Thursday Virtual Happy Hour: Douro Reds (not Port)

Beyond the well-known (and world-famous) fortified wines of Port and Madeira, Portugal also produces a range of still red and white wines of varying renown and style, from the dry, refreshing whites of Vinho Verde to the sparkling wines of Óbidos and the warm reds of the Douro and Dão.

The country has undergone something of a wine revolution in the past couple of decades, updating its winemaking technologies, styles and attitudes. This archetypal Old World country has long been famous its fortified wines, Port and Madeira, and tart, light Vinho Verde. But in the last decade or two it has garnered a great deal of attention for its new wave of rich, ripe, table wines, with reds from the Douro Valley particularly prominent.

The Douro as the first demarcated wine region in the world in 1756. The Marquês de Pombal, in an effort to safeguard the port wine trade, bounded the region with 335 of these stone pillars, of which only a third survive. The reds wines from this region are mostly blends of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta, Roriz, Tinta Cao, and Tinta Barroca.

Douro reds are mountain wines. The river mediates the temperatures, but these are solid aromatic wines. With vibrant fruit tones, wild herbs and flowers, and, of course, minerality. Douro reds thrive at the table when they are used like a Bordeaux, but they are generous, complex, and exuberant like Priorat.

We have a choice of videos to watch including:

1. https://youtu.be/B9tOUk1UAio?si=9k1r-zfqRkqMwkfj - Douro Valley Red Wine - Wines 'Til Sold Out (4:29)
2. https://youtu.be/0WEbJg3rK9c?si=xleOcbjNh63naGyU - 12 Portuguese Wines from the Douro YOU Should Try… Besides Port Wine - Dr. Matthew Horkey (12:37)
3. https://youtu.be/A1BPUf7QKXg?si=89GMxWwMk3e4MH_v - Exploring the Alto Douro Wine Region: Portugal's Hidden Gem - World Wonders (13:04)

***

So, pick up a bottle and watch a couple of videos. Let us know what you’re drinking and eating, and, if possible, the region from which your wine comes. Do you have any comments (positive or negative) about the videos? And, as always, tell us what’s going on in your life - what's happening with you, how you're feeling about things, updates, successes, challenges - as much or as little as you’re willing to disclose. We are in this together. And - thank goodness - we have wine!

Cheers!!