Can you recommend any good Portuguese red wines?!
One thing you have to know is that portuguese wines tend to be compex, that is, they are made joining several types of portuguese grapes not just one type of grape like you would normally see in french or even american wines.
What I can do is to recommend wines according to it's region, here it goes:
- Vinho Verde, north of Portugal, a unique type of wine from a unique type of grape harvested in a early maturation stage. Some brands are Alvarinho, Quinta da Aveleda.
- Douro region, the same region from where the true port wine comes but that also produces excellent table wines, the choice is huge, the wines are mild, more similar to the french.
- Alentejo region, south of Portugal, to me the most rich and where some of the biggest vineyards in Europe are located. Usually strong wines, aromatic and complex in bouquet. The wine Region is composed of several smaller regions, the most representative being the Reguengos de Monsaraz where you can find two of the biggest wineries in Portugal, one is Carmim the other Esporao (both have excellent web sites, google them up).
Answers: Sure, the tricky thing would be to know where you're from. If you're american, besides Port, good portuguese table wines are only available in either portuguese grocery stores or high end specialized wine stores. another difficulty is what to choose, Portugal is a very rich wine country with thousands of wines, from north to south.
One thing you have to know is that portuguese wines tend to be compex, that is, they are made joining several types of portuguese grapes not just one type of grape like you would normally see in french or even american wines.
What I can do is to recommend wines according to it's region, here it goes:
- Vinho Verde, north of Portugal, a unique type of wine from a unique type of grape harvested in a early maturation stage. Some brands are Alvarinho, Quinta da Aveleda.
- Douro region, the same region from where the true port wine comes but that also produces excellent table wines, the choice is huge, the wines are mild, more similar to the french.
- Alentejo region, south of Portugal, to me the most rich and where some of the biggest vineyards in Europe are located. Usually strong wines, aromatic and complex in bouquet. The wine Region is composed of several smaller regions, the most representative being the Reguengos de Monsaraz where you can find two of the biggest wineries in Portugal, one is Carmim the other Esporao (both have excellent web sites, google them up).