The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2013

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that resembles Nebbiolo," says Vilar Gomes. Often called "the Bordeaux of Portugal," it's a fascinating fusion of complex umami, balsamic and roasted root vegetable flavors and tannins from ligneous stems—and utterly unique to this patch of Portugal.  Limited by the DOC size, Vilar Gomes sources fruit from eight different regions for his 20-wine portfolio. Though he stays true to Ramisco's rustic roots, his wines may echo a salty, persistant Vinho Verde or fruity, tannic reds from Dão, Bairrada and the Douro. "We got the idea of finding the best of wines from each region when we were in California and our portfolio just keeps growing." PHOTO: LANA BORTOLOT Women of Portugal PHOTO: LANA BORTOLOT We can't mention Portuguese pioneers without giving women their own category. In the Alentejo, at Heredade do Esporão, Sandra Alves carries two mantles: She is the rare female oenologist in the Portuguese winemaking industry, and she is making acidic, structured white wines in one of the more unforgiving climates in the country. About 30% of the production at Esporão, Portugal's largest familyowned winery, is devoted to whites. Her challenge: creating blends that can age, such as her Reserva Branco 2012 (Antão Vaz, Arinto and Roupeiro). "This blend can easily spend six or seven years in the bottle," she says. Sisters Rita (left) and Ana Cardoso Pinto run Quinta do Pinto. The payoff is in wines such as the bestselling Monte Velho, expressing stone and citrus fruit, in a blend of Antao Vaz, Roupeiro and Perrum. Young, charming and unpretentious, Alves is the winery's secret weapon. She travels to the States to host events such as Esporão's annual Women in Wine lunch, or an evening of wine and fado, the traditional Portuguese music dominated by female singers. She is the fresh face of Esporão on her way to being one of the faces of Portuguese winemaking. In Alenquer (Lisboa DOC), it's a sister act at the Quinta do Pinto, where Rita and Ana Cardoso Pinto run operations for the winery. The family acquired it in 2003, but the 17th-century estate was originally known as "Pinto," Sandra Alves is Esparao's white wine maker in the Alentejo. so-named for an ancient gold currency. The coincidence "It's not the easiest region for white is not lost on the family. because it is a warm region. We have The 30-something sisters had profesproblems with acid and high alcohol." sional careers away from the fields, but She says the secret is picking earlier in now choose to work on the estate in a the harvest and early in the morning. traditional way, but with contemporary business savvy. "Working in a family business is an honor and a burden, but when you do it, you take on both," says Rita, a former marketing executive. Her sister Ana, is an architect who attended the wine-marketing program at U.C. Davis, and juggles the family business with her architectural practice. The estate grows 19 varieties over 53 hectares, with plans to expand ten more hectares for whites. The focus for the U.S. market is indigenous grapes: Arinto, Fernão Pires, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Tinta Miúda. They've farmed sustainably for the last five years. The sisters focus on the art of Portuguese blending, creating 50/50 blends ("We want the grapes to see each other eye to eye" says Rita), blends of six French and Portuguese grapes, and limited and reserve editions. The wines don't come cheap and, as a true marketer, Rita isn't apologetic for the higher price points ($16–25 SRP). "Why should we squash down our prices? You will go back to a wine when, if you open a bottle, you experience more than what you paid for," she says. "'Terroir' is posh and used so much that it doesn't mean anything, but we say we are making a wine of terroir," says Rita. "It sounds poetic, but it's true." And she expects people should pay for it. december 2013  /  the tasting panel  /  91 TP1213_064-103.indd 91 11/23/13 8:35 PM

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