I don’t know which has the stronger influence on me: wanting to travel somewhere because of the wine, or purchasing wine because of somewhere I’ve traveled…both? Last week I attended Appellation Alentejo masterclass led by Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein and tasted Portuguese wine (for the first time, if you don’t include port) from the Alentejo region. The travel bug bites again and I’m adding Portugal to the travel to-do list near the top.
An Overview
The seminar focused on the Alentejo wine region, including a brief history of the region, the Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication sub-regions within, grape varieties, and my favorite…wine tourism. And we blind tasted 10 really lovely white wines and red wines from Alentejo. This being my first time to ever try Portuguese wine (not including Port/Porto), I was pleasantly pleased to enjoy every single one.
The Tasting
As I tasted the wines, I made a few notes to myself for future wine buying.
I’m not a sommelier or even a connoisseur. I am a wine lover with a bad nose, meaning I’m not going to pick up subtleties in wine, nor do I pretend to claim to understand them. I’ll spare you the uneducated scribbles I made that day and have instead shared technical sheets provided by the winemakers below.
Spit or Swallow?
As I looked around the room I noticed spit cups. Most attendees had spit throughout the tasting, and most had abandoned what was left in their glasses. In all my years of wine tasting, I could never bring myself to spit, even though it’s the professional thing to do. But I’m small enough that I cannot drink this much wine without getting cross-eyed and passing out. So I reluctantly set the remainder of my wine glasses aside as well, sad to see it all go to waste. Since wine is my hobby, I have the luxury of enjoying it as I please, and it pleases me to drink it as the winemaker intended. When I drink wine, I am reminded of trips I have taken through wine country, here and abroad. And on this day, I’m positively itching to visit Portugal now.
Key Points from the Seminar
What I took away from the wine seminar, other than a longing to drink more Alentejo wines, was a piqued interest in a wine region I had previously overlooked. I’m intrigued by the history of the region, seduced by the open countryside, and impressed by the impact of this wine region on the rest of the world. Here are some key points from the seminar worth sharing. (disclaimer: fact check or embrace the Portuguese pride at your discretion)
- Portugal contains the 9th largest vineyard acreage in the world (compared to the U.S. at 6th and Spain at 1st)
- Portugal ranks 11th in the world for total wine production (compared to the U.S. at 4th)
- Portugal has the largest per capita consumption in the world at 54 liters per person annually (France is the 2nd and the U.S. is ranked 53rd)
- Portugal is the 9th top exporter to the U.S. (after Germany)
- Portugal has the highest density of indigenous grapes (number per square kilometer)
Everything was just lovely, and I appreciate Creative Palate for inviting me to attend the wine seminar and for Wines of Alentejo hosting the guided tasting. Although I am not “in the industry”, as an every day wine lover and habitual traveler, I have and promote an extreme appreciation for wine tourism. Each sip invokes a sense of place, an appreciation for climate, soil geology, geography, and cultural setting. If drinking wine doesn’t make you want to visit the place it comes from, or at least learn about it, it should. Portugal…I can’t wait to meet you!
For more information on Wines of Alentejo and to explore the region, visit their website here.
Technical Sheets and Fun Facts courtesy of Creative Palate Communications and Wines of Alentejo
Regional Overview: Alentejo brochure-regional overview.pdf
Fun Facts: Fun facts Alentejo.pdf
Grapes: Grapes Alentejo.pdf
Soil: Soil Alentejo.pdf
And my favorite…
Tourism: Tourism Alentejo.pdf