Colares is centuries-old wine growing region on the Atlantic Coast of Portugal. A forty minute train ride from Lisbon, Colares enjoys a very different, adaptive agricultural practice than that found in vineyards only a few kilometers inland. The vines are planted in sand. Actually that is not quite true. The sand is excavated and the vines planted on the clay layer beneath, often to a depth of 3-4 meters, and then the cane is progressively buried in sand as the it grows. As the reader will discover, this practice has had a number of interesting consequences, including the survival of the perhaps the greatest acreage, around 12-14 acres, of pre-phylloxera vines in the whole of Europe. Granted DOC status in 1908, the authorized grapes are equally adaptive and rare, Ramisco and Colares Malvasia. But details of all of this may be read below. Enologist/winemaker Francisco Figueiredo of the Adega Regional de Colares was my guide.
As has been true of my every waking moment since touching down in this astonishing country to attend the European Wine Bloggers Conference, Colares, too, provided both intellectual pleasures and something like heartache. I spent time in pre-Olympic Barcelona and returned years later to find old neighborhoods I had known utterly transformed. Much was swept away in the march toward modernization and something like international respectability. A similar transformation is also underway everywhere in the small portion of Portugal I traveled. And wine making traditions themselves are in the crosshairs, as my earlier interview with Virgilio Loureiro made perfectly clear. Colares is yet another example. Development, especially of weekend homes for Lisbon’s wealthy, has taken many vineyards.
The Ramisco grape produces wines that are out of international favor. Lean, low alcohol, high in acid, requiring many years of cellaring to become approachable, the wines of Colares are challenging; a different kind of reflection about wine is required of us. And if the challenge is refused or ignored, then Colares inches closer to oblivion.
Below you will find a mix of historical and current pre and post harvest photos, many from Francisco. I arrived well after the harvest. Some of the topics he discusses are best illustrated by images taken before my arrival.
This is the first of a two part interview. (Part 2)
Admin How long have you been working here?
Francisco Figueiredo Ten years. This has been my tenth harvest. For the first few years I worked here only at harvest time. I was still studying. I’m an agronomist and have done post-graduate work in enology. Since then I have worked here in Colares. I also give support to growers/producers not in the Colares region but in the Estremadura region. I’ve always been in this region. My parents live here. So I’ve known the region well since I was a child.
The Colares DOC is a very small wine region. It is between the Sintra Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, which is very near. It is a short line along the coast, the demarcated region. And we have to meet two conditions for the wine to be Colares DOC. The vines have to be planted in sandy soils, and as we will see, it is loose sand, like beach sand; and we have to make the wine using mainly two local grape varieties. The red is called Ramisco and the white is called Malvasia.
The vineyards are very traditional and quite unique. They are old vines, mainly, ungrafted and pre-phylloxera, some of them still. Because of that we don’t have to use American rootstock. We plant the vines directly on the clay that is underneath the sand, not in the sand itself. To plant a vineyard we dig down in the sand to the clay layer, which can be from 1/2 a meter to 4-5 meters deep. The vines are planted in the clay for the roots to get the moisture, the humidity and the nutrients; then gradually we place sand around the vine as it grows. It takes about two years until the terrain is level again.
Is there a qualitative difference in the grapes whether a vine is planted 1/2 a meter or 4 meters?
FF No, not exactly. The main difference is that if we get the clay layer closer to the surface we can produce a little bit earlier. We don’t trellis the vines. We are doing some experiments but in the traditional vineyards the vines are not trellised. They are left on the ground. And that is important for maturation because of the heat off the sand. The heat reflects off the sand and helps the maturation go a little bit faster. That is important because we are in a region with a lot of humidity and moisture, lots of wind and mists, fog. It is usually 10 degrees celsius less here than on the other side of the mountain and Lisbon during the summer. So the maturation is slow. We usually harvest late, around the beginning of October. The last week of September, beginning of October we are harvesting the sandy soil vines.
The sandy region called Chão de Areia (meaning sandy soil), has a sub-region called Chão Rijo where the soil is only clay. It means ‘hard soil’. They are more like trellised vineyards, with higher production [yields] as well. We use different varieties on those clay soils. But we can’t use the Colares DOC designation on the labels. They are sold as table wine or labeled Estremadura regional of regional Lisboa.
Is sand constantly being added to this area or is there erosion?
FF No. We protect the terrain with free stone walls. And we also use dry cane palisades to protect the vines from the strong ocean winds. So there is constant shelter. The vines and the sand is protected.
What kind of yield do you get from an average Colares vine?
FF We get very low yields; one and a half to two tons per acre. In the clay soil you can get around eight to twelve tons per acre. Much more. That’s a big difference!
How many winegrowers are there in the Colares DOC?
FF There are 55 associates. But most are small. The total sandy soil area is about 12 to 14 acres. A very small production. Unfortunately the area has gone down. Not now. It’s stable now for the last ten years, with a small increase. But we have lost a lot of vineyards. In the 60s and the 70s there was a lot of development. We are very near the mountains and the sea. This is a place people want to build homes, people from Lisbon. Most are weekend homes here. [We are driving along the coast. Large homes and apartments climb up the hillsides] All of this used to be vineyards. Not in my time! I am 30 years old.
About the matter of the preservation of the Colares vineyards. Do you go before city hall to argue that a development shouldn’t proceed because of the vineyards it would destroy, that your patrimony is at stake?
FF Yes. We are inside Sintra/Cascais Natural Park, which should be protected. But it isn’t. It is very difficult. And of course for someone outside even if they wanted to invest in a vineyard would find it very difficult because the price of the land is very, very high. People are expecting to sell for construction, not vineyards.
What legal protections do the winegrowers have?
FF Practically none.
So someone could walk up to a grower tomorrow and offer them a large sum of money and there would be no objection.
FF Yes.
Francisco added to this subject in a separate email. “I can’t recall any government role in the direct preservation of vineyards. Indirectly the government supports wine sales, mainly outside, through ViniPortugal and partially funding exportation projects. The only thing I can recall regarding the Colares vineyards were two specific measures which gave some annual funding to the grape growers. The objective was for growers to maintain the landscape aspects related to the sandy soil vineyards (conservation of the free stone walls and the dried cane palisades). One of these fundings came from the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park Authority (the protocol only lasted 1 of the intended 5 years due to lack of money!). The other was a specific environmental measure from the Government which lasted 5 years and ended 2 years ago). None of these fundings were directly made to avoid selling the vine land. Wine is one of the agricultural products that the government supports more intensely, but not by trying to avoid the selling of property (that would be difficult because we are talking about private property). I can’t recall any protest related to the selling of a vineyard.”
FF This road we are on used to be all dirt. It is asphalt now. They put the sewer line down the middle of the road. I am beginning to worry about this. We are in one of the main growing areas, a place called “Chão Verde”, outside the small town of Fontanelas. These are probably the only vineyards in the world with a sewage system outside the vineyard! It is very difficult.
Are there people in the government who are sympathetic to the issue of preservation?
FF Yes. It is not with me directly, but the directors of the Adega Regional are in constant contact with associations and politicians to try to make some progress for the vineyards. But it is difficult. It’s difficult.
[We get out of the car.] This is an old vineyard. You can see the stone walls and the dry cane palisades. In the vineyards we usually grow the vines with apple trees. They are also low. It is very common to see this type of association.
The apple trees are blossoming now…
FF That is because we had a lot of heat in the past few weeks. You came at the wrong time of the year to see vines. It’s after harvest. These are very old vines. They still produce. This is one row. Over there, beyond the free stone wall is another vineyard. One of the things we do is raise the grapes so that they are not in direct contact with the hot sand. They can get burned. We prop the bunches up with a small stick.
It sure doesn’t look like Napa Valley! Someone driving through who did not know of Colares’ viticultural history would not ’see’ anything.
FF That is true. (laughs) It is obvious that there can be no mechanization in these vineyards. So we are doing experiments with low trellis systems to see if it is possible to mechanize the vineyards, to make them more economical and more affordable. All the picking now is done by hand. But so it the spraying and the digging of the vineyards for planting. And it is all done with the family.
With respect to the families, do these vineyards pass from generation to generation? Are the young interested in continuing?
FF I am afraid that the next generation isn’t very interested in wine growing. Some of the growers are old people from 60 to 70 years old. But I don’t see that their sons are very interested in the wine growing business. They have other jobs doing other things. The wine growers themselves have other jobs. Some work on different agricultural products. Others keep the vines as a hobby. The cooperative has to make some effort to try and keep tending those vineyards that will be left behind when the older generation passes. That is the only chance for the region: the cooperative will have to work directly taking care of these vineyards when the time comes.
So that I understand, all the 55 associates of the cooperative harvest their grapes and then send them to the cooperative. All the grapes are mingled, fermented together, and bottled under the single Adega Regional de Colares label.
FF Exactly. We just separate the grapes from the sandy soils [Chão de Areia] from the clay soils [Chão Rijo]. With the clay soils we differentiate two types of vineyards: the ones that produce ‘less quality’ grapes, let’s say, so those grapes go into simple table wine; and the best grapes from the clay soil go to the better Regional Estremadura wine. In the sandy soils there is no need for any differentiation. This is, by the way, the only DOC where the Ramisco grape is grown, and the Malvasia Colares. But it is also permitted in the Estremadura Regional, of course.
So is the Ramisco grape itself in danger?
FF Fortunately, no. I will show you another vineyard where we, along with the School of Agronomy, the Technical University of Lisbon, have selected throughout the region several cuttings from the best vines, and we have planted them in this vineyard. There are several clones in the region. They are now being kept, safeguarded in the vineyard. The idea is to protect the varieties.
This is a very old wine region. We have records of consistent wine production since almost the foundation of our nationality, since the 1100s.
These rocks that make up the walls, where did they come from?
FF Usually each grower has a piece of land on the sandy soil and on the clay soil, sometimes more pieces of land. So when the planted the ‘hard soil’ vineyards they took out the stones and they brought them to the sandy soil terrain to build the walls.
Notice the trenches of this vineyard being filled. As you can see, we plant after making a trench, a ditch. We put the sand to the side and gradually fill it in as the vine grows. In this area we had to dig about three meters down. I saw how deep when they were paving the road. It was about three and a half meters down to the clay layer.
We see a gentleman cross the road ahead of us.
Oh, this is Mr. Gonçaol. He is an associate of the adega. You are lucky. His vineyard is closed but this way we can see it. You can see again the apple trees. Always the protection, the shelters. These rows or groups of rows separated by the dry cane palisades of vines we call manta. The direct translation of manta would be a blanket. The clay in this vineyard is about one and a half meters down.
I see he has dug around the vines. What is this for?
FF On of the jobs that is done this time of year, this season. The job is to take these roots out, to cut them away. Sometimes we will also add manure for the vines at this point. The roots are of no interest to us. We want only the deep ones. And there is no irrigation. It is all dry farmed. That is the importance of planting the roots on the clay. No drip irrigation. We have some modern vineyards, not from our association, but from another association, which they drip irrigate. You can easily see that they are not strong vines because of that. So this is the natural way to have water, to plant them directly on the clay.
And over here he has new plantings.
So all of these vines are ungrafted, of course. And the source of all the cuttings?
FF All the cuttings are done here. There is only one nursery site for Ramisco vines just in case someone needs cuttings for a vineyard. For the traditional growers like Mr. Gonçaol, they do their own cuttings. And they choose only from the best vines.
Now, you don’t have phylloxera here. What are the disease and pest pressures?
FF The main pressure here is powdery mildew…
And second homes…
FF (laughs) …and building construction. That’s a real pest pressure! But of simpler pests we have what we call Cicadella, sharpshooters. Growers like Mr. Gonçaol didn’t know about the pest. It started about five years ago. We have seen some increase in the average temperature. And the sharpshooter came from the Alentejo to the north.
We say goodbye to Gonçaol and continue on our tour.
End of part 1
Admin
On my last day in Lisboa I had still not properly thanked ViniPortugal for my visit. It is true that I had a brief exchange with the organization’s president Francisco Borba. And I had sent an e-mail. But I was still hoping for a longer face-to-face encounter. The opportunity came to me with a visit to ViniPortugal’s tasting room located in the Ministry of Agriculture premises in Praça do Comércio. What follows is an interview with Maria João de Menezes. She has been with ViniPortugal since its formation.
Admin I had the pleasure of meeting Francisco Borba, ViniPortugal’s president, at the European Wine Bloggers Conference commencement. He offered a dignified welcome to the bloggers. What is it ViniPortugal does? What are its aims?
Maria João de Menezes It’s like this. I think you understand that in Portugal wine is one of the major products of our economy and our culture, one of the most important that we produce. Before ViniPortugal came into existence 12 years ago, the last big promotional campaign of wine was before the Revolution of 1974. When we have a product so important to us and we don’t promote it, the wine producers felt the need to get together; and the most important associations and federations of Portugal connected to wine, all joined together and created ViniPortugal. This was 12 years ago. It was created with one aim: To promote Portuguese wine.
We use tax money that every producer has to pay to the government for every bottle made. It is something that happens all over the world. All bottles have a seal, and that seal means that the wines are certified. The producers pay for that seal. This called the ‘promotional tax’. The government collects that money for promotional efforts. ViniPortugal was created to do this promotion.
So you are tax-funded by the government.
MJdM Exactly. The government gives us a part of this money, not the total amount, yet. The aim is to reach the point to where all the taxes the producers pay to the government for promotion should come to institutions like ViniPortugal, all associations which promote wine. That is, after all, why the producers pay. But these are political matters, and I believe what we now receive is 25% to 30% of the total amount of tax [revenue] to promote wine.
So, the first thing ViniPortugal decided was to ask what strategy would it take. It started with a study. And we asked Porter [of Price Waterhouse] to do the study. We knew that we had to concentrate our efforts in the United States, in three or four states, and in the UK, in Brazil, in Germany and northern countries for a start. And now we are growing. We are opening into the Asian markets, and also to Angola and India. These are new markets that we are studying to see if they will work for the Portuguese wine producers.
We have campaigns, different kinds of campaigns depending on the country and on the markets. We go to festivals and wine fairs, like the London Fair, or in Germany, the Pro Wein Festival. And we invite journalists to come here to visit our farms and wineries so that they might write in their magazines for their respective audiences about us. They learn a little bit about Portuguese wines. And perhaps it will facilitate the locals to buy our wines we export.
We also to tastings in cities around the world in important markets, in New York, an Francisco, but also in Portugal. Here we do campaigns as well. We have places, tasting rooms like this one; also in Oporto. We have two showrooms where people can come and try Portuguese wines for free. These tasting rooms are not only for locals but also for foreigners and tourists. When you came in you saw some of our publicity and guides. These are distributed to let people to know there is a place for them to come and taste Portuguese wines.
The majority of the people in the tasting room already know to come here. It is different than one year ago when a number of people who came in were just passing along and found our door open without knowing what we did, which is to offer tastings and information to the public.
This is our main aim. That is what we do. I am not good with numbers but I know that we have increased exports in all markets I mentioned. This is good. It is a slow process when you start something like this. Success does not happen over night or even next year. Even when the numbers are not very exciting we have to be persistent! We have to keep on doing what we believe is the right thing to do, and be patient enough to wait for results.
Yes. Of course, there are large producers and there are small producers. Are there any special efforts made to assist the small producer to compete in the marketplace?
MJdM No. We represent them all. In Portugal we have ViniPortugal on top of the pyramid. We talk to each certifying commission from each region. And each region has its own producers. We talk with the wine certifying agencies, not the adegas. There are 11 or 12 regional wine certifying commissions. Each regional commission certifies the wine from only their region. It is with them that we speak. We call them CVR, Regional Commission of Viticultura. Each CVR is one of our interlocutors. They, in turn, talk to each producer.
We never help one producer more than another. We don’t help the larger producer more than the smaller. We talk about Portuguese wine in general. We talk about regions and grape varieties. We never talk about labels. Or producers. That is not what ViniPortugal does.
So you don’t keep a data base of who produces how much. etc?
MJdM No. That’s the work of another institute called the Portuguese Wine Institute, the IVV [Instituto da Vinha e o Vinho]. It use to be one of our associates. But it stopped being so about one year ago because one of its tasks is to perform a ‘fiscalization’ of our work. [I believe she means that the IVV determines the cost/benefit of ViniPortugal itself.] They could not determine our value while also being a part of us.
It would have been a conflict of interest.
MJdM Yes. Exactly. So because they are of the state, of the government, they could not be a part of us. ViniPortugal is a private association. We are not part of the state.
But you get your money from the state. Does the state have any influence over your work?
MJdM No. No. We only have to show work. At the end of the year if they don’t think we are doing well then they can say, ‘OK, next year we are not going to give you money.’ It has never happened because we work hard! (laughs) But if you, yourself, had a plan to promote Portuguese wine you could come and compete for the job. ViniPortugal presents their ideas, and other people and organizations, bigger or smaller, they can come and compete, too. There are some rules. But if you abide by those rules you may compete and the government may say, ‘Yes, I like your promotional plan for Portuguese wines better. It makes more sense and is less expensive so I’ll give the money to you.’ It is in that way we are private. The government is free to distribute the money to whomever has the best plan.
Very good. How big of a staff does ViniPortugal have?
MJdM Today we have 15 staff at the most. It used to be two in the beginning, twelve years ago! We’re growing. And the work that we do is different today than back then.
I love the tasting room. It is quite elaborate and detailed. It rather surprised me. You’ve got interactive video, wines from all over the country, historical wine-making tools, a few…
MJdM Yes. We’ve been open here for five years. We have a second in Oporto, in one of the most important places of the city, the Palácio da Bolsa. It is a building you have to see. This one is smaller, but also very nice. Twenty-five thousand visit just this one every year.
Twenty-five thousand?!
MJdM Yes. They come in to taste and we invite them to write down their notes and opinions which we keep to show our producers. We think this is important because when you write something down you have to think about what you are drinking. So they look at the wine with more awakened senses. And it is very important to the producers. Some of them are very wrong when they think their wines are more appreciated in Germany than in the US, for instance.
So you also ask for their nationality.
MJdM Yes. Nationality, age, sex… not a very deep questionnaire, just enough for some indication.
Well, great. Can I get a couple of pictures of the place?
MJdM Of course, as you wish.
We head downstairs to the tasting room for a few pics.
And a picture of you?
MJdM Of me? (laughs) You said something about the small producers. They don’t always have enough for export.
Of course. One thing that I’ve been hearing a lot is how inexpensive Portuguese wines are. Even the small producer. But there is a problem. There is a lot of work put in by these winemakers, perhaps more work per person on the smaller properties. They work on small budgets; often with family members who go unpaid; they are under tremendous economic pressure to sell their properties, in Colares, for example. So it should not be a question of a low prices, but of a fair price.
MJdM (laughs) Yes, that’s true, that’s true. I think it would help.
Thank you.
MJdM Thank you very much.
Admin
One very significant question I failed to ask was how the wines are chosen for the tasting room. I will contact ViniPortugal for elaboration and post their answer here asap.
This first visit to Portugal shall not be my last. Given an extraordinary opportunity by ViniPortugal to attend the European Wine Bloggers Conference, I have come away with a deep respect and lasting affection for the culture of the country. Ten days is not enough time. How could it be? Ten days is not even enough time for a fruit fly to hatch.
I would like to take a moment to thank a few of the people of Portugal who have enriched my visit.
Three of the staff of the VIP Grand helped me in very significant ways. Paulo S. provided his translation skills for passages in books, magazines and internet web pages otherwise impenetrable to me. He went so far as to surprise me with a two-page compilation of vocabulary. Always alert, he never showed the slightest frustration with my naivete, if not stupidity!
Paulo R. is a special gentleman. He has written hundreds of poems himself and can quote long passages from the Portuguese canon. He told me of the best Fado club to visit, and worked the background arrangements. A bit of a philosopher, he explained to me subtle cultural distinctions, Portuguese syntax, how best I might leave a smaller, more discrete footprint than most tourists. His life story is one of struggle and victory. A good man.
Though the gentlemen above eyed me with amusement, it was Antonio B. who was most skilled at sizing this traveler up. He very gently reminded me in various ways that I should look a little more deeply into cultural matters. After I would return from a particular adventure he would say that I should also do this other thing. Never at a loss for suggestions, it was Antonio who turned my attention to Carcavelos.
I would also like to thank the maids at the VIP Grand who every day cleaned my room and made my bed.
Prof. Virgilio Loureiro of the Instituto Superior de Agronomia generously came to the VIP Grand to speak with me. A great champion of tradition and terroir, he is the self-described Don Quixote of the Portuguese wine industry. My interview with this august figure, to be posted in about a week, will be among the finest I have ever had the opportunity to enjoy. Special thanks must be given to Jonathan Nossiter for his assistance in making this encounter possible.
Enologist/winemaker Francisco Figueiredo introduced me to the vineyards of Colares. He took two hours out of his day to educate me in the ways of Colares viticulture. I was then taken to the adega for a very thorough explanation of what it is they do and why. He has an excellent sense of humor, as may soon be read. My interview with him is forthcoming.
Jose and Licete. Words fail me. The warmth and generosity shown by mother and son was a profoundly moving experience, one that I shall remember the rest of my days. Meeting them gets at the core value of travel: Get out of the tour bus. Abandon the cocoon of the canned itinerary. Put yourself at risk. There are no greater rewards than meeting people like Jose and Licete. Jose calls it ‘fate’ that people meet, that we met. The fragility of that thought astounds me.
Rita was our two-horse carriage driver when members of the EWBC went to a cork forest in the Tejo and then to a perfectly simple lunch on the grounds of Quinta da Logoalva. A magnificent visit in every way. There are horses in my family and Rita herself owns one. We enjoyed an excellent exchange on horsemanship and training. An ethereal soul, I learned much that was unexpected from this very lovely woman.
Last but certainly not least (!), the extraordinary people of ViniPortugal. How can I thank them for this opportunity? To Andreia, Ana and Marcio, thank you for all of your help and attention.
About the wines of Portugal, a personal note.
Portuguese wines have consistently, day by day, been among the very finest I have ever tasted. And taken as a whole, no country’s wines has awakened such curiosity and excitement in me with each new bottle as has Portugal. That is the simple truth I take away.
It is a truism of the human condition that one becomes habituated to styles and flavors most commonly experienced. And one may certainly be forgiven remaining fixed in wine preference if no opportunity, such as I’ve been granted, ever comes one’s way. But what cannot be forgiven, should one find a way here, is being unmoved, unchanged by the direct, face to face encounter with the variety, quality, the sheer difference of the vinous pleasures Portugal has to offer.
Indeed, as I have previously written, Portugal is one of the last great hopes in the world for the preservation and continuation of distinctive terroirs. For those skeptical of the concept, I can do no better than point you in Portugal’s direction. And I mean the country itself. If living in Northern America, a visit to your local supermarket is a good start. Though good Portuguese wines may be found there, to be sure, and I encourage everyone to drink as widely as possible, nevertheless you cannot let the supermarket’s selection define your understanding of Portuguese wine. Just as you cannot let a chain bookstore define literature, the supermarket merely scratches at the surface.
This condition will be modified as more and more variety, as I trust, will be imported from Portugal. Exports edged up this year. But one particular concern of mine, a gnawing worry, really, is whether all the current attention the country is drawing, the growing marketing ‘buzz’, will finally have deleterious consequences. As Freud famously remarked upon the occasion of his first visit to the America, “They don’t realize that I am bringing them the plague”. And true enough, signs of a fever may readily be detected.
It is a troubling irony that some of the wines served at the European Wine Bloggers Conference have already been marked by a compromise to a more international style. The dark shadow of Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, blotted out more than one label. Though this transformation has been going on for more than a few years, it would be a gross, even cynical misapprehension for a participating wine blogger to pretend for moment that they now understand Portuguese wines based on those wines alone. A true understanding of Portuguese wines may only be found by exploring the countryside.
In my opinion, the Portuguese wine industry cannot thrive in the international market without bottling the ‘cure’ that their distinctive terroirs offer. Their general marketing approach must be that of the unqualified celebration of difference.
This is not a controversial summation. Should one plant eucalyptus in a cork forest, the cork oaks will not survive. It could not be much simpler.
And as for me, because of the wine culture of Portugal, her traditions, native grape varieties, and her people, I have become profoundly radicalized by this beautiful experience. Not only has my modest understanding of wine been greatly enriched, but my life as well. I leave Portugal a changed man.
Obrigado a todos, Portugal.
Admin
Tomorrow morning I shall be leaving for Portugal and the European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC). It has been my great fortune to have been selected by ViniPortugal to attend. Arriving Sunday morning, the 25th, will provide me precious days prior to the EWBC, beginning Oct. 30th, to productively explore the wine world of perhaps Europe’s least understood region. Indeed, Conference organizers, the folks at Catavino, Ryan and Gabriella Opaz, and Robert McIntosh of the blog Wine Conversation made a brilliant decision in choosing Lisbon.
Owing to a combination of circumstances, both commercial and historical, Portuguese wines, their origins, distinctions and terroirs, have simply not entered into the popular imagination, certainly not the North American imagination, as vividly as they deserve. It is hoped by this writer that much useful information will be generated by the 117 bloggers attending the conference, a small but necessary step toward a greater international recognition of Portugal’s rich wine traditions. I am pleased to be a part of this effort.
By arriving days earlier I will have an opportunity to work on the following subjects:
1) The cork industry of the Alentejo, including a trip to the cork forests and a visit to a production facility. The importance of cork forest ecology, the fascinating variety of life this biome contains is of special interest to me.
2) The cultural contrasts (and even conflicts) between traditional producers and their ‘modern’, more technologically-minded brethren deserves a close look. This area of research dovetails with larger questions of the preservation of terroir, the threat of the potential loss of the same by homogenizing technological innovation.
3) Biodynamic and organic approaches, conventional viticulture, especially in the context of the effects of global climate change. Water issues. I hope to have something worthwhile to say on these matters.
4) Also of great interest will be a look into the history of the practical tools and architecture of Portugal’s long wine history. Tractors, irrigation tech, the layout of wineries, barrel construction, etc., the history and evolution of tools, this is a particular fascination of mine. Anybody who knows of the varied styles of barbed wire used across America’s West the past 150 years and their purposes, for example, will understand what I am getting at.
5) Class and ethnicity of farm workers. Their labor unions, healthcare, housing, all will be explored as best as I am able.
6) Did I mention the wines?! And the food?! Yes, I believe I have.
To be submerged in Portuguese culture, to lose myself down unknown streets, to dissolve in strange pleasures, this, too, is the point. With luck and a bit of resourcefulness, I hope to end up in territories so remote that not even an infernal Google GPS tech will be unable to get a fix. This I will do.
Admin
Stunning news came my way early this morning. I learned that the European Wine Bloggers Conference winners had been chosen. It is with great humility that I announce a writer for this modest wine industry blog (Ken Payton is his/my name), has been chosen to attend the European Wine Bloggers Conference this Fall, from October 30th to November 1st, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal. Needless to say this extraordinary honor will be put to good use! Already in love with the Iberian Peninsula, having wandered the Spanish countryside and gotten lost along Barcelona’s narrow streets on multiple visits over the years, I would often look west to Portugal, obsessively collecting maps and reading train schedules, imagining one day, one day…. No more! That day has arrived!
And this thrilling opportunity began with this post: ViniPortugal @ Wine Bloggers Conference.
I would like to especially thank ViniPortugal and Ryan and Gabriella Opaz of Catavino.
My mind is bursting with ideas, a thousand and one research lines to follow. Much preparation is required to fully realize this honor. Time to get to work!
Admin
The wines poured freely. Moments after arriving, having checked into my room and taken the wine blogger’s holy sacraments, checking email and stats, I went to ‘Meet the Sponsors’ in the Flamingo Room. Immediately a glass found its way into my hand. I attacked the D.O. Rueda table. The bright fruit and biting acidity of the Verdejos and Sauvignon Blancs was brilliant. My style. Food friendly wines of the first order. It was hardly noon and I had already been to an apex of affordable quality and finesse.
The next inspirational wines came during the Live Wine Blogging fracas. As has been noted, the wi-fi service was down for extended periods of time. The schedule was quickly modified to give the techs time to get things working. We sat through the Wine Blogging Awards’ presentation instead, a ceremony mc’d by the capable Tom Wark. It was during this lull that an enterprising lad brought to our table one of the best domestic Syrahs I have had in recent memory. Alan Baker is his name. And he runs a blog called The Cellar Rat. The Cellar Rat Syrah is his first wine. It is a small miracle, Cornas in character, beautifully balanced, with black pepper and abundant tannin. An extraordinary pleasure. The only other Syrah I very much enjoyed last weekend, and to which Mr. Baker’s favorably compares, is that from Montemaggiore of Dry Creek Valley. But to truth to tell? Mr. Baker’s was the finer wine if only because it is less polished.
The Montemaggiore Syrah, poured later in the day at the Grand Tasting of Sonoma Wines, was as beautiful and balanced, and I’d say as intellectual as the winemaker herself, Lise Ciolino. Trim, fit, and very smart, she makes wines in her own image.
With the wi-fi now hiccuping along, I also enjoyed a Cornerstone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. I asked Craig Camp, General Manager, had Alice Feiring tasted their wines? He said Alice hated them! Surprising to me. (Correction. Alice tells me she has never had the opportunity to taste Cornerstone’s wines. Mr. Camp may, in fact, have said Alice wouldn’t like them owing to stylistic differences. And see Mr. Craig’s comment below. Apologies to Mr. Camp and lovely Alice.)
Although many of the wines presented at the Sonoma Grand Tasting were not to my liking (I love high acid, brutal tannins, rustic wines in the main), the Russian River After Hours Party came a bit closer to my palate. I found agreeable the wines of Joseph Swan and a most unusual Pinot from Matrix Winery, their ‘06 Nunes. Garrigue on the nose and palate, curious floral notes, lavender and rose notes in a mid to heavy body. Just fascinating. Unlike anything else I tasted in a California Pinot over the weekend.
Saturday took certain of us to Storybook Wines where I had another ‘intellectual’ wine, their ‘05 Estate Cabernet. Along with the two Syrahs already mentioned, Storybook’s ‘05 was possibly the finest Cabernet of my visit (if I do not include an older vintage wine, a beautiful 1977 Sterling in magnum brought by Doug Cook of the Able Grape for a brilliant, irregular late-night tasting).
Later Saturday afternoon, at the Grand Tasting of Napa Wines held at Quintessa, it was Quintessa’s own offering when we stepped off of our busses that pleased the hell out of me. It was their ‘Illumination’, a minerally, tart Sauvignon Blanc, lighter than air. It took me by surprise, its delicacy, its feminine esprit. Head brimming with information from a Napa Green Presentation, this wine to me was the perfect exclamation point to the day’s education. ‘Green’ in a glass!
Other notable wines from the ViniPortugal tasting included Cortes de Cima’s ‘Incognito’ and the 2003 Mouchao from Vinhos da Cavaca Dourada, a blend of Alicante Bouchet and Trincadera.
All the wines served at the Conference had their raving fans. Nothing went uncelebrated. Though my standouts are few in number, I nevertheless was moved to mention them. Does not often happen in the Golden State!
Quick update. Gary Vaynerchuk informs me he will be attending next year’s WBC in Walla Walla.
Admin
At 9:00 pm on Saturday night ViniPortugal and the European Wine Bloggers Conference hosted an ‘After-Hours Tasting Party’ at the Flamingo Resort’s Alexander Room. The event was essentially put together by Gabriella and Ryan Opaz of the fine Barcelona-based website Catavino. Ryan, Gabriella, and Robert McIntosh of The Wine Conversation are the driving forces behind this Fall’s European Wine Bloggers Conference.
Wines of Portugal are very popular now, at least the talk of them is. Being a great fan of the Portuguese wines I have tasted in the past year, I was very interested in seeing what was offered. But it remains difficult to find them readily offered in wine shops, restaurants and grocery stores. One typically finds a bottling here and there. Even the otherwise excellent K&L shop in San Francisco carries no more than three, sometimes four, reds. Whites are just as uncommon. So it was with great pleasure I tasted through the WBC/ViniPortugal line-up.
I can only hope the event sparks discussion of the wines on wine blogger’s sites, paying especial attention to price and food-friendliness. The structure and bright acidity of many of the wines I tasted, many in the $10 to $20 range, was a delight. The interviews below is my small part at the promotion of these fine efforts.
Follow this link for a full list of wines, producers and prices: wine-bloggers-conference-showcase-wines-information1 And here is a good map of the regions: wine-regions-map-docs
A note about grape nomenclature. I was in a wine shop one day buying a wine from Cahors made from a variety I had come to call Côt or Auxerrois, but it is also known as Tannat and Malbec. I noticed an Alsatian bottling of a white wine also called Auxerrois. Well, it you think that might be a bit confusing witness the regional names of the Aragonez grape. Besides Tempranillo we have
Aldepenas, Aragones, (Portugal), Aragonez Da Ferra, Aragonez de Elvas, Arganda, Arinto Tinto, Cencibel (Castile La Mancha, Madrid, Aragón, Extremadura, Murcia), Cencibera, Chinchillana (Extremadura), Chinchillano, Chinchilyano, Cupani, Escobera (Extremadura, S. America), Garnacho Foño (S.America), Grenache de Logrono, Jacibiera (Castile La Mancha, S. America), Jacivera, Juan Garcia, Negra de Mesa, Ojo de Liebre, Olho de Lebre, Sensibel, Tempranilla, Tempranillo de la Rioja, Tempranillo de Perralta, Tempranillo de Rioja, Tempranillo de Rioza, Tinta Aragones, Tinta de Santiago, Tinta de Toro, Tinta Do Inacio, Tinta Monteira, Tinta Monteiro, Tinta Roriz (Portugal), Tinta Roriz Da Penajola, Tinta Santiago, Tinto Aragon, Tinto Aragonez, Tinto de la Ribera, Tinto de Madrid (Toledo, Cantabria, Salamanca, Soria, Valladolid, Madrid), Tinto del País (Castile/Leon, Rioja), Tinto de Rioja, Tinto de Toro (Zamora), Tinto del Toro, Tinto Fino (Castile/Leon, Madrid, Valencia, Extremadura, Rioja), Tinto Madrid, Tinto Pais, Tinto Ribiera, Tinto Riojano, Ull de Llebre (Catalan for “Eye of the Hare”), Valdepeñas (also in California), Verdiell (Catalonia), Vid de Aranda (Burgos), Tinta Santiago (S. America) and Tinta Montereiro (S. America).
I first spoke with Carrie Jorgensen of Cortes de Cima. The winery’s site describes her this way:
Responsible for administration and marketing. A Californian born girl, Carrie grew up in the San Francisco bay area, and studied Economics at UC Berkeley, before moving to Malaysia where she met Hans. Since the early days of Cortes de Cima she has been actively involved in both production and sales of our horticulture products.
Pioneer in Portugal of selling online direct from the winery.
The Cortes de Cima winery is located about 2 hours from Lisbon, in the north-eastern corner of one of the larger wine regions, Alentejano, specifically in a sub-region of the Alentejo DOC (Denominação de Origem Controlada) called Vidigueira.
Admin So, who are you, and what brings you here?
Carrie Jorgensen I am a wine blogger.
Yes, you’re a wine blogger. But you are also associated with the wines of Portugal, shall we say.
CJ Yes. I’m actually a Portuguese winemaker. Cortes de Cima. The ones you were just trying actually. I hope you enjoyed them. I’m a Portuguese wine maker but I’ll tell you a secret: I’m from Marin County, I’m from California. I guess you could hear that! (laughs)
A little bit.
CJ I left when I was 19, well, I was at Berkeley, UC Berkeley, and I left California and went to Malaysia. I met my husband, who’s Danish. And I lived in Malaysia with him for 9 years. Then we decided to leave Malaysia and move to Europe. So we bought a sailing boat and we sailed to Europe, and we sailed around Europe looking for a place to start a vineyard. Then our boat arrived in Portugal and we thought we’d found the place. One thing is it reminded us of California quite a bit. We liked the people. That’s how we ended up in Portugal.
How much property did you buy initially?
CJ We bought something that was the size of Central Park, 375 hectares. But it is not all planted with vines. Of course, when we got there it wasn’t planted with anything. It was dry farming. There was no electricity, no running water, no nothing. We planted our vineyards in ‘91 and we now have 100 hectares of vineyards.
Were there vineyards nearby?
CJ There were a lot of vineyards in the area, yeah. It was a wine-growing area. In fact, the Romans grew wine there. There’s a lot of tradition there in growing wine. Mostly white wine varieties. And we planted red wine grapes which was quite different in those days. Everyone talked about it. They thought we were nuts because we were foreigners and we didn’t know what we were doing!
What varieties did you start with?
CJ We started with Aragonez, which is Tempranillo, we call it Aragonez. We started with some Trincadeira. We started with Periquita which we don’t like. After a while we pulled that up. And then we planted something we weren’t supposed to do: We planted Syrah. It was illegal. But we did it anyway.
How did that go over with the locals?
CJ Of course, we didn’t tell them. No one knew. When we finally had our first vintage of the Syrah and we didn’t know what to do with it. We had a visit by Oz Clarke and Tim Atkin. They tried it. They said ‘you’ve got to try to find a way to bottle this wine and show the world that you can grow Syrah in Alentejo, and how great it is.’ So we found a label. We decided to call it Incognito. And there is an acronym on the back where you can see it’s Syrah. We have a Bob Dylan quote “to live outside the law you must be honest”.
Did you ask for help from the locals?
CJ We kind of mingled a bit. We did our own thing.
How was your Portuguese?
CJ It’s good now, after 20 years. (laughs) Yeah. Our kids were born there, they grew up there. They went to school there.
So the secret must have finally come out, that you were growing Syrah.
CJ Oh yeah, it’s out. When Incognito became very famous. It was went to London for the Wine Challenge where it won a gold medal. And everyone was talking about it. It was known because it was illegal.
Illegal in the same way a Super Tuscan is illegal?
CJ Yeah, same thing. We actually violated a lot of things. We also violated with our trellis system. We used a Smart-Dyson system. Under the DOC rules you’re not allowed to do that either. We did a lot of things we weren’t supposed to do.
Has your example changed winemaking techniques in the area.
CJ Winemaking techniques have changed a lot in the area, thank god. I don’t know if it is our example or if the just had to change with time to become competitive.
When you first bought the land was it expensive?
CJ No. It was after Portugal had joined the EU. It wasn’t dirt cheap. The standard of living has changed quite a bit, for the better, after they joined the EU.
And how has the response been to the Portuguese wine tasting this evening?
CJ Oh, fantastic! A lot of people are very excited about Portuguese wines; a lot of people don’t know about them but they want to learn.
Thank you, Carrie.
CJ You’re welcome.
*****
I next spoke with Oscar Quevedo, the export manager for Quevedo, a family owned wine business in the ‘heart of the Douro‘. He and Adria were funny, energetic people. Always smiling.
Oscar Quevedo My name is Oscar Quevedo. I came from Portugal, from the Douro Valley. We make Port wine and still wine from the Duoro. We use traditional varietals, over 100 different varietals. And my family has been making Port for over 120 years.
What do you think of this evening? The room is absolutely packed!
OQ Yes, it is packed. If every one of the 250 people came here it would be impossible to taste anything. But I think it is a little bit late. People are maybe tired. Just enough are here!
How many wines were brought for this tasting?
OQ We brought three Ports. In total, around 40 different Portuguese wines, 35 still wines and 5 Ports.
And how was this arranged between the Open Wine Consortium and ViniPortugal?
OQ As you know, Ryan Opaz [of Catavino] is one of the admins of the Open Wine Consortium. He was invited by ViniPortugal to organize this tasting here at the Wine Bloggers Conference. It is a way to promote the European Wine Bloggers Conference that will take place in Lisbon at the end of October, but also the wines of Portugal.
What are the price points of the wines that have been brought here? [The full list and prices may be found here: wine-bloggers-conference-showcase-wines-information].
OQ I think we should have wines from $10 up to $60-70. I think there are some good wines from Portugal between $10 to $15 range. That makes us very competitive.
Especially in this lousy economy.
OQ Exactly. People are moving from $50 wines to the $20 wines. And those that bought the $20 wines are now buying at $10. So Portugal is getting some points ahead of some competitors.
Did you do much touring of the Napa wineries today?
OQ I did. I visited 4 wineries. I was really surprised and impressed by the marketing that is behind each one of the wineries in Napa. It is amazing. We in the Duoro really care about the vines, the grapes and the winemaking, and eventually about the tourists. Here I think they begin to build the concept, the label, by the marketing, the merchandising, and then they care about the wine and the grapes. I don’t want to say they [Portugal] make better wines because that is not true. They have very good wines here as well.
What are tasting rooms like in Portugal?
OQ Well, in the Duoro the land is very steep. So the tasting rooms are beautiful places to look out over the valley. That is in the North. In the South they are not so comparative, so professional as you are here. We don’t care so much about all the space where you are tasting the wines; we have a lot of work to do to impress visitors.
Do you offer horizontal tasting?
OQ Yes, both vertical and horizontal tastings of Port wines. We really like to taste different vintages from different vineyards because, as you probably know, in the North of Portugal all the vineyards are very small parcels, vineyards of just one acre. That’s what we have. So a vineyard of 50 acres is big. So we have a lot of different terroirs. The final blend is made with a lot of different wines. We allow our visitors to taste the different wines to let us know what they prefer [in the final blend]. It is a good way to learn and to improve from our consumers, they help us do our job.
Which Europeans are the most common visitor? And do you get many American visitors? Who buys your wines?
OQ We have a lot of tourists from the North of Europe, France, Denmark, Germany, UK. The UK market is very important for Port wine. There is a growing interest from the Portuguese society to discover the wine regions of Portugal.
The Portuguese society?
OQ The people of Portugal now have more purchasing power. Portugal is growing and people know more about wine; they want to visit the wineries, they want to meet the winemakers. This is improving and making the wine industry grow.
I understand. Cool. Is there anything else you’d care to add?
OQ It was a big pleasure to meet you, Ken. We had a tasting two days ago at Twisted Oak making a blend of the Spaniard ‘08. It was a big pleasure to be in your group and to share with you some thoughts on what should be the final blend.
It was because of you that we won!
OQ No, no, no! Definitely not.
Thank you, Oscar.
OQ Thank you, Ken.
*****
Lastly, I spoke with Marcio Ferreira of ViniPortugal itself. His business card states that he is the Area Manager.
Marcio Ferreira I am the director of marketing for ViniPortugal. That is the wine marketing board for Portuguese wines. It is a not-for-profit organization, a private association. We have close ties to the government. But we are not government. We are a private association.
How did you make arrangements with the Open Wine Consortium to come to the conference?
MF Well, it has been a long way for us. We wanted to get on this side of the bloggers and to meet these people. It happened through Catavino. Being American and being in Spain like they are [Ryan and Gabriella], they are trying to approach the wine business that is closer to them. They approached us. I’ve known them for a few years and we got to work with this now.
We do this with great pleasure. It is very important to us to be here. When I think that when you are in the wine business and you want to be competitive, you have to capitalize on your opportunities. That is what we are doing here.
There is quite a crowd gathered. What is your sense of their response?
MF For us the American market is reacting very well to our wines. One reason is that Portuguese wines don’t have the brand that we wish they would have, and so we have to lower our prices. Best values from Portugal are really good, good wines for a very decent price. And that has helped us make a footprint in the market. We are currently number 9, we just passed South Africa, in exporting wines to the United States. I think the future will smile on us. Not everybody can say that in a recession you increase your sales. Portugal, we started in January, February, it was tough because we came from a nice increase in 2008. And now we break even in June ‘09. It’s been interesting for us, the US market.
So how were the wines selected?
MF Usually how we do this we open event to the Portuguese wine producers, all of them. We have a few criteria to select. First, the wines should be available in the states already because when you’re a blogger and you taste a wine, if you want to write about it, the wine should be available for people to buy. You can actually kill a brand, and harm a brand rather than promote it [if it is unavailable]. So the wine should be available in the United States. That’s it. Producers make arraignments with their importers, and importers submit registrations to us and we select a few wines that are adaptable to the market. We have about 35 wines here, we received probably 40 applications. So we didn’t turn out that many.
How does distribution work? How many distributors for the wines?
MF That’s our biggest handicap in the US. For a small wine country like Portugal we have pass the barrier of distribution because the biggest part of the consumers who buy our wines are Portuguese descendants and Portuguese immigrants, the ethnic market. The challenge for Portugal right now is to break off the ethnic market and to market the wines to other ethnic groups. That’s the biggest challenge.
And also market Portuguese wines to the global cuisine. Our wines are great food wines! Our wines are driven by fruit, acidity and freshness. They make amazing food-friendly wines.
Why do so many wine stores have so few wines from Portugal?
MF The reason is simple. A distributor, a retailer, when they think about buying a Portuguese wine he thinks ‘can I sell it off the shelf?’ Portugal does not have the brand yet. They’d much rather buy an Argentinean wine or a Spanish wine or a Chilean wine because they know the brand is there and that the consumer will grab it for that intangible that Portugal doesn’t have yet. That is our biggest fight.
We are a small country. We have 10 million inhabitants. We are a country engraved in wine culture; 7% of all Portuguese work in the wine business. We are the most densely planted wine country in the world. We have around 500,000 acres of vineyards in Portugal. So we are number 10 producer in the world; being that small it is quite an astonishing number.
Well thank you very much. I’ll let you get back to your pouring.
MF Thank you.
Admin
What follows is a brief outline of a number of stories and modest interviews I will be posting over the next week, all gathered from this year’s outstanding Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) held at the Flamingo Motel from July 24th to the 26th. 
Indeed, the 2009 conference showed a marked maturity over last year’s. By maturity I mean that whereas in 2008 there was an air of apprehension, caution and mixed feedback, I cannot imagine the negatives being more than a hiccup in an otherwise splendid banquet of conversation and activities. Why? Because it finally became clear to the majority of participants that the WBC is less a community out-reach program for troubled teens and much more about making of the event what our motivation and talent is able. Self-direction is now the order of the day. All for the better.
While the WBC has been able to harness a substantial percentage of the wine-blogging world, to put them in one place, to mark a date in our collective timeline, and while the import and influence of our irregular 4th Estate remains ambiguous, it is the wineries and other interested sponsors and organizations that this year stepped up their game. Beyond their startling generosity this year, they put front and center an important new subject, that of the greening of their industry. Of course, the commercial overtones of the conference, the persistence of bloggers’ ‘monetizing’ obsession remains as stark as ever, still there was, especially on the part of the participating wineries, an insistence on widening the discussion. Tired of writing about whether you like this or that wine? Fatigued by the mind-numbing sameness of tasting notes? Well then, write about the remarkable green initiatives undertaken by Napa and Sonoma wineries.
Saturday’s schedule was the heart and soul of this year’s conference. We first shuttled to the Culinary Institute of America where we were immediately put into a stupefied, migrainous mood by one of the dimmer ‘futurists’ I’ve yet heard, someone named Barry Schuler, formerly the CEO of AOL. We learned from him that Paul Masson made lousy wine, that San Jose is an AVA, and that one day we shall all be deceased. Fortunately, he was followed by a presentation of real importance, one given by Wines and Vines editor, Jim Gordon, a presentation titled The Future of Wine Writing and Industry Trends To Be Aware Of. Despite ending his title with a preposition, I can find nothing but positive things to say about it. His was perhaps the first constructive ‘nuts and bolts’ talk about wine writing in the two-year history of the WBC, certainly the finest. Among his practical principles:
Know your subject
Get your facts from the source
Get facts right
Stake a claim and mine it
Stay ahead of the pack
Look beyond the blogosphere for topics
Though his time was cut short by the futurist’s ramblings, Mr. Gordon outlined a very healthy wine blogger’s praxis. My understanding is that the presentation will appear in written form, perhaps in Wines and Vines itself. Subscribe and read it for yourself.
We next were instructed to pick one of eight or so busses. Each bus driver had been given a secret winery destination, two actually. I chose randomly and ended up on a truly remarkable journey. Our lucky busload of bloggers arrived first at the venerable Sterling Vineyards where we met the winemaker, a witty and earnest soul by the name of Alison Crary. Her work and the green initiatives undertaken by Sterling Vineyards will be one of my three subject posts for this week. Suffice to say, she was very well informed on all the details of her winery’s work. Additional detail was exhaustively provided by Terry Hall of Napa Valley Vintners. From watersheds to recycled water, from Ms. Crary’s organic garden to biodiversity, we were given an extraordinary amount of important material on practical greening technologies and land preservation.
We next traveled to Storybook Mountain Vineyards where my faith in Napa Cabernet Sauvignon was briefly restored. There we met a trio, a veritable tour de force of collective intellectual sophistication and grit. The subject of another of my posts to come, we were introduced to Dr. J. Bernard Seps of Storybook, Pat Stotesbery of Ladera Vineyards, and Dirk Hampson of Nickel & Nickel. Their talk was titled “Do AVAs Matter?” It was a graceful presentation about which I shall later write. For now I want to briefly mention their approach to the topic. Dr. Seps took the long view, the historical dimension of Calistoga’s region, Mr. Hampson outlined more practical geographical matters, but the real pleasure to be had was listening to Mr. Stotesbery’s bare-knuckled take on the TTB and recent controversies not only in Calistoga but with respect to AVAs generally. No marketing bullshit here. They had a point of view and they presented it with superb focus and wit. Great fun.
From an eye-opening tasting of Napa wines at Quintessa, we next traveled, asked again to blindly choose a bus, to Pine Ridge for dinner. As with the CIA departure this, too, was a shot in the dark as to where we might end up. I was fortunate enough to be told by Tish to take lucky number 8. I will have much more to say about the evening but I want to specifically mention meeting at long last one of my favorite people in the wine world, Amelia Ceja of Ceja Vineyards. Pictured above, I might add how happy was Joe Roberts of 1 Wine Dude to at last find somebody shorter than himself.
We returned to the Flamingo for the event I had longed for, the Vini Portugal wine tasting event. This will also be a topic of mine in the next few days. We can thank Catavino, a superb site founded by the attractive couple Gabriella and Ryan Opaz, for this dazzling line-up of wines. About much more later!
There is still so much to relate! And I will in the coming days. Able Grape founder Doug Cook’s brilliant wine lesson at the end of the evening (missed Alice Feiring terribly), meeting the folks from El Molino High School, the only high school known to have a winery permit, stellar wine makers such as Montemaggiore’s lovely Lise Ciolino. Much more to come!
Admin
Colares is centuries-old wine growing region on the Atlantic Coast of Portugal. A forty minute train ride from Lisbon, Colares enjoys a very different, adaptive agricultural practice than that found in vineyards only a few kilometers inland. The vines are planted in sand. Actually that is not quite true. The sand is excavated and the vines planted on the clay layer beneath, often to a depth of 3-4 meters, and then the cane is progressively buried in sand as the it grows. As the reader will discover, this practice has had a number of interesting consequences, including the survival of the perhaps the greatest acreage, around 12-14 acres, of pre-phylloxera vines in the whole of Europe. Granted DOC status in 1908, the authorized grapes are equally adaptive and rare, Ramisco and Colares Malvasia. But details of all of this may be read below. Enologist/winemaker Francisco Figueiredo of the Adega Regional de Colares was my guide.
Francisco Figueiredo Ten years. This has been my tenth harvest. For the first few years I worked here only at harvest time. I was still studying. I’m an agronomist and have done post-graduate work in enology. Since then I have worked here in Colares. I also give support to growers/producers not in the Colares region but in the Estremadura region. I’ve always been in this region. My parents live here. So I’ve known the region well since I was a child.
The vineyards are very traditional and quite unique. They are old vines, mainly, ungrafted and pre-phylloxera, some of them still. Because of that we don’t have to use American rootstock. We plant the vines directly on the clay that is underneath the sand, not in the sand itself. To plant a vineyard we dig down in the sand to the clay layer, which can be from 1/2 a meter to 4-5 meters deep. The vines are planted in the clay for the roots to get the moisture, the humidity and the nutrients; then gradually we place sand around the vine as it grows. It takes about two years until the terrain is level again.
FF There are 55 associates. But most are small. The total sandy soil area is about 12 to 14 acres. A very small production. Unfortunately the area has gone down. Not now. It’s stable now for the last ten years, with a small increase. But we have lost a lot of vineyards. In the 60s and the 70s there was a lot of development. We are very near the mountains and the sea. This is a place people want to build homes, people from Lisbon. Most are weekend homes here. [We are driving along the coast. Large homes and apartments climb up the hillsides] All of this used to be vineyards. Not in my time! I am 30 years old.
Francisco added to this subject in a separate email. “I can’t recall any government role in the direct preservation of vineyards. Indirectly the government supports wine sales, mainly outside, through ViniPortugal and partially funding exportation projects. The only thing I can recall regarding the Colares vineyards were two specific measures which gave some annual funding to the grape growers. The objective was for growers to maintain the landscape aspects related to the sandy soil vineyards (conservation of the free stone walls and the dried cane palisades). One of these fundings came from the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park Authority (the protocol only lasted 1 of the intended 5 years due to lack of money!). The other was a specific environmental measure from the Government which lasted 5 years and ended 2 years ago). None of these fundings were directly made to avoid selling the vine land. Wine is one of the agricultural products that the government supports more intensely, but not by trying to avoid the selling of property (that would be difficult because we are talking about private property). I can’t recall any protest related to the selling of a vineyard.”
FF This road we are on used to be all dirt. It is asphalt now. They put the sewer line down the middle of the road. I am beginning to worry about this. We are in one of the main growing areas, a place called “Chão Verde”, outside the small town of Fontanelas. These are probably the only vineyards in the world with a sewage system outside the vineyard! It is very difficult.
FF Yes. It is not with me directly, but the directors of the Adega Regional are in constant contact with associations and politicians to try to make some progress for the vineyards. But it is difficult. It’s difficult.
FF That is because we had a lot of heat in the past few weeks. You came at the wrong time of the year to see vines. It’s after harvest. These are very old vines. They still produce. This is one row. Over there, beyond the free stone wall is another vineyard. One of the things we do is raise the grapes so that they are not in direct contact with the hot sand. They can get burned. We prop the bunches up with a small stick.
FF I am afraid that the next generation isn’t very interested in wine growing. Some of the growers are old people from 60 to 70 years old. But I don’t see that their sons are very interested in the wine growing business. They have other jobs doing other things. The wine growers themselves have other jobs. Some work on different agricultural products. Others keep the vines as a hobby. The cooperative has to make some effort to try and keep tending those vineyards that will be left behind when the older generation passes. That is the only chance for the region: the cooperative will have to work directly taking care of these vineyards when the time comes.
FF Fortunately, no. I will show you another vineyard where we, along with the School of Agronomy, the Technical University of Lisbon, have selected throughout the region several cuttings from the best vines, and we have planted them in this vineyard. There are several clones in the region. They are now being kept, safeguarded in the vineyard. The idea is to protect the varieties.
Notice the trenches of this vineyard being filled. As you can see, we plant after making a trench, a ditch. We put the sand to the side and gradually fill it in as the vine grows. In this area we had to dig about three meters down. I saw how deep when they were paving the road. It was about three and a half meters down to the clay layer.
Oh, this is Mr. Gonçaol. He is an associate of the adega. You are lucky. His vineyard is closed but this way we can see it. You can see again the apple trees. Always the protection, the shelters. These rows or groups of rows separated by the dry cane palisades of vines we call manta. The direct translation of manta would be a blanket. The clay in this vineyard is about one and a half meters down.
FF On of the jobs that is done this time of year, this season. The job is to take these roots out, to cut them away. Sometimes we will also add manure for the vines at this point. The roots are of no interest to us. We want only the deep ones. And there is no irrigation. It is all dry farmed. That is the importance of planting the roots on the clay. No drip irrigation. We have some modern vineyards, not from our association, but from another association, which they drip irrigate. You can easily see that they are not strong vines because of that. So this is the natural way to have water, to plant them directly on the clay.
FF All the cuttings are done here. There is only one nursery site for Ramisco vines just in case someone needs cuttings for a vineyard. For the traditional growers like Mr. Gonçaol, they do their own cuttings. And they choose only from the best vines.
