Portuguese winemakers eye success with red wines

Above: Woman harvesting Trincadeira grapes, a variety that is part of the Periquita blend, taken in September 1996.

REUTERS/J.M. da Fonseca/Handout
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Portuguese winemakers hope to replicate the success of their Vinho Verde, the slightly fizzy white wine that Americans guzzled by the case, with their red wines.

The challenge for the winemakers is to get Americans to taste something other than the Vinho Verde. Last year, they drank more than 105,000 cases - a 124 percent rise in consumption from 2005, according to Nielsen research.

"The U.S. consumer, in my opinion, is always looking for new things. They continue to look for new things to try and don't mind spending when the wine is worth it," said Antonio Franco, a member of the seventh generation of winemakers at the house of Jose Maria Da Fonseca.

Luckily for Americans even as the dollar weakens against the euro, most Portuguese wines sell for well under $20 a bottle.



And for city dwellers, who may lack the room for a proper wine cellar, most of it is meant to be consumed upon release. Of course, one can decide to lay down a case of Periquita Reserva 2004, a blend of Castelao, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, or Dao Sul Quinta de Cabriz Reserva 2005, for a few years, but it is not necessary.

Franco's uncle, Domingos Soares Franco, is the chief winemaker of the family and the first to graduate from the University of California at Davis, where he learned to "bring the technology of the new world to the grapes of Portugal," Franco said during a visit to New York.

The visit followed on the heels of the ViniPortugal trade association show that brought more than 60 winemakers, including Dao Sul's Carlos Lucas, the 2007 winner of Portugal's winemaker of the year, to New York to showcase their wines.

Most spoke of how they used native grapes such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Castelao and Tinta Roriz in elegant blends that reflect the native soils.

"We're keeping to our native grapes. It is a point of pride for us," said Franco.

There are more than 65 indigenous varieties used in the various blends that can produce wines as light as Vinho Verde to as rich as Port and Madeira.

In between are a panoply of reds such as Aveleda Charamba, a medium-bodied red with red currant aromas made from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Roriz, or Ramos Pinto Adriano Red 2006, a deep inky almost purple blend of Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional that is a wine with structure and finesse.

"People (Americans) don't know the grapes," said the 31-year-old father of three, who earned an MBA at Columbia University.

"But when they taste the wine, they will really appreciate it."

Source: Reuters