There's more than just ports to Portugal [The Oregonian]
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:00 am
URL: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/sto ... xml&coll=7
There's more than just ports to Portugal
The nation's winemakers hope its other
Sunday, December 02, 2007
TERRY RICHARD
The Oregonian Staff
A Portuguese winemaker during a recent Portland visit expressed a theory about why one of Europe's oldest nations is making a big push internationally to sell more than its world-famous port and rose wines.
"For the most part, our wine has been drunk in Portugal," said Jose L. Santos Lima Oliveira da Silva, who gave up a career in banking to take over his family's century-old vineyard in the hills north of Lisbon. "The amount left for export is growing, but is still small. But we Portuguese are making a sacrifice by cutting our consumption. That way we have more wine to sell abroad."
His eyes twinkled. Any sacrifice by Portuguese wine drinkers benefits wine lovers elsewhere, particularly in places that have a wine culture themselves.
While Portugal is a top 10 wine exporter, 70 percent of its exports has been the ports and roses that make up only 15 percent of production. Portugal is trying to broaden the reach of its exports, which traditionally have gone to Scandinavia and Britain.
An influx of outside investment after joining the European Union has helped Portugal expand its markets for the wines, made from 500 breeds of native grapes.
More than a dozen Portuguese wine exporters visited Portland and Seattle recently for a trade show that featured their wines.
"People who know wine, like those in the Pacific Northwest, are more likely to try wine from another country," da Silva said. "They are more open-minded about wine in general."
Louisa Maria Fry of the Portuguese Port and Douro Wines Institute said it was easy for her to see that Portland is a wine town. As she browsed some downtown shops during her brief visit, she spotted a $1,200 bottle of port for sale. Case closed.
She and da Silva offered these reasons for giving Portuguese wines a try:
They may be a better value in a new market than established French and Italian wines.
The vines have been given loving care for generations in thousands of family vineyards, many on tiny mountain plots where the work is done by hand.
Many of the grapes are endemic to Portugal, including the red touriga nacional or the white fernao pires. They are bottled as varietals or in blends, so Portuguese wine is likely to provide a new taste for the wine drinker.
Terry Richard: 503-221-8222; terryrichard@news.oregonian.com Blog: http://www.oregonlive.com/travel
There's more than just ports to Portugal
The nation's winemakers hope its other
Sunday, December 02, 2007
TERRY RICHARD
The Oregonian Staff
A Portuguese winemaker during a recent Portland visit expressed a theory about why one of Europe's oldest nations is making a big push internationally to sell more than its world-famous port and rose wines.
"For the most part, our wine has been drunk in Portugal," said Jose L. Santos Lima Oliveira da Silva, who gave up a career in banking to take over his family's century-old vineyard in the hills north of Lisbon. "The amount left for export is growing, but is still small. But we Portuguese are making a sacrifice by cutting our consumption. That way we have more wine to sell abroad."
His eyes twinkled. Any sacrifice by Portuguese wine drinkers benefits wine lovers elsewhere, particularly in places that have a wine culture themselves.
While Portugal is a top 10 wine exporter, 70 percent of its exports has been the ports and roses that make up only 15 percent of production. Portugal is trying to broaden the reach of its exports, which traditionally have gone to Scandinavia and Britain.
An influx of outside investment after joining the European Union has helped Portugal expand its markets for the wines, made from 500 breeds of native grapes.
More than a dozen Portuguese wine exporters visited Portland and Seattle recently for a trade show that featured their wines.
"People who know wine, like those in the Pacific Northwest, are more likely to try wine from another country," da Silva said. "They are more open-minded about wine in general."
Louisa Maria Fry of the Portuguese Port and Douro Wines Institute said it was easy for her to see that Portland is a wine town. As she browsed some downtown shops during her brief visit, she spotted a $1,200 bottle of port for sale. Case closed.
She and da Silva offered these reasons for giving Portuguese wines a try:
They may be a better value in a new market than established French and Italian wines.
The vines have been given loving care for generations in thousands of family vineyards, many on tiny mountain plots where the work is done by hand.
Many of the grapes are endemic to Portugal, including the red touriga nacional or the white fernao pires. They are bottled as varietals or in blends, so Portuguese wine is likely to provide a new taste for the wine drinker.
Terry Richard: 503-221-8222; terryrichard@news.oregonian.com Blog: http://www.oregonlive.com/travel