Tag Archives: Portuguese wine

Wine and food pairings 11: Croque monsieur, turkey style

croque monsieurThe Wine Curmudgeon pairs wine with some of his favorite recipes in this occasional feature. This edition: three wines with croque monsieur, the French grilled sandwich,  and all that leftover holiday turkey.

Tired of seeing all that leftover turkey in the fridge? The Wine Curmudgeon has a plan — variations on the theme of the French croque monsieur, a grilled ham sandwich that bears more than a passing resemblance to the grilled cheese our moms made when we were kids.

In this, once we substitute leftover turkey for the ham, the possibilities are endless. The adventurous among us can go traditional (save for the turkey), making the sandwich with a bechamel sauce.  Or, you can go Julia Child, grilling the sandwich in clarified butter and cutting off the crusts. My preference? A turkey Reuben, which uses leftover turkey but also offers a change of pace. How often do Thousand Island dressing and sauerkraut show up at Thanksgiving?

Click here to download or print a PDF of the recipe. A turkey Reuben lends itself to a variety of wine; these three suggestions will get you started:

• La Vieille Ferme Blanc 2019 ($8, purchased, 13%): This French white blend is much, much better than the old days, with more fruit (pear?) and a very soft finish. In this, it’s a little too soft to be a wine of the week, but it’s certainly worth buying on sale and keeping around the house. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Herdade do Esporao Alandra 2019 ($10, purchased, 13%): This is an old-fashioned, almost rough and tannic, red blend from Portugal. Having said that, its dark fruit and longish finish is oddly pleasing.. Needs food. Imported by NOW Wine Imports

• Etienne Besancenot Cochon Volant 2019 ($12, purchased, 12.5%): This French pink is fruity (red cherry?), thanks to the 60 percent grenache in the blend. But it’s dry and and enjoyable. Imported by Wines with Conviction

Blog associate editor Churro contributed to this post

Full disclosure: Yet again, I neglected to take a picture of the dish; the one accompanying the post is from the Serious Easts blog.

More about wine and food pairings:
• Wine and food pairings 10: Lemon rosemary roasted turkey thighs
• Wine and food pairings 9: Mushroom ragu
• Wine and food pairings 8: Not quite ramen soup

Slider photo: “Rome Elite Event: wine, food and nice people” by Yelp.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

vinho verde review 2017

Wine of the week: Vinho verde 2020

vinho verde 2020Vinho verde 2020: Producers are taking the fizzy, sort of sweet Portuguese wine more seriously than ever, and we’re the big winners

This year, for vinho verde 2020, I’m writing something I never thought I would write about vinho verde — several of these wines are candidates for the 2021 $10 Hall of Fame. That’s because the fizzy, sort of sweet Portuguese wine has always been about cheap, and quality often seemed like an accident. This year, though, the four wines I tasted were cheap and well made.

Vinho verde is a Portuguese white wine with a greenish tint that rarely costs more than $8 (the blog’s vinho verde primer is here). It has a slightly sweet lemon lime flavor, low alcohol, and a little fizz — all of which makes it ideal for hot weather. Most of the cheapest wines, like Santola, Famega, Casal Garcia, and Gazela, are made by the same couple of companies but sold under different names to different retailers.

Check out these vinho verde 2020 suggestions:

• Broadbent Vinho Verde NV ($9, purchased, 9%): This is the vinho that sets the standard, and the current bottling doesn’t disappoint. Not quite as sweet as last year, with more of a tart, green apple fruitiness.  Imported by Broadbent Selections

• Gazela Vinho Verde NV ($8, purchased, 9%): Solid, typical vinho — fizzy lime with a bit of sweetness. If all ordinary vinho was made this well, the wine world would be cheaper and more enjoyable. Imported by Evaton

• Aveleda Vinho Verde Fonte 2019 ($10, purchased, 9.5%): Perhaps the best vinho verde I’ve ever tasted — so much more than the usual. There’s a bit of structure, the tartness is fresh and limey, the fizz is legit, and the sweetness is buried in the back. Highly recommended. Imported by Aveleda, Inc.

• Faisao Vinho Verde NV ($5/1-liter bottle, purchased, 10%): Is this the best vinho verde on the list? Nope. Is it the best value? Probably, since it’s quality wine (sour lime fruit, fizzy, with just enough of an idea of sweetness) that comes in a liter bottle. Keep well chilled. Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

For more about vinho verde:
• Vinho verde review 2019
• Vinho verde review 2018
• Vinho verde review 2017

Father’s Day wine 2020

Father's Day wine 2020Father’s Day wine 2020: Four wines to make Dad proud

Pandemic got you down? Worried about more wine tariffs? Tired of buying overpriced but not very good wine? Then check out the blog’s Father’s Day wine 2020, where we allow for all of that. Just keep the blog’s wine gift-giving guidelines in mind throughout the process: Don’t buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like.

Father’s Day wine 2020 suggestions:

• Pedroncelli Friends.red 2018 ($11, sample, 14.2%): This red blend from one of my favorite producers is what all inexpensive California wine should aspire to — soft but not sappy, fruity but not syrupy (dark berries?), balanced and enjoyable. There’s even a tannin wandering around the back. Highly recommended.

• Vinha do Cais da Ribeira Douro 2018 ($9, purchased, 12.5%): Rustic Portuguese white blend, mostly available at Total Wine, that has a touch of citrus and a little minerality. Be better at $7, but still a fair value. Imported by Middlesex Wine & Spirits

• Bodegas Olivares Rosado 2019 ($10, purchased, 13%): Grenache-based Spanish pink that combines the grape’s red fruit with long acidity and even a touch of minerality. Much more interesting that it should be and highly recommended.

• Calvet Crémant de Bordeaux Brut Rosé 2017 ($15, purchased, 12.5%): Bright, fresh, and fruity sparkling (lots of red fruit) from Bordeaux, and the bubbles are zippy, too.. Not particularly subtle, and you won’t find any brioche or biscuit. But why would you need to?

More Father’s Day wine:
• Father’s Day wine 2019
• Father’s Day wine 2018
• Father’s Day wine 2017
• Expensive wine 131: Justin Isosceles 2015

Wine of the week: Herdade do Esporao Alandra Branco 2018

Esporao Alandra BrancoOnce again, the Portuguese Esporao Alandra Branco white blend is terrific cheap wine

One of the best things about this job is finding a great cheap wine that remains a great cheap wine from vintage to vintage. And the Wine Curmudgeon has found one with the Esporao Alandra Branco.

The 2018 version of the Esporao Alandra Branco ($9, purchased, 12.5%) is a Portuguese white blend made with grapes like antão vaz that most of have never heard of. And that’s OK – not every wine has to be made with chardonnay. That it doesn’t taste exactly the same as the 2017? That’s OK, too. Vintage difference is not a bad thing as long as quality remains consistent. And it has here.

The 2018 is a little brighter and fresher than the 2017. There is more lemon and lime zest flavor than the than citrus fruit that the previous vintage had, and there is even a little minerality that wasn’t there last time. This wine is leaner and not as full in the mouth; again, not a bad thing, just different.

Highly recommended, and certain to return to the $10 Hall of Fame in 2021. It’s just the wine as winter ends and we’re looking for something lighter and more spring-like.

Imported by NOW Wine

 

Wine of the week: Herdade do Esporao Alandra Branco 2017

Esporao Alandra BrancoThe Esporao Alandra Branco is a Portuguese white blend that fits nicely into the middle of summer

A friend of mine insists that Portuguese wine offers some of the best value in the world, and he doesn’t understand why the Wine Curmudgeon doesn’t embrace Portugal’s wines the way I do Spain’s. When I tasted the Esporao Alandra Branco, I understood his point.

The Esporao Alandra Branco ($8, purchased, 13%), a white blend, offers a couple of things that I haven’t found in enough other Portuguese wines. The reds are usually too heavy and the whites are usually too thin, but the Esporao Alandra Branco finds the spot in between.

It’s crisp and spicy, with lots of pleasantly ripe stone fruit. This is the result of the blend, a common combination in Portugal (antão vaz, perrum, arinto) ) that is almost unknown to U.S. wine drinkers. The wine was a little rounder and a little heavier than I expected, another result of the grape blend.

Highly recommended, and especially for the price. It’s an ideal wine for the middle of summer, and especially with richer seafood like tuna steaks or chicken and rice with saffron.

Imported by Aidil Wines & Liquors

vinho verde review 2017

Wine of the week: Vinho verde 2019

vinho verde 2018Vinho verde 2019: Better quality this year than in 2018, including the always dependable Broadbent plus the Gazela and Faisao.

The vinho verde 2019 review is good news — much improved quality from 2018, with prices about the same as last year. How can we do better than that?

Vinho verde is a Portuguese white wine with a greenish tint that rarely costs more than $8. It has a slightly sweet lemon lime flavor, low alcohol, and a little fizz — all of which makes it ideal for hot weather.

Our vinho verde primer is here. Most of the cheaper wines, like Santola, Famega, Casal Garcia, and Gazela, are made by the same couple of companies but sold under different names to different retailers. These vinho verde 2019 suggestions will get you started:

• Broadbent Vinho Verde NV ($8, purchased, 9%): Not quite as well done as the 2018 (it’s missing some acidity), and it’s a little sweeter this year. But it remains balanced, rounded, and enjoyable — the vinho verde that sets the standard. Imported by Broadbent Selections

• Gazela Vinho Verde NV ($6, purchased, 9%): Stunningly enjoyable, and especially given how wretched it was last year. This bottling is not as complete as the Broadbent, but it’s not stupid, either — lemon lime fruit, pleasant spritiziness, and not too sweet. Much more than $6 worth of wine. Imported by Evaton

• Asnella Vinho Verde 2017 ($15, sample, 12.5%): Vintage vinho verde is becoming more common, but you still don’t see much of it. This bottle is more layered and more subtle than the $8 non-vintage labels — mostly dry, a more tropical fruit style, much less fizz, and more crispness. Imported by Ole Imports

• Bernador Vinho Verde NV ($5, purchased, 9%): This Aldi private label was perhaps the biggest surprise of vinho verde 2019 — almost dry, the correct amount of fizz, and with refreshing lime fruit. It’s a little thin on the back, but that’s not necessarily a problem.

• Aveleda Vinho Verde 2017 ($6.50, purchased, 9.5%):

• Faisao Vinho Verde NV ($7/1-liter bottle, purchased, 10%): The Faisao is noticeably sweet, something that I don’t usually like. But there’s enough crackly lemon-lime fruit and the fizziness is so well done that I drank it with dinner (roasted chicken thighs marinated in orange and lime juice, herbs, garlic and olive oil) and enjoyed it. And how can you argue with the price for a 1-liter bottle? Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

For more about vinho verde:
• Vinho verde review 2018
• Vinho verde review 2017
• Vinho verde review 2016

vinho verde review 2017

Wine of the week: Vinho verde 2018

vinho verde 2018Vinho verde 2018: Drink the Broadbent, but pass the rest unless you want sugar and cheap fizz

The Wine Curmudgeon has been a long-time supporter of vinho verde, the Portuguese white wine with a greenish tint. It’s cheap and ideal for hot weather: A slightly sweet lemon lime flavor, low alcohol, and a little fizz. So imagine my disappointment when five of the six wines I tasted for the vinho verde 2018 review were almost uniformly awful.

I was warned, though. When I bought the wines, the saleswoman told me the producers had softened them — winespeak for removing the acidity and adding sweetness. And, boy, was she correct. The wines weren’t quite in white zinfandel territory, but they’re getting there. Call this one more victory for focus-group produced wine, which assumes U.S. wine drinkers don’t like anything but sugar.

Our vinho verde primer is here. Most of the cheaper wines, like Famega, Casal Garcia, and Gazela, are made by the same couple of companies but sold under different names to different retailers. These vinho verde 2018 suggestions will get you started:

• Broadbent Vinho Verde NV ($7.50, purchased, 9%): Just about the only vinho verde that tasted like wine — a tinge of sweetness instead of a mouth full of sugar, plus acidity to balance the sweetness. It also had a full mouth feel and some structure, while the fizziness was pleasantly in the background.

• Gazela Vinho Verde NV ($5, purchased, 9%): Tasted like 7-Up mixed with grain alcohol, but with too much sugar and not enough alcohol.

• Casal Garcia Vinho Verde NV ($5, purchased, 9.5%): Noticeably sweet, but other than that, sort of what vinho verde is supposed to taste like. Other than the Broadbent, the best of a bad lot. For what that’s worth.

• Famega Vinho Verde 2017 ($6.50, purchased, 10.5%): Not quite as sweet as the Gazela, but sweet enough. Otherwise, mostly vinho verde.

• Aveleda Vinho Verde 2017 ($6.50, purchased, 9.5%): Almost smelled like a rotten egg, which usually comes from too much sulfur to the wine. This is a wine flaw, not common much these days, and shouldn’t have happened here.

• Gazela Vinho Verde Rose NV ($4.50, purchased, 9.5%) Sweet cherry-flavored Alka-Seltzer.

For more about vinho verde:
• Vinho verde review 2017
• Vinho verde review 2016
• Vinho verde review 2015