Portuguese wines slowly make inroads in United States
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:11 am
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Portuguese wines slowly make inroads in United States
By Joao Ferreira
Grape Expectations
March 06, 2008 6:00 AM
While Portuguese wine has failed to fulfill its full potential in the United States so far, there's an importer in New Bedford bent on accomplishing that goal.
Talk to Jack Couto, president of fast-growing Grape Moments, and he is all enthusiasm about the future of Portuguese wines in the United States. He will drop highly favorable reviews by respectable wine publications into your hands, tell you about the progress of Portuguese wines in the last decade, and describe his mission in life: Making Portuguese wine the next big thing in America.
That's a tall order.
"I would like it if there were five or six Grape Moments. I can't conquer the U.S. alone," Jack laments, reflecting on his 23-year experience in the business.
Here's partly why. Until recently, Portuguese wine importers have catered primarily to the ethnic Portuguese market. That's all fine, but if Portuguese wine is going to succeed in this country, importers have to move beyond the walls of the Fall Rivers and New Bedfords of America.
"There are many Portuguese wine importers, but not many are working at a national level," Jack says. "That's the biggest problem."
A good example of this problem was Portugal's modest display at the recent Boston Wine Expo, leading local wine blogger Marco Montez to write that the expansion of Portuguese wine in the United States "won't happen. Now and not anytime soon."
Jack prefers to be a bit more optimistic.
He points out that Grape Moments, with a sprawling 1,700-square-foot warehouse in New Bedford's South End and $1 million of inventory on hand, sells 80 percent of its wine outside the ethnic market, in 34 states. Their portfolio includes wines from Portugal's best regions, including the Douro and Alentejo, and the future looks bright.
Due to an increasing effort by Vini Portugal, a professional association that promotes Portuguese wine in the United States, major wine magazines and newspapers like the New York Times have recently published articles raving about Portugal's new wines. Portugal is not just about Port or rose any longer, the articles often say.
"This didn't happen in the old days," Jack says about the intense coverage.
Jack thinks, and so do I, that Portuguese wines have all the necessary ingredients to be as well-known in the United States as the wines of, say, neighboring Spain. The grape varieties are unique, the wines are full of character and "unexpected flavors," Jack says, and the quality continues to move upward.
The realization of this potential led Grape Moments to change its strategy after it was created about three years ago. The company initially had wines from Portugal, other European countries and South America in its portfolio, but quickly changed course to focus primarily on Portuguese wines. Now it's time to spread the word.
"Everything works around an image," Jack says. "I think Portugal is heading in the right direction."
Wine of the week
The Quinta dos Grilos Dao (about $8 in stores) is one of the Grape Moments wines I've come to enjoy with some frequency. This affordable red from the Dao region offers enough complexity, dark and red berry fruit and a good balance between acidity and tannins to satisfy. Like other Dao reds, it tends to be more savory than overly fruity.
Joao Ferreira is a Standard-Times staff writer. Contact him at jferreira@s-t.com
http://www.southcoasttoday.com
Portuguese wines slowly make inroads in United States
By Joao Ferreira
Grape Expectations
March 06, 2008 6:00 AM
While Portuguese wine has failed to fulfill its full potential in the United States so far, there's an importer in New Bedford bent on accomplishing that goal.
Talk to Jack Couto, president of fast-growing Grape Moments, and he is all enthusiasm about the future of Portuguese wines in the United States. He will drop highly favorable reviews by respectable wine publications into your hands, tell you about the progress of Portuguese wines in the last decade, and describe his mission in life: Making Portuguese wine the next big thing in America.
That's a tall order.
"I would like it if there were five or six Grape Moments. I can't conquer the U.S. alone," Jack laments, reflecting on his 23-year experience in the business.
Here's partly why. Until recently, Portuguese wine importers have catered primarily to the ethnic Portuguese market. That's all fine, but if Portuguese wine is going to succeed in this country, importers have to move beyond the walls of the Fall Rivers and New Bedfords of America.
"There are many Portuguese wine importers, but not many are working at a national level," Jack says. "That's the biggest problem."
A good example of this problem was Portugal's modest display at the recent Boston Wine Expo, leading local wine blogger Marco Montez to write that the expansion of Portuguese wine in the United States "won't happen. Now and not anytime soon."
Jack prefers to be a bit more optimistic.
He points out that Grape Moments, with a sprawling 1,700-square-foot warehouse in New Bedford's South End and $1 million of inventory on hand, sells 80 percent of its wine outside the ethnic market, in 34 states. Their portfolio includes wines from Portugal's best regions, including the Douro and Alentejo, and the future looks bright.
Due to an increasing effort by Vini Portugal, a professional association that promotes Portuguese wine in the United States, major wine magazines and newspapers like the New York Times have recently published articles raving about Portugal's new wines. Portugal is not just about Port or rose any longer, the articles often say.
"This didn't happen in the old days," Jack says about the intense coverage.
Jack thinks, and so do I, that Portuguese wines have all the necessary ingredients to be as well-known in the United States as the wines of, say, neighboring Spain. The grape varieties are unique, the wines are full of character and "unexpected flavors," Jack says, and the quality continues to move upward.
The realization of this potential led Grape Moments to change its strategy after it was created about three years ago. The company initially had wines from Portugal, other European countries and South America in its portfolio, but quickly changed course to focus primarily on Portuguese wines. Now it's time to spread the word.
"Everything works around an image," Jack says. "I think Portugal is heading in the right direction."
Wine of the week
The Quinta dos Grilos Dao (about $8 in stores) is one of the Grape Moments wines I've come to enjoy with some frequency. This affordable red from the Dao region offers enough complexity, dark and red berry fruit and a good balance between acidity and tannins to satisfy. Like other Dao reds, it tends to be more savory than overly fruity.
Joao Ferreira is a Standard-Times staff writer. Contact him at jferreira@s-t.com
