For The Love Of Port

Essência do Vinho 2007 - Prizes & Top 10 Portuguese Wines

Essência do Vinho is a major Portuguese Wine Tasting event that has being held annually in the city of Oporto, Portugal.

The 2007 Essência do Vinho event run from February 16th until February 18th and welcomed 16,200 visitors. About 2000 different wines from 250 wine producers were being showcased then.

Below please find the Prizes given at the event and also the Top-10 Portuguese Wines that were chosen by the International Journalist Panel at Essência do Vinho.

Essência do Vinho - Prizes 2007

Best Producer: SOGRAPE.
Best Winemaker: JOÃO PORTUGAL RAMOS
Best Red Wine: ABANDONADO DOURO 2004 (DOMINGOS ALVES DE SOUSA)
Best White Wine: REDOMA DOURO 2005 (NIEPOORT)
Best Port Wine: KOPKE VINTAGE PORTO 2003
Prize of Excelence: JOÃO NICOLAU DE ALMEIDA (Director and Winemaker at Ramos-Pinto)

Top 10 Portuguese Wines - Tasted & Judged by the International Panel

Whites
1st: ÁZEO Douro 2005 – Cunha & Prazeres

Reds
1st: QUINTA DE LA ROSA RESERVA Douro 2004 – Quinta da Rosa Vinhos
2nd: POEIRA Douro – Jorge Nobre Moreira
3rd: MOMENTOS Douro 2004 – Luís Soares Duarte
4th PINTAS Douro 2004 – Wine & Soul
5th: PASSADOURO RESERVA Douro 2004 – Quinta do Passadouro
6th: CALDA BORDALEZA Bairrada 2004 – Campolargo
7th: CV Douro 2004 – Lemos & Van zeller

Porto Vintage
1st: QUINTA DA ROEDA Porto Vintage 2004 – Croft
2nd: (exequo)
QUINTA DA SENHORA DA RIBEIRA Porto Vintage 2004 – Dow's
PINTAS Porto Vintage 2004 – Wine & Soul

Journalists Members of the Jury :
* Célia Lourenço - (blue Wine) - Portugal,
* Francesco Craca - (Wine Writer), Italy.
* Gunnar Tornquist - (ViniPortugal Magazine), Sweden.
* James Ernest Whalley - (Sunday Independent + Intemezzo), Ireland.
* Jan Petersen - (Vin&Mat Livets Goda e Dalarnas Tidningar), Sweden.
* Jens Leichsenring - (Diners Club), Germany.
* José Maria Santana - (Gula), Brazil.
* Luis Gutierrez - (El Mundo / blue Wine), Spain.
* Magnus Waern - (Vin&Mat Allt om Mat), Sweden.
* Miguel Castro e Silva - (blue Wine), Portugal.
* Paulo Milreu - (Alta Gastronomia), Portugal.
* Raul Riba d'Ave - (blue Wine), Portugal.
* Rui Falcão - (blue Wine), Portugal.
* Tom Marthinsen - (Dagens Naeringsliv), Norway.

Interesting that the Kopke VP was the Port winner and the regular Niepoort Redoma Branco 2005 won the white wine category. Mario, do you know what the selection criteria was for the Essência do Vinho?

Congratulations to JOÃO, could not go to a nicer fellow!

Jay

Jay Powers wrote:Congratulations to JOÃO, could not go to a nicer fellow!

Jay

Very true....a super nice and very funny man

Andy V. wrote:

Jay Powers wrote:Congratulations to JOÃO, could not go to a nicer fellow!.

Very true....a super nice and very funny man

I'm sure both of you are referring to João Nicolau de Almeida of Ramos Pinto that we all met last year in V.N.Gaia. Correct ??

There's another JOÃO that also got a prize: João Portugal Ramos, who's also a producer & winemaker in the Alentejo Region in southern Portugal. :)

Andy V. wrote:Interesting that the Kopke VP was the Port winner and the regular Niepoort Redoma Branco 2005 won the white wine category. Mario, do you know what the selection criteria was for the Essência do Vinho?

Andy - Essência do Vinho organized a ballot and each guest was given a vote. So, those prizes were nominated by public vote based on the ballot outcome :)

MF

Thanks Mario....and those darn confusing names in the Port trade. Just like all those Anna's on the trip.....

Mario

Yes, I was referring to João Nicolau de Almeida whom we met and was a most gracious host. Thanks João!

I'm sure the other João is swell too but I have not met him to comment.

Jay

João Portugal Ramos is also making excellent wines, his Marques de Borba reserva 2003 is worth looking for. It is a wine that will last for quite a few years, when I opened one 2 weeks ago, it was at its best on the 3rd day.