The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2013

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João Pedro Araujo of Casa de Cello makes dry whites capable of aging. PHOTO: LANA BORTOLOT Vinho Verde Portugal's bottled wine exports to the U.S. reached the one million case mark last year—an increase of more than 30 percent in recent years and one that's being driven by the popularity of Sogrape's Gazela Vinho Verde and the red blends of Alentejo-based Esporão—and now encompassing wines made from grape varieties few consumers could pronounce a few years ago. What's helped: communicating that Portugal is a country of blended wines, a category that's finding favor with consumers and a model that the port producers of Douro mastered long. And consumers making the same discoveries in Portugal that they did in Spain a few years ago: excellent quality-to-price ratio. Though the economy is in a slump, the winemaking is not. Here's our report of the most dynamic regions. PHOTO: LANA BORTOLOT PHOTO COURTESY OF QUINTA DA RAZA Mafalda Teixeira Coelho and Diogo Teixeira Coelho, owners of Quinta da Raza, with family member Chef Ricardo Teixeira Coelho. Things are popping at Diogo Teixeira Coelho's new Quinta da Raza winery in Basto, an eastern subregion of the Vinho Verde. The wines here have bracing acidity and citrus thanks to the granite, schist and clay soils unique to the area. Though Alvarinho is most closely associated with this region, you won't find mono-varietal Alvarinho produced here and labeled as Vinho Verde. "It's difficult to get a balanced wine in a single variety with the high acidity," says Coelho, a fifth-generation winegrower. He produces focused Vinho Verde DOC whites from Alvarinho, Arinto, Azal and Trajadura, and is lobbying for the right to elevate the designation of his mono-varietal Alvarhino to DOC. "We believe that everyone who produces Alvarinho should be able to use both the name of the variety and the term Vinho Verde on the label," says Coelho. At Casa de Cello, João Pedro Araujo, who produces wines in both the Vinho Verde and nearby Dão DOCs, is taking a different path, foregoing, if not dismissing the CO2 that defines Vinho Verde's style. "If you like bubbles, you should buy Champagne," he says. He is frustrated by the perception that the wines are cheap and cheerful. "Our wines are not about the price . . . I work like a mad guy to promote what is good." He, like other producers, consults with star winemaker Anselmo Mendes.  Araujo wants equal footing with other wines of the world, and he may accomplish that. His aptly named "Terroir Mineral," a Loureiro and Avesso blend, has a depth and intensity rare for whites here, developing Riesling-like characters with age. "We must change the idea of Portugal: We are not a poor country and we should not make poor wines," he says. december 2013  /  the tasting panel  /  89 TP1213_064-103.indd 89 11/23/13 8:35 PM

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