Wine Fictions

 There are certain things in the wine world that puzzle me and the fact that Hugo Mendes is not represented in Germany is one of them.  Since I have came across his work and consequently met him in Santarém that I have the feeling that there is a high potential not only on his work but also on showing how Portugal is going through a wine revolution, redefining its own parameters as well as adapting to a quickly changing market and drinking habits.  From the projects that I was given the opportunity to try lately, I want to highlight my recent fascination with Pet Nats coming from the vinho verde region. If the one from Quinta de Amares has already conquered a fixed spot on the wines that I often go back to, today it was time for me to come across the one by Casal de Ventozela.  Made of Loureiro and Fernao Pires ( this last one quite an uncommon grape in the north of Portugal, I have to say) it has very decent citrus fruits allied with some white tea and a tremendou...

 One of the things that I miss the most from a near past is how spontaneous I would just meet someone and enjoy a glass of wine in a garden. With Spring flowering around and the temperatures considerably raising making Hamburg emerge from the lethargy of the darker months, you feel a complete different vibe all around the city: people tend to smile more, the parks start getting filled with people playing games and grilling. There is a general positive feeling all around. It was in this almost idyllic context that I was invited for a glass of wine outside.  I find it funny how there is an oiled logistic of glasses and coolers to take and soon I was sitting in a bench with a privileged view over a blooming cherry tree.  Somehow, these are the kind of moments that make you feel the world is still in order and everything will be just fine. From the wines tasted, I would like to highlight this Vin Jaune from Marcel Cabelier.  After having recently been completely fascinat...

 The other day I was at a tasting with some work colleagues from other shops belonging to the company to which I am working for. Being for the first time invited in this circle, I soon realized that I often tend to taste with people with whom I have similar references leaving few place for surprises.   The evening was very pleasant and after a soul warming round of Riesling we have gone to some unexpected Zinfandel with high acidity, wines from direct concurrence shops or some nature wines. On my behalf,  I was tremendously predictable and brought Quinta de Saes Reserva  white, which has impressed most of the colleagues as it drove them to tip on Burgundy as we have tasted the wines blind.  With the evening coming to an end, one of the colleagues has invited me and some others to go to his mom's place as she did not live too far away and he still had  some wines to share. Currently studying to become a sommelier he soon dived the conversation into supe...

 One of the main goals of going through a formal wine education is to learn the typical style of a certain region and why certain grapes are the most adequate to reflect a certain terroir.  That being the Dao region in Portugal is often presented as Burgundy, Alentejo as California or the Douro as being the portuguese Bordeaux. In the latest also Rioja is presented as an alternative to Bordeaux. Being so, when buying a bottle from a given region you may be almost sure that you are getting a pre established kind of wine that you can correlate with former experiences you had. But climate change, new drinking tendencies and new approaches to wine making, among others, have been revealing new and fascinating wines that show a new facet that still translate the specificities of the terroir.  This was exactly what happened with this Altitude 430. Produced by one of the most iconic Douro houses, this Altitude is a cuvée dominated by a pretty unknown grape named Tinta Francisca a...

 Even though I consider Hamburg to be a very lively wine city with several wine events happening a bit all around, I have to confess that most of the shops existing are concentrated in a considerably small circle taking in account the dimension of this almost two million inhabitants city.  In the area where I live there are only two wine shops which are 1,2 and 3 kilometers away. In both cases, they belong to major retailing chains, being that one of them is frankly competing with supermarkets, not really representing a good option at the time of choosing a wine. There are a couple of wine bars where you are offered a more or less independent selection but I have the feeling that it is just enough.  When moving eastern the options reduce drastically.  At this point I have to quickly explain that the supermarket wine supply in Germany is mainly taking in account price competition instead of focusing on quality, seldomly presenting a solid offer to people who want to e...

As I have moved to Hamburg about thirteen years ago, I started being invaded with a strong feeling of reliving some of the dishes that have marked my growing up in Portugal. Some are easier than others to recreate, being strongly dependent on the ingredients that you can find. One that has been persistently buzzing in my head is Cabidela .  Original from the north of Portugal with different varietals in almost all the former portuguese colonies, this has been one of my all time favourite dishes. But hard do it in Hamburg. I have asked several butchers for blood but I have been invariously looked with a mix of suspicion and fear.  But while having a look at the possibility of buying a piglet at an asian supermarket, I have came across duck blood.  Without hesitation I bought it and immediately invited a group of friends to come over and try the cabidela.  Being the first time that I have tried to cook it, it was not as good as I wanted it, but I was still satisfied wi...