers,

Carrie Upson-GM and Wine Buyer