January 27 will be #PortDay

The Center for Wine Origins <http://www.wineorigins.com/>  is proud to announce that January 27 will be #PortDay. This inaugural social media event encourages the celebration of this truly unique wine that only comes from Portugal. What’s more, it is all made possible by YOU!
 

 

The amazing Douro Valley in Portugal

How can you participate? You and your readers can join #PortDay online by blogging, tweeting, posting and sharing your thoughts about this exceptional wine by using the #PortDay hashtag. Or, you can host or join an online or offline tasting event at one of the numerous retail and restaurant tastings that are being planned in locations across the United States. To stay up-to-date on the most current news regarding Port Day or to register an event, visit http://portday2012.eventbrite.com/ <https://mail.clsdc.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=0d48c930e87e4dcd9e1e8ad8e38d94f7&URL=http%3a%2f%2fportday2012.eventbrite.com%2f> .
 

As part of this celebration, the Center is hosting a contest to encourage U.S. consumers to photograph their favorite authentic Port wines. To enter the contest to win an iPad 2, contest entrants should send a picture of an authentic Port label to wineorigins@clsdc.com with the subject line as “Port Day 2012 Photo Contest Entry” or post the picture to your Facebook profile and tag yourself and the Center for Wine Origins <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Center-for-Wine-Origins/25795351212>  in the picture. One Grand Prize winner will be selected randomly on January 25 and receive an iPad 2. Complete contest rules are available at http://www.wineorigins.com/?p=1501.
 

There are many quality fortified and dessert wines, but true Port only comes from the Port appellation in Portugal, one of the world’s oldest regulated and demarcated wine regions. Unfortunately, today the Port name is misused on wine bottles across the world and particularly in the United States. Wines produced not from the grapes grown in the Douro Valley are misleading consumers to believe it is Port by improperly putting the name on its label. When shopping for Port and entering the contest, make sure to look for the seal of the approval <http://www.wineorigins.com/?page_id=48>  and confirm that the wine comes from Portugal.
 
The Center is here to help. So, if you have a #PortDay event idea and need resources, please ask by tweeting at us @WineOrigins <https://twitter.com/#!/WineOrigins>  or sending us an email at info@wineorigins.com.

Saúde!
LA

 

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Vineyard expansion in Europe? What are they thinking???

It came as a real surprise to me to see this article in the Decanter magazine this morning: "European wine growing regions are battling European Commission plans to allow massive vineyard expansion." Full article here: Decanter.com

After years of pulling off vineyards and converting excessive wine production into ethanol for fuel - The European Union has distilled millions of hectoliters of wine into industrial alcohol because producers in Europe have been making more wine than they can sell - it is hard to believe that the EU wants to go in a total different direction.

The Decanter.com article says: "To boost the wine sector’s competitiveness by reducing production costs, the EU has included an amendment to liberalise planting rights, from January 2016, within proposals for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - a policy which one lobbyist said would have 'catastrophic' consequences."

Really? Are they saying that planting vineyards in the Douro Valley in Portugal or in Rioja in Spain (where production costs are very high) is going to help with the competitiveness of the European wine sector by reducing its costs? My gosh! What are they thinking???

Someone said that "the effect of this could be catastrophic". Well, I couldn't agree more, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Cheers,
LA

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Visit to Quinta do Crasto - FTLOP Tour

As part of the amazing trip that Roy Hersh and Mario Ferreira put together, on February 23rd we had the opportunity to visit Quinta do Crasto. We spent our entire day touring the vineyards and then dinner with Roquette family. And for the first time... any of  Roy’s groups have ever done this... We stayed the night in the Roquette's home... It was a day-into-night to remember! Quinta do Crasto is located on the right bank of the river Douro, halfway between Régua and Pinhão. The quinta covers 130 hectares, of which 70 are planted with grade “A” vineyards. Sitting on a privileged location in the Douro Demarcated Region, Quinta do Crasto has been in the family of Leonor and Jorge Roquette for over a century. Like other great Douro quintas, its origins lie in ancient times (the name CRASTO comes from the Latin word castrum, a Roman fort). References to Quinta do Crasto date as far back as the early seventeenth century, long before the Douro became the world’s first demarcated wine region in 1756.
Large investments were made over the last years to restructure the vineyards and install modern winery equipment, guaranteeing the production of high quality table wines, such as Crasto Douro Red, Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines, single variety wines (100 % Touriga Nacional and 100% Tinta Roriz) and single vineyard wines (Vinha da Ponte and Vinha Maria Teresa), as well as top port wine categories such as Late Bottled Vintage and Vintage Port. While using state-of-the-art vinification technology, the quinta has always retained its traditional foot treading method in granite tanks, called “lagares”. All the investments made in the past combined with the tradition and passion that is put into the wine making, has given Quinta do Crasto a prominent name in wine market scene, at home and abroad.
This visit is going to be included in the documentary that is been filmed and produced by Zev Robinson – Life On The Douro.
Casting of this episode: Tomas Roquette, Manuel Lobo de Vasconcellos, Roy Hersh, Mario Ferreira, Sandy Becker, Ruth Becker, Luiz Alberto and, of course, the wonderful Douro Valley and its incredible wines.
I tried to capture with these pictures the beauty of the property and a little bit of the incredible hospitality of the Roquette Family.

We had a great time that day...

Muito Obrigado!!!

Luiz A. G. Alberto
TheWineHub  

See the full gallery on Posterous

These pictures were taken with a Nikon D7000:
Nikon D7000 16.2MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)

http://www.thewinehub.com/
One of the pillars of TheWineHub is Wine Tourism. Whether you are a wine maker, or a wine drinker, we all enjoy having discoveries...

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