The Alentejo is a vast, rural area of flat plains speckled with cork oaks and olive trees. It is really hot in the summer, requiring irrigation for the many and large vineyards. The Alentejo was the standard bearer for Portugal’s wine revolution, adopting modern winegrowing methods.
The region is best known for red wines which are generally full bodied, fruity and suitable for aging. It also grows one of the ‘big five’ grape varieties for port, Aragonez, also known as Tinta Roriz in northern Portugal. White wines are not traditional to the region but with help of the temperature controlled fermentation tanks some very good whites are appearing.
We interviewed wine maker João Portugal Ramos to find out about life in the Alentejo…
Which is your favourite wine that you make in Alentejo?
“My favourite wine would have to be Marquês de Borba Reserva as it’s a elegant wine, but most importantly completely fresh and beautifully balanced.”
3 words to describe this favourite wine?
“Vinosity, complexity, balanced.”
What international food would you match with it?
I love to eat Carré d’Agneau, a lamb recipe roasted with a mustard, rosemary and thyme sauce.
Finally, what do you do when you’re not making wine?
“I spend time with my family and enjoy hunting.”
You can purchase João Portugal Ramos wines from Adnams; log on to www.adnams.co.uk
Why don’t you have a go at making this dish and matching it with Ana’s favorite wine, Marquês de Borba Reserva? Click here for a Carré d’Agneau recipe:
Carré d’agneau a la Provençale – Lamb Provencal
A lamb recipe from Provence for Rack of Lamb roasted with a mustard, rosemary and thyme crust.
Ingredients
• 3 lb. (8 ribs) rack of lamb, frenched
• 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• 1/2 -1/3 cup of soft dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground rosemary
• 2 Tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard
• Salt & freshly ground pepper
Preparation
1). Preheat oven to 525F.
2). Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and add the shallots and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, do not allow the vegetables to color.
3). Remove the skillet from heat, add bread crumbs, thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
4). Stir in egg then mustard. Stuffing should hold together in soft mounds.
5). Spread the remaining oil in a roasting pan, add the lamb and turn to coat on all sides.
6). Roast for 9 minutes, turning once so that the lamb browns on both sides.
7). Remove from oven.
8). Spread the stuffing over the fat side of the meat.
9). Return to oven and roast for 8 minutes for rare (internal temp: 130-135). Cook for an additional 5 minutes for well-done.
10). Remove from oven, turn broiler to med-high and broil for about 3 minutes or until crust turns golden brown.
11). Transfer to a warm platter and let sit in 200∞ oven for 5 minutes before carving.
To serve:
Carve roast into 8 chops and arrange on a platter to serve. Goes very well accompanied by tomatoes provenaal. To make the tomatoes: make a another batch of the stuffing, cut 2 tomatoes in half, arrange in an oiled baking dish. Spread the stuffing on the tops and bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, then broil for 1 minute. They may be served at room temperature.
Bovey wines have recently launched their new website which also shows information such as their retail outlets and up and coming events. Visit www.boveywines.co.uk to find out more
Pegoes has done extremely well in the recent 2010 wine awards. In total they won 2 gold’s, 4 silvers, 10 bronzes & 9 commended medals. Their best performance was in the IWSC where their Adega de Pegoes Touriga Nacional 2008 won a Gold Best in Class. They also won 4 Silver Best in Class medals in this competition.
Their Stella Blanco dry Muscat was nominated in the Gold list at the Sommelier Wine Awards.
Other news is that Pegoes are now set up to bottle under screw cap on the taller Bordeaux style bottles and they will start with screw cap on the Stella range from next month. Stella Blanco and Stella Rosado will be available with screw cap in June with Stella Rosso changing to screw cap on our next shipment.
Portuguese wine company Falua Sociedade de Vinhos has unveiled a new and innovative image for Tagus Creek. The new packaging has been re-designed to give a more contemporary feel with greater focus on the grape varieties in the blend and clearer information on the back label.
Information in Braille has been added for the first time to widen consumer appeal and QR codes have also been added to enable consumers with the latest mobile phones to access instant detailed information about the wines.
So how does the QR technology work?
Hold your phone up to the QR code and the camera will automatically scan it and take you straight to the url page of technical information.
Chalié Richards has launched the first ever sparkling wine from Sir Cliff Richard’s Adega do Cantor winery in the Algarve, Portugal which has been released to celebrate Sir Cliff’s 70th birthday later this year. The wine is part of the Vida Nova range and is made from 100 per cent Syrah grapes picked in 2008.
Winemaker, Max Birch, commented: “We were keen to extend the Vida Nova range to include a sparkling wine and decided to make the first vintage to mark Sir Cliff’s 50 years in music and to celebrate his 70th birthday. We are delighted with the first bottling and have already received a number of pre orders from ardent Cliff fans!”
A limited volume of the Vida Nova Espumante Rosé will be released in May and will be available in the UK through importer, Chalié Richards.
Pink Elephant Rose has supported the Elephant Family Charity for many years now and donates proceeds from every bottle sold. They are currently raising much needed funds and awareness of the plight of the Asian Elephant by way of the Elephant Parade in London.
There are currently over 250 painted Elephants on the streets of London and we have sponsored a Pink one which is in Covent Garden Piazza, above is a picture of the 10 International Pink Elephant with winemaker Jose Neiva.
For more information on the parade in general click here
Fields, Morris & Verdin is delighted to announce the arrival of the latest addition to the Tonnix range, a Douro Rosé from Quinta de la Rosa. Tonnix is a joint venture between renowned Chef/Restaurateurs Mitch Tonks and Mark Hix. The first wine, a 2007 Douro Branco, was produced by Quinta de la Rosa in Portugal’s Douro Valley and was launched in late 2009. The second wine also from Quinta de la Rosa and a 2009 vintage has been chosen for its suitability with fish dishes.
Both Tonnix wines are available at Mark Hix’s eponymous Brewer Street restaurant, in his restaurant in Selfridges and at the Oyster & Chop House in Smithfield and the Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis. They are also available at Mitch’s two restaurants, The Seahorse in Dartmouth and the Rockfish Grill in Bristol, and will be available in his shortly to be opened deli and café in Dartmouth.
The label has been designed by Tracey Emin and Mark & Mitch have also agreed to donate £0.50 from every bottle sold to the RNLI.
Click here for more info…
Guess the grape variety and the first 10 correct answers will win a ViniPortugal Corkscrew
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal’s finest.
Despite the low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for ports, and is increasingly being used for table wine in the Douro and Dão. It provides structure and body to wine, with high tannins and concentrated flavours of black fruit.
Click here to email your answers
Ingredients