An Iberian Daily Double

In the survey we started last week, we had requests for more wine from Portugal, and requests that we include ratings from sources like Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate. Today, we've hit the Daily Double.

Duorum Douro Colheita 2013 is indeed from Portugal, scored 91 points from Wine Spectator, and finished as #84 in their Top 100 wines of 2015. The WS review: "This has a delicate core of violet, plum and red berry flavors that are broad yet well-defined. Medium-grained tannins gain power midpalate, with mineral and shiso leaf notes on the taut finish. Drink now through 2020. 600 cases imported."

From the winery: "Deep red color with violet tones. Lush, fresh and complex aroma dominated by ripe black fruits, blackberries, prunes and cassis, showing notes of violet and spices originating from 'elevage' in the barrels. Full bodied, with well-balanced acidity, firm and ripe tannins. Elegant, long and persistent finish."

The wine is a blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, and Tinta Roriz grapes.

We've carried this winery's Loios red and white in the past. This wine is a step up in quality, while still being a value, at only $15.99 in the Bottle Club®.

An Old Friend Returns

It's a question that we've addressed many times on this blog: What's a nice choice as an everyday wine? It has to be well-positioned at that intersection of price (low) and quality (high). By definition, it has to be versatile, pairing well with an assortment of food items, and should likewise be enjoyable on its own. We think the J. Portugal Ramos Vila Santa Loios Vinho Red 2010 is exactly the right everyday wine for you.

We're calling it an "old friend" because we used to carry this wine. We last carried it about 2 years ago, and it's back in a big way.

Loios is a wine produced in the Alentejo region, located in the south of Portugal. Its name originates from the title given in the 15th century to the members of the ancient Priest Congregation of St. John Evangelist, known simply as Loios. Loios monks have always had a deep connection to the history of Alentejo, especially to its wines. Thus, this wine has been named after them and is made from traditional grape varieties of the region. The Loios Red is a blend of traditional red varieties from this region; such as Aragonês (35%), Trincadeira (35%), and Castelão (30%). After a careful selection and pressing, the juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks, perfectly preserving the unique, fresh fruit character of each variety.

This easy drinking red shows an intensely fruity aroma, jammy and meaty all at the same time. Soft and easy going, it is nevertheless able to complement all cuisines. Perfect with barbecue, tomato based pasta dishes, or even a pizza.

Our buying power allows us to purchase this wine at a substantial discount, which we've passed along to you. Loios Red is available in the Bottle Club® for only $3.98. We have fewer than 50 cases available at this price, so don't wait on this deal!

Talk Dry, Drink Sweet

There's an industry podcast called "The Wine Crush" (you can find it on iTunes) where the host, Laura Lawson, regularly says that when it comes to wine, Americans talk dry but drink sweet. The booming sales of Moscato wines seem to verify that observation.

Long before the Moscato craze, however, sweet dessert wines were (and are) a mainstay of the industry. Tokaji wine, for example, is found in literature going back to 1635. Ice wine, Sauternes, Sherry, Vin Santo and Port are just a few of the types of dessert wine that you'll find on the shelves of Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville and Woodbridge. A non-vintage Cockburn's Ruby or Tawny Port can cost $12.99 for a 750ml bottle, and a Chateau d'Yquem vintage 2011 can be about $145.00 in the Bottle Club®.

We'll take a closer look at Port wine, often called Porto, in this posting. Port wine comes from the Duoro Valley in northern Portugal (like Champagne comes from Champagne, France). It's fortified, meaning that a neutral grape spirit (aguardente) is added. Fortification originally was to preserve the wine, and it typically takes a wine up to about 20% ABV (table wine is usually around 12% to 13%). Especially when compared to Moscato, a Port will be richer, heavier, possibly sweeter, and definitely higher in alcohol. The name "Port" derives from the town of Porto, at the mouth of the Duoro River, that served as a shipping point for the wine.

Quinta dos Malvedos, flagship vineyard for Graham's Port

What you find in our stores generally fall into several categories: Everyday (Tawny or Ruby, without an age statement), Vintage, Late Bottle Vintage, and Aged (10 year, 20 year, etc.).

"Vintage" is a familiar term to most wine drinkers. When you see a specific year on the label of a bottle of wine, then all of the product inside the bottle is made from grapes harvested that year. For Port wine, not every harvest is of sufficient quality to be labeled "Vintage". The Symington Family Estates produce Graham's, Cockburn's, Warre's, Dow's, Quinta Do Vesuvio and Altano, and they are well-known wines to Port lovers. This is from their press release on the 2011 harvest:

"The Symington family is pleased to announce their decision to declare 2011 as a Vintage year. This is only the third Vintage Port declaration for all the Symingtons’ Port companies since 2000.

The 2011 Vintage Ports are of an exceptional quality and are expected to age superbly over the coming decades. The weather is the decisive factor in creating outstanding wines in the Douro and the strong winter rains in late 2010 were crucial. April and May 2011 were unusually warm and, combined with some rainfall, resulted in a reduction in the overall production of the region."

At Joe Canal's, we've already received a number of the Vintage 2011 Port wines from Symington. So whether you prefer to cellar a Port, or enjoy it now (that would be great after your pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving), you can find the perfect port.

The 2011 vintage Graham's scored 96 points from Wine Spectator. Dow's 2011 vintage rated 96-98 from Wine Advocate. The vintage 2011 from Cockburn's also scored 94-96 from Wine Advocate. Quinta Do Vesuvio's vintage 2011 scored 92-94 from Wine Advocate. All of these wines are currently in stock at Joe Canal's.

Yes, this still happens

Vesuvio is one of the very few estates in the Douro where the entire production of the property is made by foot treading in the traditional stone lagares (most, if not all Quintas that still tread also have other fermentation tanks as well). The magnificent 24 pipe lagares at Vesuvio are among the largest in the Douro, each requiring at least 50 people to tread.

 Foot treading at Quinta Do Vesuvio

To touch on the other styles of Port, the Everyday wines have grapes that can come from any recent harvest. These are made to be enjoyed immediately. Late Bottle Vintage (LBV) was intended for release as a vintage port, but was left in the barrel for longer than had been planned, and is bottled 4 to 6 years after the vintage. Ports with an age statement contain wines that are generally as old as printed on the label, and come from different harvests. Ruby Port is the most widely produced, and are aged in stainless steel or concrete tanks. Tawny Port is aged in a wooden barrel, offering additional flavors, as compared to the Ruby.

Generally, there are five different indigenous grapes used to produce Port. These are Tinta Barroco, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa (the most widely planted), and Touriga Nacional. The Touriga Nacional is widely considered the best choice, but is difficult to grow.  More than 100 different varieties of grapes are sanctioned for use in Port.

Harvesting by hand for Cockburn's

At Joe Canal's, our Wine Managers can help you select the right Port for your Thanksgiving, or for an occasion. Port can be enjoyed with dessert, as a social drink after the meal, with a cigar, or any time. Ask about Port wine today.

Wine 101: White Port

Today, Lawrenceville Wine Manager Brandon Bartfalvi discusses White Port.

I sat back today and drifted into a daydream of Portugal in August. I was there this past summer and l sorely miss those hot summer days and the breeze blowing off the Douro. As I sat there reminiscing I realized I couldn't quite be there but I could stir some warm memories. So, I went to the wine rack and bar area in my kitchen and put together my favorite summer drink (that I found on that wonderful Portugal trip). Today as I lounged around I sipped on White Port and Tonics. Yes, white Port!

Simply put, White Port is made from indigenous white grape varieties that tend to be higher in acidity. The grapes are crushed in concrete foudres (sometimes by foot, sometimes mechanically) then spend a short maceration (skin contact) time. During fermentation, the process is halted by the addition of grape spirits (brandy). The style of White Port can range from very sweet to bone dry according to the how much sugar the producer chooses to leave in the wine. The Port was traditionally aged in wood, giving the wine more complexity and a slightly nutty flavor. Some producers forgo the wood aging and mature the wine in steel tanks or concrete vats. This type of aging produces Ports that are lighter and more fruit forward.

White Ports can be enjoyed on their own and tend to be a great alternative to Lillet or other aperitifs. I love making cocktails with this type of Port and the variations are endless but here is my simple recipe and a couple of alternatives.

White Port and Tonic

-4 oz Tonic Water
-2 oz White Port (Osborne White Port works wonderfully)
-Lemon slice

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in the tonic water and then,the White Port. Stir gently. Squeeze the lemon slice into the drink and drop lemon in. Enjoy!

Variation 1: Before adding the ice, muddle a few mint leaves in the bottom of the glass then follow the rest of the directions.
Variation 2: Instead of lemon try different fruits such as lime or ripe peach.

To keep with tradition, keep a bowl of salted almonds close by!! Enjoy and think of warm summer evenings!

Joe Canal's Travels to Portugal - Day 4

Every Thursday, the BottleBlog will feature an update on various exciting things going on at Joe Canal's: Reports of our travels, special event coverage, and more! Today we're back in Portugal with Brandon Bartfalvi and the gang.



All of our Managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to important wine growing regions. Visiting these wine regions is one of the many aspects that sets Joe Canal's apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the wine makers, walking the vineyards and tasting the wine directly from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey that commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than have you just look at a label or a score, we believe that it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and to the people who made it.

In June 2010, Brandon Bartfalvi, Wine Manager of the Lawrenceville store, had the privilege of traveling to Portugal and immersing himself in Portuguese food, culture, and most importantly, wine!

Day Four - Quinta de Roriz and Graham's Malvedos

Today was going to be very relaxing and I couldn't wait to get started. We left Bomfim and walked down to the river. Today there was no train in our plans and we were going to go up the Douro by boat. We met our pilot for the day and started our cruise to Quinta de Roriz. The breeze is cooling, the scenery is spectacular and your worries sink into the Douro, not to be heard from again until the plane lands back in Jersey. I really can't believe how beautiful this little voyage was. We passed several different vineyard properties, old ruins, a luxury hotel, and several almond trees (I forgot to mention that almonds are common around here and everywhere you go there is a bowl of slivered almonds setting there).

We finally arrived at Roriz and I noticed that this wasn't going to be an easy trek. No walking here, it was back into the rear of the trucks again. These trucks were similar to the ones that we rode in the other day except the roads here were much worse and the ride was much longer.

We reached a spot toward the top of the mountain that overlooked this entire section of the valley. What a view!! We were in the hands of the winemaker today and he took us for the grand tour. We spent some time in the vineyards discussing the various grape types and what they bring to each blend. We also spent some time talking about the specific vineyards and about the emergence of red wines versus Ports in Portugal. It’s agreed that Port will always be king but the DOC wines are in their infancy and will make a major impact in the future. Port sales are continually declining but the table wine sales are increasing. Soon Portugal is going to have to make some serious decisions about the future.

The winery was in the middle of construction with the entire building being modernized with new tanks, new storage areas and better drop zones. From the outside the building retained its classical façade but inside was a different story. This winery is readying itself to take its next big step and I can't wait to witness it.

After the tour we were directed to a room upstairs where we were going to sample some amazing wines. I am familiar with the Prazo de Roriz but the Chryseia wines were new to me. After brief explanations we tasted the Prazo de Roriz and the Reserva. Then we had the chance to taste the new Post Scriptum 2008 which was wonderful and its big brother, the 2008 Chryseia. This wine was unbelievable. We did have the chance to taste other vintages of this wine but the 2008 was remarkable. I was also impressed with the Post Scriptum and Prazo. I will recommend these wines to everybody after this delightful tasting. These are wines that I think California red wine drinkers will appreciate. They still retain that good acidity that you come to find in Portuguese reds but they are very modern with lush fruit tones and silky tannins. Just call me a convert but I think these wines are extraordinary.

Once the tasting was finished we made our way back to the boat. We had one more stop today and that stop had lunch ready. We jumped back on the boat and went to Graham's Malvedos property.

A beautiful house sits above the winery overlooking the Douro River and the little bit of traffic that may pass by. The weather was perfect and we sat on the lawn eating olives, almonds, cured meats and drinking Graham's White Port and Tonic (with a squeeze of lemon). The day was perfect and so was this trip despite the fact it was ending shortly. We had a relaxing break on the front lawn then proceeded to the dining room for lunch. We helped ourselves to huge portions of fish and vegetables and just enjoyed the experience. After lunch we took a leisurely stroll around the vineyards and sat by the pool.

Some people took short naps while the rest of us lay on the lawn talking about life and all its intricacies. Once we were rested we made our way to the winery to take a quick tour. Graham's Malvedos also utilized the same mechanical lugare that we saw at Dow's. A few minutes later we were on the boat and on the way back to Bomfim.

Tonight we ate inside for the first time and it was a welcome change of pace. We ate plate after plate of delicious home cooking and then drank several of the wines that we tasted that day, Chryseia 2004 this time and plenty of Post Scriptum.

This ends my trip in Portugal. There was a day five but it was free time for us and we got to spend almost the entire day in Oporto. It was a day spent buying souvenirs and watching World Cup football. The night was spent at a little bar... and this is where the story ends.

* * *



Brandon's Greatest Hits: Prats & Symington Chryseia 2004
"One of my new favorites! This modern-styled wine will compete with the high end offerings from California. Ripe currant, plum and cocoa on the nose. The palate mirrors these flavors with additional notes of spice and tobacco. Well-structured yet elegant and silky. A nice surprise from the Douro!!" -Brandon Bartfalvi, Wine Manager, Lawrenceville














Brandon's Greatest Hits: Prats & Symington Post Scriptum
"The second label of Chryseia and a nice alternative to California red blends. This ripe, modern-styled wine is an amazing value! Ripe, dark fruits and spiced oak on the palate. An elegant style highlighting the dark fruit notes. An approachable style with lush tannins and a persistent finish. Grab a case!" -Brandon Bartfalvi, Wine Manager, Lawrenceville

Joe Canal's Travels to Portugal - Day 3

Every Thursday, the BottleBlog will feature an update on various exciting things going on at Joe Canal's: Reports of our travels, special event coverage, and more! Today we're back in Portugal with Brandon Bartfalvi and the gang.



All of our Managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to important wine growing regions. Visiting these wine regions is one of the many aspects that sets Joe Canal's apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the wine makers, walking the vineyards and tasting the wine directly from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey that commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than have you just look at a label or a score, we believe that it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and to the people who made it.

In June 2010, Brandon Bartfalvi, Wine Manager of the Lawrenceville store, had the privilege of traveling to Portugal and immersing himself in Portuguese food, culture, and most importantly, wine!

Day 3 - Quinta do Vesuvio
We took the train north up the Douro to the winery. The scenery was amazing: steep hillsides, several different Port producers, even a luxury hotel in the middle of nowhere (apparently it’s around $1800 US dollars a night). We trekked farther north and saw one of the dams built on the Douro making the once fast-rushing river into a more serene, peaceful body of water. After about forty five minutes we reached the winery, sort of. The winery and vineyards lay several hundreds of meters above us on steep hillsides so we took the provided transportation to the sites.

We packed into two trucks, many of us sitting in the back of these vehicles on hard metal benches. They weren’t that bad until you hit the rocky roadways up the mountainsides. We traveled for about ten to fifteen minutes by truck and reached a lookout point in the vineyards. From here you could see the surrounding vineyards and the winery below us. At this point Rupert led us on the tour of the grounds.

He explained the grape types used, the vineyards used for each specific bottling, and the surrounding vineyards role in the final blend. After this little tour he took us to the pombal which is a pigeon house. This is where name for the Pombal de Vesuvio wine came from (there is a picture of the pombal on the label). I found this interesting then ducked into the pombal to get out of the sun for a few minutes.

This part of the tour was very informative and interesting and you’ll see why in a second. This property is the crown jewel of the Symington family. This winery embodies the history and tradition of the Douro area. Every vintage Port that is produced here is of the highest quality and all of the fruit is from this Quinta and not sourced fruit from other vineyards. Furthermore, the grapes are all picked by hand and the treading (pressing of the fresh grapes) is still done by foot, not machine. They hire a band to play music while people tread the grapes rhythmically for hours inside the lagares (low walled stone tanks). This is what makes the winery so special and unique amongst the others.

Now it was time to eat and we were all thirsty and hungry. We had more home cooked meals and today’s was like a tuna casserole but made with an indigenous fish from the river. I went back for thirds and could have gone back for more but the day was young and there was a lot of wine to drink. With lunch, Rupert offered several different wines and Ports to sample. We had Quinta de Vesuvio Vintage Port 1994 and 2007 (which was incredible) and we also had the 2007 Pombal de Vesuvio Douro Tinto (which is one of my favorite red wines right now) and 2007 Vesuvio Douro Tinto, the big brother of the wines.
Once lunch was complete we went for a short walk then made our way to the river for the second leg. We were visiting the Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira of Dow’s across the river from Vesuvio. I wasn’t sure if all of us were going to fit in the boat but we made it and nobody fell overboard. This was a short visit but an informative packed one at that.

This vineyard provides one of the integral parts of the final blend of Dows Vintage Port but in other years the best of these wines are made into single quinta vintage ports. We toured the house on the estate and then we toured the winery. This is where things became very interesting because once we entered the winery it was immediately clear that this was no Vesuvio. Oh the quality and care are the same but where Vesuvio was traditional this winery was modern. Vesuvio tread their grapes by foot still but things here at Dow’s were much different. The Symingtons invested (and invented) a new machine that would replicate the treading done by humans. As you will see in the pictures this huge machine still has a lugare but it is made of stainless steel and it tilts.

The machine was turned on and we got to witness how it operates. A metal device slides over the entire lugare and as it slides it stop and drops into the grapes gently crushing them with silicon “toes” on the bottom of it. This action replicates the treading action by humans. I grossly simplified the process but I do have a video available if anybody is truly interested.

After this segment of the tour it was off to the entrance where there were a few bottles to sample. Three different vintages were chosen for us to demonstrate the vast differences that exist in the same quinta but in different years. We sampled the 1999, 2004 and 2008 (cask sample) bottlings of this single quinta. Absolutely delicious offerings and this quinta is one I will keep my eye on when it’s available here in the States.

We took a few minutes after our tasting and took some pictures of the surroundings. Notice the chapel that is in the picture: this is the chapel dedicated to the Lady of the River (literally Senhora da Ribeira).

Travelers would often stop here and pray for safe passage down the river. When I saw our boat and said a prayer, it was time to cross the river and catch the train back to Bomfim. Dinner was almost ready when we got back so we had something to drink than proceeded to eat. My favorite wine of the night was the Pombal de Vesuvio. It paired with the meal so well and it was just showing wonderfully.

Joe Canal's Travels to Portugal - Day 2

Every Thursday, the BottleBlog will feature an update on various exciting things going on at Joe Canal's: Reports of our travels, special event coverage, and more! Today we're back in Portugal with Brandon Bartfalvi and the gang.


All of our Managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to important wine growing regions. Visiting these wine regions is one of the many aspects that sets Joe Canal's apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the wine makers, walking the vineyards and tasting the wine directly from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey that commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than have you just look at a label or a score, we believe that it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and to the people who made it.

In June 2010, Brandon Bartfalvi, Wine Manager of the Lawrenceville store, had the privilege of traveling to Portugal and immersing himself in Portuguese food, culture, and most importantly, wine!

Day 1 - Graham's and Dow's

We left our hotel (Hotel de Bolsa in Oporto) and took three cars to the Graham’s Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia across the Douro River from our hotel. This was a short trip and the day was simply beautiful. When we arrived at the Lodge we were met at the door by our tour guide and the tour started immediately. We wandered through the barrel rooms and various other chambers throughout the Grahams Lodge. We were joined by another guide who also showed us around the facilities and showed us a brief film and provided us with a description of the various Ports that Graham’s produces. After some photo opportunities we ventured into the cellars to see all of the back vintages that were still stored below the building.

As a side note, all the bottles were kept under lock and key (and I couldn’t talk them into giving me a copy). It was amazing to see all of the older vintages that they still had on hand. Some of the wines will be re- released into the market a little at a time while others are for their family functions.

After our tour we traveled to the head offices and met with Rupert Symington. Rupert showed us to the conference room where we had beverages (water and coffee) while he led us through a brief meeting explaining the business model and history of his family’s company. The presentation lasted over an hour but the time did fly by quickly and I think he couldn’t wait to get to the next part of our tour, the Sample Room.

Rupert had pre-selected several bottles of Port that would provide us with the range of wines that the company is producing. We started with basics, Ruby and Tawny, then progressed to Reserves, LBV’s, Vintage and single Quinta Ports. This was the only way to really understand Port: By tasting each style side-by-side to see the differences and similarities. Rupert explained each wine to us and the significance of each. The best surprise was at the end: Somebody saw that there was a Warre’s Vintage Port 1882 (yes, 1882!) open at the end of the table and happened to mention it to Rupert. Well. Short story even shorter, we got to smell and taste the wonderful elixir!!! All I can say is, AMAZING!

After a brief stroll through the facilities, we made our way into the cellars with Rupert and viewed several old vintages of Dow’s Port.

I really wish I could have had the key here also. Rupert explained the plans for the bottles kept here and even told us the we will see the sold-out 2007 vintage Dows Port in the market again (in ten years, boo!!). At this point you could tell we were all in the mood to have some lunch but more importantly, we were all in the mood to have something to drink. Rupert was in that same mood.

How can you top that so early in the day?? Oh yeah!! have lunch with two other Directors from the Symington family. We had a delightfully informal lunch, just helped ourselves to food and walked around mingling with each other. We talked about the Port market in the USA, our trip and the World Cup. We had a great lunch and good conversation and made our way out to the backyard (which overlooked the city of Oporto).

We jumped back in the car and left for the train station. The train follows the Douro River up into the Upper Douro and to our destination: Pinhao.

When we arrived at in Pinhao, we drank a few wines and then it was time for dinner. I won’t get into details but every meal was like the best home-cooked meal that you ever had. Every night was better than the previous.

Besides the delicious food we also had great bottles of wine every night (by the way, since this is a Dow’s property, the house Port is Dow’s 20 Year Old Tawny). On this evening we had a delicious bottle of Dow’s Vale do Bomfim Douro Tinto and a surprise bottle of Dow’s Vintage Port 1966 (and it was ridiculously good).