Ramos Pinto-" The Jewel of the Douro Valley" by Philip S. Kampe

Standing out from the dozens of Port houses in Gaia, near the cable car and directly across from the magnificent city of Porto (Oporto) lies a mustard colored building with the words-well lit at nighttime-RAMOS PINTO.

Founded in 1880 by brothers Antonio and Adriano, Ramos Pinto capitalized on its innovative marketing strategy to focus initially on the Brazilian market, subsequently exporting half of their output to their South American ally.

The mustard colored building comes alive indoors with a guided tour, followed by a special port tasting (recommended). The tour familiarizes you with how the company was run internally-bills of lading-typewriters-and all that goes with a company focused on sales. The other side of the coin shows the marketing genius approach of Ramos Pinto, with thematic posters and statues that dare the viewer to think about ‘Ramos Pinto’ and only ‘Ramos Pinto’ as their exclusive entrance to the world of port. The living museum houses bottle labels of the past, medals won in competitions, all with the intention of showing off the laurels of Ramos Pinto.

Ramos Pinto owns 90% of the vineyards that supply their grapes in the Douro Valley. That equates to 580 acres from four Quintas: Utiga, Bons Ares, Bom Retiro and Ervamoira. Their products are unique because they have the ability to offer single Quinta varieties or create blends from the four Quintas.

Of all of the port producers in the Douro Valley, Ramos Pinto enjoys the distinction of having the largest proportion of vineyards in relation to its production. This gives the winery the much needed control necessary for both harvest and growing conditions.

When you ferry down the Douro River in the Douro Valley, the signs from Ramos Pinto alert the passenger to their land dominance. I noted their signs from every curve of the river.

Ramos Pinto, like so many vineyards, has changed hands and was acquired by Champagne Louis Roederer in 1990.

The properties are known as “the jewel of the Douro.”

The acquisition has made the ports from Ramos Pinto more accessible to their European counterparts and those of us from North America.  Ratings have been off of the chart by all of the major wine magazines and related publications.

The generous tasting that followed the guided tour proved, to me, that the ports from Ramos Pinto were exceptional and should be sought after. The 30 year port was both complex and exceptionally fresh, supple and balanced with butterscotch, dark cherry and a juniper berry and chocolate finish that lingered on my palate for minutes afterwards.

++Ramos Pinto is one of the ports chosen by TAP airlines to pour for their ‘Business Class’ flights.


Philip S. Kampe
philip.kampe@thewinehub.com

Quinta da Alorna, Founded in 1723, Produces Their Best Wines Today, After Five Generations by Philip S. Kampe and Maria Reveley

                                                  Quinta da Alorna-Wines from Tejo
It was a real treat to visit an estate located close to the Tagus River,  near the lovely town of Santarem, a couple of hours east of Lisbon (Portugal). 

Initially, the estate was founded in 1723 by Dom Pedro Miguel de Almeida, who named the estate after conquering the Alorna Fort in Goa, India.

Subsequently, Mr.Alemeida was known as the ‘First Marquis of Alorna.’

Quinta da Alorna is a unique piece of property. Not only a winery exists on its 7,000 acres (2,800 hectares), but, an iconic villa loaded with priceless art and antiques adorn the splendor of the whole estate, which also focuses on the environment, nature and sustainability.

Five generations of the Lopo de Carvalho family have farmed the land and cultivated the 550 acres (200 hectares)  of sandy-soil vineyards that focus on both Portuguese and International varietals, that include amongst others, Verdelho, Arinto, Chardonnay,  Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional.

Sustainability, social responsibility and conservation of the natural environment are the mantra of Quinta da Alorna. Growing onions, corn, peas and potatoes close to the vineyards represents the coexistence of natures’ importance at Quinta da Alorna.

Conservation of fauna and flora represent 5,000 acres (1,900 hectares) of the estates commitment to the environment.

Originally, the property was focused on agriculture, but, as of late, the emergence of fruit-forward wines paired with new technology and reasonable market prices have made Quinta da Alorna a highly recommended wine producer that exports to close to thirty worldwide markets. Sales, both domestically and abroad have risen year to year.

After visiting this ‘one of a kind Quinta’, it was easy to understand why personal involvement of the staff coupled with passion, produce the best results.

And following through on commitment, sampling wines from Quinta da Lorna on the TAP airline flights, where wines paired with traditional Portuguese cuisine from Michelin Star Chefs helps create a special attachment to the history and tradition of Portugal.

Philip S. Kampe

Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com

 

TAP Innaugural Wine Tour 2017 by Maria Reveley

                                                             
                                   Symington General Manager, Jose L. Alvaras Ribeiro

                                                             Quinta do Bomfim

                                             Terraced Vineyards on the Douro River

The Inaugural TAP Wine Tour

November 2017

The Douro Region

The Inaugural 2017 TAP Wine Tour celebrated the winners of a blind tasting to become the wines chosen for 2018 TAP flights.

Abilio Martins, SVP Marketing at TAP, and his teams developed this effort to promote the Portuguese culture on TAP through its wines and cuisines. 

In 2016, TAP served 1.2 million bottles of national wines making it the biggest showcase for Portuguese wines in the world.

TAP intends to broaden and diversify its on-flight ‘Wine List’ to include red, white, rose, muscatel, port and sparkling wines to create a true onboard Wine Experience.  It will offer quality wines from small and large producers with an estimate usage of 2.5 million bottles over the next two years.

This Inaugural Wine Tour was the culmination of many hours of tasting by wine experts, first in Lisbon, and then on two flights to Prague.  In the air, taste buds change with air pressure, so the winners on the ground were re-tasted, again blind, to make sure the very best wines would be served to TAP flyers in 2018.

To enhance this experience even further, the crews are being trained to better serve the wines of the new lists. The Wine Experience joins the Taste the Stars project, in which TAP invited five (5) Portuguese Chefs, all distinguished with Michelin stars to join Vitor Sobral, TAP’s gastronomical consultant, to create superior on-board taste experiences.

These chefs are: Henrique Sa Pessoa, Jose Avillez, Miguel Laffan, Rui Paula and Rui Silvestre.

As remarked by Fernando Pinto, TAP’s CEO, “Just like the Portuguese, TAP has huge passion for Portugal.  Not only do we bring the world to Portugal, as with us, this passion has no boundaries and we’ll take it all over the world.”

What follows is a description of one of the winning regions, the Douro, in northern Portugal, and its winning wines.

The Douro Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage area.  It is stunningly beautiful, with steep mountains and hand tended vineyards.  The Douro River runs through the region and the city of Porto. And, at sunset, you can begin to understand why the name – River of Gold – is so on target.

The river winds through granite escarpments and terraces of schist. The steep mountains of the Douro Valley have been tended for hundreds of years by hand.

The Douro Region is the FIRST DEMARCATED AND REGULATED WINE REGION IN THE WORLD!  This area produces port, excellent DOC Douro wine, sparkling wine and muscat.  It was established by decree in 1765 by the Marquis of Pombal and classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001.

A few words about Port Wine, which some call the nectar of the gods. Port wine has a richness and intensity of aroma that is unique, with a high level of alcohol (between 19% and 22%).  There is white, ruby, tawny, rose and late bottled vintage (LBV) Port Wines.

The methods used to make these delicious wines are much the same as hundreds of years ago.  The LBVs are considered by many to be the Crown Jewels of Port Wine.

TAP’s Wine Tour winner in the Douro was Symington which prompted a visit to Quinta do Bomfim, where we were met by Jose L. Alvares Ribeiro, Executive Director.

The Symingtons of Scottish, English and Portuguese descent have been Port producers for five generations since 1882. Five members of the family work together in their four historic Port houses: Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warres, being one of the foremost producers of premium quality Port.

The Symingtons were also pioneers in the development of Douro wines in the late 1990’s, producing Chryseia, Post Scriptum (both with the Prats family), Quinta do Vesuvio, Quinta do Ataide and Altano.

Mr. Ribeiro explained that there are 110 varietals in the Douro and that originally the Douro produced only red wines.  When they applied brandy to kill the yeast, they started making Port. Fifty-five per cent of all mountainous vineyards in the world are in the Douro and it is three to four times more expensive to produce wines here than in any other area of the world.

Although the soil in the Douro is poor, it does retain water because of the schist, and the vines are very resilient, developing deep roots to find the water. The vines can withstand the extreme weather of the Douro.

We tasted the Quinta do Ataide 2014, 100% Touriga National, the national grape of Portugal. Ruby red with dark cherry and plum notes, this young wine shows promise.  The long awaited Quinta do Vesuvio 2015 will be released shortly.  Both wines are from their best plots on the vineyard, where clay rather than schist prevails.

The Dow’s 1980 vintage Port ages beautifully with a clear color and velvety, rich tones.

All in all, this area of Portugal is a magical and beautiful place that honors hundreds of years of tradition in wine-making.  It’s a region one must visit.

 Maria Reveley