Work In Progress
Ξ February 16th, 2010 | → 0 Comments | ∇ A Day at a Time, International Terroirs, PORTUGAL, Wine History, Wine News |
It has been a very busy time for the Reign of Terroir. Your intrepid admin has just returned from a very successful adventure in Portugal. And like the deep well on Pico Island pictured, I have much to offer. Primed with a 1001 tales of that extraordinary wine-producing country, from the Alentejo to the Azores, I shall soon begin the very pleasant work of recounting as many as I am able.
Not meaning to shirk my domestic responsibilities, I also have planned a series of stories about wine events in both California and Washington State. And I will post a number of interesting pieces from the environmental and technological fronts.
Below, in no particular order, is a partial list of work to come.
— Portugal
I shall return to the subject of Colares with insight into the life’s work of Paulo da Silva of the Adega Beira-mar and a look into the Adega Viuva Gomes, an impressive stop along the Bucelas, Carcavelos and Colares winer route.
Off to the Alentejo, I will take readers to the Sõa Cucufate ruins, one of the largest Roman villae in Iberia. It is but a short drive to Vila Alva and Vila de Frades, both centers of clay jar wine production, a technology of great antiquity. Also recounted will be a visit to adegas in Amareleja, also clay jar wine producers.
Next up will be a look at the ‘urban vineyards’ of Fazendas de Almeirim while on the way to Ourém and a tour of the Espite Valley with the gifted Andre Gomes Pereira, president of Vitiourém, an organization deeply dedicated to the preservation of the local wine culture.
Then it will be the startling rock presses of the Dão region which will be described. Used until the 1950s, I will attempt an explanation of their practical application. So too will I relate a brilliant wine tasting at Paço dos Cunhas de Santar where more than a dozen wines were offered over the course of a leisurely lunch of traditional foods beautifully prepared.
Have you been to the Etrurian-style vineyards of the Vinho Verde, Bastos and Amarante regions? I will try to explain why you simply must make it a travel destination. The region’s brilliant mastery of vertical space and its associated biodiversity, with vines over 12 feet high, deserves to be much more widely known.
How can so tormented a landscape, so harsh an environment, for people and vines, give rise to one of the most amazing wine cultures in all the world? The Azores is an archipelago of extreme contrasts, as are its vineyards, at once seemingly impossible yet very productive. How to get such profoundly unique wines into the markets of Europe and America? I will show, among other places, the Biscoitos Cooperative on Terceira Island, and on Pico Island I will explore the thriving Cooperativa Vitivinicola and other cultural treasures situated beneath the active Pico volcano.
—California and Washington
This Friday I will be attending a PS I Love You event, their celebrated Dark and Delicious.
And generously sent to me from L’Ecole No. 41 out of the Walla Walla Valley, Washington, there will appear my take on some of their wines.
These are but a few of the pieces begging to be written. Many more will follow in the fullness of time.
To work!
Admin
