As the year draws to a close, and with holiday celebrations in full swing, I want to take just a moment to thank all of you for your continuing support and enthusiasm for what we do here at The Spanish Table.
My holiday wish for each and every one of our loyal customers is that you get a few precious moments (somewhere/somehow, in the next week or two) to breath, relax and reflect upon the past year in all its aspects, positive and otherwise. In keeping with my function here, may I suggest that a small glass of aged Port, Madeira or Jerez (Sherry) wine, sipped slowly in the comfort of your own home, is a very appropriate way to contemplate the past and its relationship to the now and the soon to come.These days, young and quick gets all the attention while old and slow gets pushed to the side and too often forgotten altogether. When you drink a glass of 30 year old Amontillado you  acknowledge the benefits that only come with time and maturity. A 20 year old Tawny Port contains wines from many past vintages, only reaching their full potential over decades of slow elaboration. Madeira wines, from that eponymous island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hearken back to the days of sailing ships and the Age of Discovery, a time long gone that nonetheless still figures prominently in the modern history of Spain and Portugal. These wines teach us, in no uncertain terms, that age has its benefits and that some things (many of the best ones) take time to create. So pour yourself a little glass of history, and another one for your friends and loved ones, even spilling out a few drops on the bare ground in memory of those no longer extant. Here are a few choices to ease you out of this year and into the next one:

Del Duque VORS Amontillado The VORS designation is a recent addition to Sherry nomenclature, used to indicate wines that are at least 30 years old. These fortified wines are held for decades in the winery, getting topped off each year with small quantities of fresh stock to protect the wine from oxidation. This richly aromatic wine displays scents of dried fruit, toasted almonds and fresh hay. On the palate it is completely dry and elegant, offering up flavors of walnuts, more almonds and the barest hint of raisin-like fruit character . Brandy-like warmth makes this a particularly appropriate wine for sipping on a cold evening. $39.99(375ml)

Apostoles VORS Palo Cortado Palo Cortado is the rarest of Jerez wines. 30 year old Palo Cortado is even rarer still. Drawn from the best barrels in the bodega, Palo Cortado wines are usually held aside for the personal consumption needs of the wine makers’ families and friends. This particular wine, from the famed Bodegas Gonzalez Byass was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle where Jon Bonné recommended it as one of his favorite gift wines. This amber/gold colored wine offers a sublime combination of the toasted walnut and almond flavors present in the Palomino Fino grape paired with the raisin and fig fruit character that comes from the small percentage of Pedro Ximénez blended into this wine. $39.99 (375ml)

Williams & Humbert Don Guido VOS PX A few years ago the VOS designation was created for Jerez wines with at least 20 years of barrel age. WIlliams & Humbert are a well known producer with significant stocks of aged Sherry. This one is dark mahogany colored with rich aromas and flavors of raisins, dates, figs and baking spices. Dense texture and caramel/toffee sweetness adds further complexity to this rich, sweet sherry that pairs well with dark chocolate. Served in small glasses after a meal this can be dessert all by itself $49.99

Ramos Pinto 20 Year Tawny Port In Portugal, Ramos Pinto is a well loved name in the Port wine trade. This winery owns some of the best vineyard sites in the Douro Valley. Their Quinta da Bom Retiro vineyard, one of the oldest vineyards in the region, is the source of all the grapes for this Tawny Port that is one of Ramos Pinto’s most popular wines. The wine is a blend of past vintages with an average age of 20 years, more or less. This amber colored wine displays dried fruit aromas yet is quite dry on the palate. Toasted almonds, walnut skin and coffee bean notes add to the finely tuned balance of flavors. Serve this wine with salty cured meats before dinner or, alternately, alongside a selection of aged cheeses after a meal. $72.00

Barros 1979 Colheita Port Founded in 1913, Barros is a relatively young addition to the world of Port wines, but they managed to build their reputation with their vintage ports and their amazing Colheitas which have won numerous international competitions world wide. Colheita Port (Tawny Port from a single vintage) is nutty and dry with just the barest hint of fruit character. The 1979 Colheita is dark amber in color with brandy-like warmth and aroma. Nutty complexity and background notes of baking spices and toasted oak create a long and aromatic finish. This 500 ml bottle comes in a nifty wooden box, making a gorgeous gift for someone celebrating a 30th anniversary this year. $93.00 (500ml)

Earlier this week Eric Asimov wrote an interesting piece in The New York Times about pairing Madeira with savory foods. He specifically mentioned the Historic Series Madeiras from The Rare Wine Company. These unique wines include a portion of older wines blended with a larger portion of younger stocks intended to recreate the flavor of Madeira from days long gone by.
We are proud to carry these wines at The Spanish Table and I can personally vouch for just how great they are when served during (as well as after) a meal.  I have tried these wines with everything from fois gras and lobster to simple rice and pasta dishes. My personal favorite Madeira pairing leans toward anything involving cheese. If you have not yet experienced this distinctive food/wine combination, here are a few suggestions to get you thinking:

RWC Charleston Sercial Sercial, the driest of the Madeira grapes, creates lean, flinty wines with marked almond aroma and flavor. Toasted barrel character and burnt caramel back notes add to the long and complex experience of this amber/gold colored wine. $49.99

RWC Boston Bual The medium sweet Bual grape is the most popular choice for many Madeira appreciators. This dark amber colored wine is richly aromatic with notes of toffee, tangerine, cloves, burnt match stick, and a hint of brandied raisin.The acidity washes over the palate leaving lingering flavors of minerals, burnt sugar and candied orange zest. $49.99

RWC New York Malmsey Madeira wines made from the Malmsey (or Malvasia) grape reside at the sweet end of the spectrum. The New York Malmsey is dark mahogany in color with rich aromas of dates, figs, raisins and baking spices. Flavors of butterscotch and caramel add to the opulent character of this wine. Bright acidity leaves the flavors practically etched on the tongue. Traditionally served after a meal, New York Malmsey is a dessert course all by itself, but will work beautifully with some aged cheese. $49.99

For those of you who have never experienced the joys of Port you owe it to yourself to part with more than a few bucks for a bottle of Vintage Port. There are several different types of Port wine, Ruby, Tawny, Late Bottled and some others. Vintage port is in a league of its own. Here is a little bit of what it’s all about.

Port wine comes from the Douro region in the north of Portugal. Port retains its unique sweetness in contrast to other wines because the fermentation process that greatly reduces the sugar content of the grapes is halted halfway through by the addition of a special grape brandy that is added to the mix. The addition of the brandy raises the alcohol level of the wine to nearly 20%. In very good years, those characterized by mild winters and hot summers, a vintage year is declared. This happens, on average, about 3 times a decade.

 Vintage port spends two years in a cask and is then bottled. It has the ability to age for many years.  The declared vintages for this first decade of the 21^st century are the 2000, 2003 and 2007. Two Vintage ports from 1994 were rated 100 points by Wine Spectator magazine and the prices, if you can find a bottle of either, skyrocketed from the mid $50.00 mark to several hundred dollars per bottle.  Vintage port should be allowed to stand upright for a while before opening to allow the “crust” or sediment to float to the bottom. Once opened, Vintage port should be decanted and allowed to “breathe” for 2 to 3 hours before serving. They should also be consumed within 24 to 48 hours after opening as oxidation begins to take place almost immediately.

 Vintage ports are not wines to serve with food. They go well with a Stilton Cheese or other cheeses from the “bleu” family. Some prefer chocolates with port. It is definitely a dessert type wine. Many connoisseurs enjoy a cigar or pipe with a glass of Vintage port.

It may not be for everyone but Vintage Port is something totally unique in the world of wine and certainly worthy of a try. You may become a fan!

After a while it became clear that we were going in the wrong direction so after consulting the map we turned around and took a turning that we had previously missed and suddenly we had found the Embalse de Almendra, a huge cobalt blue reservoir with the waters held back by an enormous concrete dam.  The reservoir behind the dam covers eighty six square kilometres and contains two and a half billion cubic metres of water. The dam itself is more than half a kilometre wide and as a height of two hundred metres and was one of General Franco’s major engineering projects.  It was strangely quiet and felt almost abandoned and it clearly had not been working for quite some time because the water levels were so low so I suppose that on account of this there was no need to have any staff on duty.

I had begun to suspect that this was not the glacial lake that we had been seeking, firstly because we were still in the Province of Salamanca when we should have been in Zamora and then because the lake we were looking for was a natural feature and this one clearly wasn’t.  This didn’t really matter because it was serene and beautiful, the sun was shining and the big white clouds reflected in the lake made the sky look the starting line of a sailing boat regatta and the beauty of this place confirmed that behind the ugly concrete coastal strip Spain is a remarkably diverse and stunning country.

The time was getting on now and we were hungry and thirsty so we started on the way back to Ciudad Rodrigo via Trabanca, Vitigudino and Lumbrales but there was nowhere to stop and this was the first time that I can remember that I have driven three hundred kilometres in one day without finding a single shop, café or bar that was open along the way.  Just south of Lumrbrales we stopped at the little village of San Felices de Los Gallegos where there was a castle that predictably wasn’t open but there were some nice views across the open fields and a pleasant walk around the sleepy streets and then we returned directly to Ciudad Rodrigo.

We arrived back at about four o’clock and went straight to the bar Arcos and sat at a pavement table with the first beer of the day and a couple of dishes of tapas and then we walked for a while around those parts of the wall we hadn’t seen two days previously and there was a good finish to the day when the wind dropped away completely, the clouds stopped coming in and the sky turned a luxurious late afternoon blue.  That night we ate at the Hotel Conde Rodrigo again and enjoyed another fine meal and when we returned to the hotel the sky was clear and punctuated with stars and we were confident of more sun in the morning.

Spanish Table Seattle Newsletter                                                       October 8, 2009

One of our most memorable trips began in Sevilla, in southern Spain, during the Feria de Abril. We reveled along with the Sevillanos, drinking copas of fino sherry and eating plate after plate of jamon serrano. When we could take no more, we headed north towards Madrid, stopping in Cordoba for lunch. Our hedonistic trip eventually ended in the Languedoc, where we foraged and dined on the rich bounty of southern France.

If ever near the city of Cordoba, do not hesitate to dine at El Churrasco Restaurant. One of the most popular tabernas in the city, the tapas bar showcases coolers full of meat and stacks of fresh vegetables.Cheese The dining room bustles with waiters juggling plates of grilled lamb and fish. One of El Churrasco’s signature dishes is eggplant, sliced, delicately fried and seasoned. We’ve never found vegetables anywhere outside of Andalucía that are so perfectly prepared! Click on El Churrasco’s website link to view their menu: http://www.elchurrasco.com/espanol/restaurante/espanol.htm

Our final stop was in Limoux, France to visit our friend Héléne’s relatives. The Languedoc region is a foragers’ dream, with asparagus and mushrooms growing wild alongside the road, rivers full of fish and pastures full of snails, ready to be gathered. One can live off the land in southern France very, very well. And the village of Limoux is famous for its production of Blanquette de Limoux sparkling wines. Locals claim that fermentation in the bottle was developed here before it was used in the Champagne region.

We were fortunate to be invited to Héléne’s grandparents house near Carcassone for a langorous and memorable lunch. Tossed greens from the garden were followed by fish caught by grandpa, served with mayonnaise made from grandma’s own eggs. A small hen was roasted and served with a sauce of foraged porcini mushrooms. Uncle Andre and cousin Xavier who are winemakers, brought their Corbieres red wines to serve with lunch. A blend of Carignan, Syrah and Grenache, the wine was so delicious that we brought some bottles home to enjoy in Seattle. Those were the glory days, when security didn’t bat an eye at a few bottles of wine in the hand luggage!

Welcome to Isaac Rivera, our new manager! Isaac has been a great asset to our Santa Fe store for the last three years and, ready to live in a larger city, he moved to Seattle this week to take over as store manager. Isaac was a chef at Charlie Trotter’s Restaurant in Chicago, then worked in the wine business, and is, not surprisingly, an avid cook. Isaac is an expert on olive oils — the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper published his in-depth article on the subject. Feel free to ask him for any recipe advice, or help with any food or wine-related questions.

NEW WINES FROM SPAIN

White wines

NV Vilarnau Brut Cava, Penedes ($14.99) Vilarnau is owned by the Gonzalez Byass family and is a crown jewel among their wine producing properties. Vilarnau’s vineyards are situated in the highest area of the Penedes region and the cooler temperatures contribute to a slower maturation of the grapes and higher acidity. Made from 100% estate-grown fruit which is uncommon in Penedes, Vilarnau has aromas of toasted brioche and citrus flavors. Soft mouth-filling bubbles and zesty acidity spill out of the glass and provide a lot of pleasure for the dollar.

2008 Abadal Picapoll, Pla de Bages ($19.99) Spanish Table exclusive!

Picapoll is the Spanish name for the grape called Picpoul in French, which translates to “lip stinger.” That unfortunate translation is not at all discriptive of the Abadal Picapoll which has ripe pear flavors, a rich texture and energetic acidity. Round and full-bodied, Abadal is an elegant white wine with notes of sea shell and subtle mineral notes which make for a clean, interesting finish. This is a great wine to serve in the fall with cheese or rich cream sauces.

RED WINES

2005 Banda Azul Crianza Rioja ($11.99) This silky Rioja has legions of fans in Spain and America. Very traditional in style, Banda Azul spends 18 months in used oak barrels, which give it a refined earthiness. It’s bright red cherry fruit is medium-bodied, balanced by vibrant acidity. This is a great choice for those who like a wine low in tannin and Banda Azul is exactly the type of wine you’d be served by the glass in a Spanish tapas bar.

2007 M1 Monastrell, Valencia ($9.99) From the region of Valencia, M1 is full-bodied and fresh with great concentration. With silky tannins and notes of mineral, it has a smooth and persistent finish with flavors of cacao. Made of 100% Monastrell, M1 is a great choice to serve with a cheese and fruit plate.

2008 Quo Grenache, Campo de Borja ($9.99) Quo is a fruity melange of strawberry and red cherry flavors and a pure expression of Grenache. Dry and medium-bodied with an exotic spicy black pepper edge, it is delicious with spicy Mexican foods, such as carne adovada.

LIMITED PRODUCTION WINES

2004 Roquette E Cazes Xisto, Douro ($63.00) 1000 cases are produced by this venture between renowned Bordelais wine producer Jean-Michael Cazes and Jorge Roquette, owner of the Quinto do Crasto estate in Douro. 2004 was a classic Douro vintage with perfect harvesting conditions. The wine’s name “Xisto” refers to the schist soils in its steep, terraced vineyards. Powerful and opulent, nuanced and complex, Xisto has muscle and staying power. Elegant and supple tannins provide backbone for this rich and lengthy effort.

6 bottles available

RED WINES FROM FRANCE

2006 Domaine Grand Lauze La Mariole Vin de Pays D’Oc ($12.99)

We were thrilled to locate the wines of Hélène’s uncle right here in Seattle! The vineyards are subject to the burning heat of the Midi and the grapes subsequently ripen to perfection. Grand Lauze is biodynamic and the grapes are hand harvested. A blend of 80% Carignan, 15% Grenache, 3% Marselan and 2% Syrah from vines averaging 105 years old, La Mariole is medium-bodied and rich with a hint of smoke. Silky smooth tannins lead into a wonderfully finessed finish. Highly recommended!

2006 L’Archet

Cuvée Occitane, Vin de Pays D’Oc ($19.99) From the Languedoc Roussillon region of France, Cuvee Occitane is a blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre and 10% Carignan. Loaded with rich, ripe red fruits, it has an earthy character and is deep and voluptuous. Aged 9 months in French oak, it has terrific balance, notes of chocolate and spice, and a lingering, dry finish.

2003 Château Coutelin-Merville Cru Bourgeois, St Estephe ($27.99) This was my favorite wine at our French tasting dinner last weekend! A left bank Bordeaux, it is a blend of 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot, 30% of which has been aged in oak. Concentrated, full bodied, opulent and balanced, it paired beautifully with the rich short ribs and polenta.

PARIS GROCERY NEWS

It’s been a hectic two weeks since Paris Grocery opened. We’ve already added more hard-to-find French cheeses and charcuterie, and will be adding additional wines and other delicacies as soon as we are able. Thanks for your support in these early days!

CHEESES

Cone de Port Aubry is a raw goat’s milk cheese and a cousin of the famous Loire cheese Crottin de Chavignol. The cheese is made close to Selles sur Cher and aged for two to three months on rye straw mats in caves, giving a natural mold rind on the outside and a firm interior. The pliable texture of Cone de Port Aubry has a nose of melted butter with an almost dusty earth undertone. The flavors are complex, starting with buttered popcorn and mushrooms, then fading into a pronounced acidity like crème fraiche with a hint of lemon and a subtle finish of hazelnuts. This cheese is hard for me to not swoon over! Wine pairing: Try with a Loire white, such as a Sancerre. SALE $36.99/lb.

Herve Mons Gabietou Aged by one of Europe’s best affineurs! Gabietou contains raw cow & sheeps milk from animals that graze on alpine grass, wild herbs & flowers. Washed with brine made from warm local salt springs, this is sweet & richly complex with a silky creaminess & nut aromas. Exquisite! SALE $29.99, $7.49 per quarter lb.

Gres des Vosges Alsace has exceptionally rich soil & is full of beautiful cherry trees from which the farmers make their own local liquor. Each oval of Gres des Vosges is washed with saltwater & then kirsch which lends a fruity fragrance. Slightly salty with a touch of onion & a luscious texture make this cow’s milk cheese a favorite!

The following cheeses just arrived today via airfreight!

Picadine Chève mini logs

Le Picandou goat cheese buttons

Explorateur

Petit Supin

Crottin de Chève

OLIVES

French Country Olive Mix A colorful blend of green, pink and black olives with Lupini beans and bell peppers. These are tossed in a lively French marinade of spices, peppers and vinegar. Perfect for any gathering!

Picholine Olives The Picholine is the queen of green olives! Crisp, yet tender and slightly salty, these fresh Picholines are unpasteurized and bright.

Fresh Luques Olives These fresh (unpasteurized) French olives are meaty, sweet and crisp. The green flesh is firm, bright and fruity.

Pitted Nicoise-Coquillos Olives This olive is the same variety as the authentic Nicoise, though generally grown in Portugal, Spain and Italy. Its flavor parallels that of Nicoise: rich and faintly smoky. This olive is naturally cured and a key ingredient in Salade Niçoise.

CHARCUTERIE

Goose Mousse Suprème Pâté Made with goose & duck liver, duck & chicken fat with sauternes and topped with aspic and oranges. No artificial ingredients.

Pâté Provençal My favorite pâté. Course spreadable pork liver with herbs de Provence, and sweet and savory spices.

Our first shipment of cured meats and specialty products from D’Artagnan will be arriving early next week! We’ll have sliced Jambon de Bayonne, Wild Boar Bacon, Chicken and Truffle Sausages, Veal Demi-Glace and Foie Gras, just to name a few of the specialty items that are arriving next week.

OTHER PRODUCTS

We have Caviar, Crème Fraîche and French butter in stock now!

Baguettes from Macrina Bakery are delivered fresh each day to both Paris Grocery and The Spanish Table.

WHITE WINES FROM FRANCE

2007 Cuvee Francoise Blanquette de Limoux ($12.99) This festive sparkler comes straight from it’s traditional home in Limoux, France. Cuvee Francoise is fresh on the palate with fine soft bubbles, white fruit flavors of pear and ripe apple. It finishes dry and clean with refreshing acidity. This is great with sushi.

2008 Novellum Chardonnay Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes ($10.99)

Producer Lafage has crafted one of the best Chardonnays we’ve ever tasted, and it’s a very affordable price. 30% is aged in oak on the lees of Viognier which give it a rich creaminess. With flavors of citrus, apricots, apple and toast, Novellum is lush and balanced. “…hints of caramel and brown butter, vanilla and nutmeg. What’s more, there’s a savory saline, mineral streak all the way through the considerable finish of this “little Chardonnay”.

89 points Wine Advocate

Have a great week and we invite you to come on down and check out our new products!

Sincerely,

Sharon Baden and Steve Winston, Owners

The Spanish Table, 1426 Western Avenue, Seattle WA 98101 phone# 206.682.2827

Paris Grocery, 1418 Western Avenue, Seattle WA 98101 phone# 206.682.0679

Gomera, Canary Islands

Spanish Table Seattle Newsletter October 30, 2009

Explorations

Traveling as wine specialists aboard the National Geographic vessel Explorer for the past 2 ½ weeks, we’ve been following the route of Christopher Columbus and Charles Darwin. Our voyage began in Lisbon and ended in Salvador Brazil, with stops in some of our favorite places: Madeira, The Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. We just got home last night and are still wobbling about on sea legs.

Seattle-based Lindblad Expeditions (http://www.expeditions.com/) invited us to choose wines for the voyage and then come along to educate guests about them. Lindblad has a superb on-board staff of naturalists, historians and professional photographers that speak about history, culture, the natural world and how best to photograph it. Their trips cover the Antarctic, the Arctic, and everything in between.

A week ago we were photographing schools of whales and cavorting dolphins near La Palma, Canary Islands. The Canaries are a group of seven islands less than 100 miles off the coast of Morocco. Just as Cuban refugees flee to Miami, so the Canary Islands attract thousands of desperate Africans each year. The lure of the European Community with all of its opportunities is irrestible, especially when it’s just a stone’s throw away.

Aside from the immigration issue, life in the Canaries moves slowly and residents have a deep appreciation for the islands’ spectacular beauty. One memorable day began in the mist forest of Parque Nacional de Garajonay on the island of Gomera. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the forest sits on a 3300 foot high ridge and divides the island’s wet side from the dry. Two hours of hiking took us through laurel forests, past villages growing bananas on terraced hillsides, and a spectacular cliff-side trail shrouded in mist.

Our guide recommended dining at Restaurant La Placeta in Santa Cruz de la Palma which was excellent. Being Sunday night in the off season, the proprietor had plenty of time to talk about the local wines, how he ended up in the Canary Islands, and the thriving rabbit population in La Palma. We tucked into a terrific rabbit pate as we talked, which was served with a sweet but not cloying tomato jam. What a fantastic combination! The main course was grilled fish and papas arrugadas with mojo sauces, a Canary Island traditional dish, served with El Nispero Tinto Barrica, a local red wine from La Palma.

Now that we’re home, we’ll be getting back into kitchen to recreate some of the tasty dishes we had along the road. Here’s a traditional recipe from the Canary Islands:

Papas Arrugadas (Serves four)

Warning: This recipe uses the traditional amount of salt, which may be overwhelming to American palates used to low sodium. Feel free to adjust to your taste!

8-10 Small New Potatoes

Sea Salt to taste

Add the potatoes to a pot of very salty water (in the past the Canarians used sea-water).

The potatoes should float in the salty-water, if they don’t you need to add more salt.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Now drain most of the water from the pot and cover the potatoes with a layer of salt.

Turn down the heat and gently shake the pot so that salt crystalizes on the potatoes.

Finally, turn off the heat and cover the pot with a tea-towel for 5 minutes (so that the potatoes turn ‘wrinkly’). Serve with one or both of the Mojo sauces below.

Mojo Picon Sauce

5 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

3 small dried nora peppers, rehydrated in boiling water and drained

1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar to taste

5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Using a mortar and pestle, mash cumin, garlic, and peppers with salt until well mixed. Add paprika, vinegar and oil, and continue to blend. If necessary, add water until desired consistency is reached. This is delicious served with boiled potatoes, with or on fried fish.

Mojo Verde Sauce

3 cloves garlic, peeled

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 teaspoons Sherry Vinegar

½ cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

½ teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

Water as needed

Process the cumin, garlic, cilantro and salt in a food processor or blender to create a paste. While blending, drizzle in olive oil gradually. Add small amounts of water until the sauce is a thin paste. Add 1-2 tsp vinegar or more, according to your taste. Drizzle over potatoes or fish and serve.

WINE NEWS

Being on board a ship for 13 nights gave us the chance to revisit some of our favorite, inexpensive wines from Spain and Portugal. These wines were all-around big hits with the guests on board, some of whom have placed case orders!

White Wines

2008 Protos Verdejo, Rueda ($10.99) Protos Verdejo has just the right combination of grapefruit flavors and zesty acidity to pair with fish in buttery citrus sauces.

2007 Diamante, Rioja ($10.99) Classic Diamante is a unique wine. Semi sweet, it is made from a blend of Malvasia and Viura grapes. Round and full on the palate, the addition of Viura gives it a crisp, clean finish.

Red Wines

2003 Esporao Alicante Bouschet, Alentejo ($13.99) Balanced and full bodied, this Portuguese red was phenomenal with beef tenderloin.

2005 Evel, Douro ($15.99) One of our perennial favorites, Evel is a blend of the same grapes port grapes. Great with flavorful chicken dishes, it has lift and elegance.

2005 Altos de Luzon, Jumilla ($14.99) 50% Monastrell, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Tempranillo, this hearty red goes down all too easily on a cold, wet night with a plate of grilled lamb chops.

PARIS GROCERY NEWS

Our new shop features French cheeses and wine, and other foods with a French mood. It’s located 1/4 block south of Spanish Table at 1418 Western Avenue. It’s currently open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM.

New cheeses:

A Casinca is a classical goat’s milk cheese from the Casinca region of Corsica, where the climate is gentle. Herbaceous, tart, and slightly salty, this cheese has a semi-soft texture that offers a balanced, satisfying finish on the palate.

Tome d’Aquitaine: This aged goat’s milk cheese gets the benefit of washings in Sauternes in the caves of famous affineur Jean d’Alos. The snow-white interior has a dense texture and a delicately balanced, sweet and fruity flavor.

Brebirousse d’Argental: This pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from Lyon has a creamy, brie-like texture and a faintly sweet finish on the palate. Hints of meadow and hay lend a bit of complexity.

Le Grain d’Orge: From the Basse-Normandie region, this pasteurized cow’s milk cheese is soaked in Calvados according to Norman traditions. A soft-textured, washed rind cheese. Delightfully fruity and milky with hints of mushroom and apple.

Meats

We have a new shipment of D’Artagnan charcuterie, including foie gras, pates, frozen (uncooked) sausages, merguez, puff pastry and many other specialty French shelf groceries. We also now have baguettes from Macrina Bakery, delivered daily Tuesday through Saturday.

Please come on in to one or both of our shops and pick up some wonderful cheeses and fall wines. Best wishes for a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Sharon Baden and Steve Winston, Owners

The Spanish Table, 1426 Western Avenue, Seattle WA 98101 phone# 206.682.2827

Paris Grocery, 1418 Western Avenue, Seattle WA 98101 phone# 206.682.0679

Yesterday we had a fantastic sunny day and a brave sea. Here battling with the pier at the Douro revier mouth.

Port undoubtedly has an image problem.  Like sherry and madeira, its success in previous generations has left it pigeon-holed in the officers’ mess or the Oxbridge high table.  The vintage variety needs decades of cellaring – and who today has either decades or a cellar?  High in alcohol, the slightly improbable combination of sweet and red, it’s a wine searching for a place in today’s more relaxed life styles. 

David Thomas, MD of Caviste, began to chart a path in this fascinating tasting of the contemporary wines of Portugal for Andover Wine Friends. Kicking off with stories of his own time in the Douro valley before he went on to qualify as an oenologist, he pushed past the barriers that stop us giving these wines their proper value. The barriers are:

• not many of speak us Portuguese
• unfamiliar and difficult-to-pronounce Portuguese grape varieties
• the stereotype that Port only produces either mass market plonk (Mateus Rose) or heavy Ports
• high alcohol levels.

  The tasting led with four table wines.  These were the backbone of the Portuguese industry before the ‘invention’ of port and are now coming quickly to some prominence again.  Monte da Peceguina Branco   2007 is a quality white, mildly aromatic with good weight in the mouth (all that sun plus 20% fermented in barrels).  Niepoort ‘Drink Me’, Douro Red 2007 gives a bit of clue – highly drinkable, with a good depth of fruit, made from five local varieties.  Here is the first clue that Niepoort has a fun, modern designer in the team.  British ceremonial would be so much better if busbies concealed bottles of wine!

The next two are seriously grown up wines:  Quinta de Macedos Tinto Reserva 2001 is a bit of a mammoth – big, dense red fruit, powerful mineral notes and then a great whack of tannin, drying the mouth.  As David commented, it’s a great wine for education – and only time will tell if the tannins soften and get silky.  

But the star red table wine is Niepoort’s Batuta 2004, Niepoort take on claret but with twice as much fruit.  Caviste have an allocation of only 12 bottles of this wine and a queue of customers despite the £50 price tag.  It is made from local grape varieties, with some Touriga Nacional, but not too much as the aim is great depth of fruit but not overwhelming tannins. Barrique ageing leads to a lovely veneer of oaky notes above great power and structure – a beautiful, big red which will age for years and would perfectly match steak or other powerful meat dishes.

And all this was the warm up act for the ports.  We pick up the key point about this great fortified wine:

• vines grown on impossibly dry and steep hill sides, beautiful if demanding
• endless sunshine and real heat
• the classic red port is made from Touriga Nacional, a low cropper with small, intensely coloured berries with loads of tannin
• gentle extraction of colour and flavour through the famous ‘treading’ of the grapes (or the modern equivalents of treading)
• half ferment the wine and then add high quality grape alcohol to ‘stop’ the yeasts dead, leading to dense, fruity, wines with 20˚ of alcohol
• entry level ‘white’ or ‘ruby’ (3 years old) port
• basically two types of ageing for more serious bottles: either in barrels for some years (10 or 20) or for decades in bottles if a declared, top quality, vintage

White port of any quality is a bit of a rarity.  It is made with the Malvasia grape and so there is an Italian connection here – this is the same grape which goes into the mix for the Tuscan Vin Santo, another oxidative classic.  Churchill’s White Port has the sweetness and orange marmalade quality of port without the powerful red berries flavour. David sang its praises with cheese and we duly obliged with Colston Bassett, quality Stilton.  And such a beautiful colour too. 

These two wines – the white Port (‘lovely warm flavours’, Julie) and the Kalleske (‘very smooth and comforting and trickled down’ Sarah) came third equal in our post-tasting poll.  

The next wine is the shape of the competition, Kalleske JMK Fortified Shiraz 2006, from Australia’s Barossa Valley.  A beautiful, fruit driven wine, the alcohol perhaps not in perfect keeping with the fruit yet, but young, vibrant, good value.  And a much coveted small bottle – like a perfume jar. Those Australians know a thing or two about marketing.  Impressive sediment too.

Two textbooks red ports follow, showing the difference in style between ‘ruby’ and ‘tawny’ perfectly, the first all dense red fruits, the second classic rancio, figgy, oxidized through maturing in wood barrels.  The colour difference between these identical blends, aged differently, is just about visible in the photo, at the rim:

And finally two great treats.  First, the unusual Niepoort Colheita 1998, ie a tawny port with ten years of barrel ageing and a very short sojourn in the bottle.  There is a hint of red fruit here but then we are back to marmalade, wood, figs and caramel, outstanding at less than £30 a bottle. 

The Colheita came second in the post-tasting poll: ‘amazing colour, smoothness, warming’ according to Tahira.  I agree – I voted for this! 

By contrast to this attractively browning wine, Graham’s vintage 1977, despite being 20 years older, is in prime youth.  Sourced by a wine group member (thank you Joanne!), it still leads with red fruit which are now followed by the elegant signs of age – but so balanced, poised, subtle.  And apparently it was only just begin to show … but some of us don’t have another half a life time to wait. 

The Grahams 1977 came … roll of drums … top in the post-tasting poll, but only by a short head!  ‘Although still youthful, the tannins have softened to a great level of approachability, and there was a concentrated core of fruit’ said Martin; ‘the most satisfying of the Ports with quite a few levels of flavour’ according to Paul. 

The two Porto railway bridges, by two great engineers, Eiffel and Edgar Cardoso.

A small house on the side of the old railway line that connects Campanhã station to the Alfândega customs house. In the background, the Luís I bridge and the beacons for the Red Bull air race…

Durante años los vinos de Portugal para un aficionado español fueron los maravillosos Oportos y Madeiras en vinos generosos y los refrescantes vinhos verdes del norte del país en vinos de mesa. Alguno más entendido señalaba los vinos de Dão como equivalentes a los Rioja españoles. Y para de contar, lo demás no valía la pena. Y sin embargo ahora hay una verdadera explosión de vinos fantásticos en todo Portugal. La mejora de las técnicas de vinificación, unida a la enorme variedad de uvas que se han conservado a lo largo y ancho de nuestro vecino han producido esos vinos que se han ganado el respeto de los catadores de todo el mundo.

En este breve artículo y ante la imposibilidad de abordar en su totalidad esa variedad inmensa de vinos que componen la producción portuguesa haremos, como se hace en los restaurantes para conocer las habilidades del chef, un menú-degustación. Sólo que en este caso, será un menú solo de vinos, no de platos elaborados. Un menú que nos permita dar un vistazo a la actualidad vinícola lusa. Beberemos de todo, amigos y amigas, probaremos blancos y tintos, secos y dulces, vinos asequibles y de alto precio, conocidos e ilustres desconocidos.

Pero antes de empezar con el menú, algunas cifras. Portugal es el décimo productor de vino del mundo, con 7 millones de Hl/año, un cuarto de millón de hectáreas de viñedos, pertenecientes a casi trescientas variedades distintas de uva, agrupadas en 23 DOC (Denominación de Origen Controlada), además de varias IPR (Indicación de Procedencia Reglamentada) y vinos regionales equivalentes a los españoles Vinos de la Tierra. Lo más notable de estos datos es ese inmenso número de castas, de tipos de uva diferentes, tan lejos de la actual unificación que ha producido la moda, que hace que proliferen por todas partes los vinos varietales de cabernet sauvignon, syrah o merlot, por separado o mezclados entre sí hasta la hemofilia. En Portugal tenemos la reserva vinícola de Occidente, uvas como la famosa touriga nacional, la baga, (la más plantada del país), la roriz (tempranillo portuguesa), arinto, espadeiro, douradinha, otras con nombres llamativos como bastardo, periquita o rabo de ovelha. Mientras en otros confines se arrancaban las uvas autóctonas para plantar las uvas globalizadoras, uniformadas que citábamos antes, en nuestro vecino, por unas u otras razones se mantuvo vivo ese tesoro enológico que ahora permite elaborar vinos con personalidad propia. Y no nos olvidemos de los terroir, de los suelos tan variables por composición o por climatología. O por su orografía, como esas terrazas colgadas sobre el Duero.

Con estos preparativos ya se nos ha abierto el apetito, así que empecemos sin   tardanza con nuestra degustación de vinos portugueses. Como entrada qué mejor que el más famoso de los espumantes lusos, un Super Reserva Bruto (brut) de “Caves da Raposeira”, para brindar ya desde el inicio de nuestro gozoso recorrido enófilo por el éxito de la misión. Sólo esta bodega elabora cerca de tres millones de garrafas (botellas) de espumantes que se consumen como en España los cavas, principalmente en Navidad, pero que deberían ser bebidos en cualquier época del año y son especialmente recomendados para los calurosos veranos. Pertenecen a la DO de Távora-Varosa y se elaboran en la ciudad de Lamego. Esta garrafeira está elaborada con Malvasía Fina y Cerceal Branco y sus deliciosas notas avainilladas y sus finas burbujas nos incitan a continuar la fiesta gastronómica.

A continuación, un  fresco blanco Palacio da Brejoeira, procedente de Monção, villa limítrofe con la gallega provincia de Ourense, pero al sur del padre Miño, un vino donde la perfumada Alvarinho nos muestra su amplia gama de aromas frutales hasta embriagarnos de placer. Los Alvarinhos portugueses, primos de sus vecinos gallegos, se encuadran dentro de los vinhos verdes, pero por sus cualidades son los ricos de la familia, los aristócratas, con estudios, envidiados por todos. Así es este vino, caro pero que nos corresponde de sobra satisfaciendo nuestros sentidos de manera incomparable.

Podemos dar un salto en el mapa y continuar con un buen blanco de Bucelas, elaborada con arinto, que por decreto debe ser al menos las tres cuartas partes en esta DO, por ejemplo un Morgado de Santa Catherina, suave en boca, pero con buena acidez y toques tostados y minerales. Y no olvidemos los toques de vainilla que dejaron la estancia en barricas nuevas de roble francés. Se luce con este vino la Companhia das Quintas. Esta bodega produce también otros estupendos vinos de Bucelas como Quinta da Romeira (sin que sirva de precedente resulta recomendable el que elabora a partir de la pareja de hecho formada por arinto y chardonnay) y Prova Régia.

Es hora ya de pasarnos a lo tintos. Sin más esperas, aparece en nuestra mesa un vino de Dão como Pape 2003 de la bodega Alvaro Castro, pleno, potente y fino a la vez, de aromas intensos que permanecen en la boca, mejor dicho en la nariz, largo tiempo. Tendríamos que definir una nueva unidad de tiempo para poder detallar estos retronasales que solo los grandes vinos nos ofrecen. La DO de Dão ha pasado por muchas vicisitudes, de ser la región de los grandes vinos maduros, pasó a ser minusvalorada ante los inmensos vinos del Douro y parece que ahora vuelve a resurgir con el empuje de algunos productores como el citado Alvaro Castro y otros.

Si antes bebimos un Bucelas, de la zona lisboeta, no puede faltar ahora otro vino de las proximidades de la capital, a medio camino entre la vieja Lisboa y la maravillosa Sintra, probablemente una de las más hermosas ciudades del mundo, donde los más bellos palacios surgen de la floresta, un Chitas de Colares, ese vino mítico que resistió el ataque de la filoxera, porque sus raíces están a dos metros bajo tierra, en terreno arenoso donde el maldito bicho no puede llegar, elaborado con uva ramisco que nos dejará en el recuerdo esos sabores inolvidables, tan distintos a cualquier otro vino catado. ¿Será la cercanía del mar?

Y ahora estamos ante palabras mayores, ¿Qué tinto del Douro nos hará ascender a los cielos? Es difícil elegir, son tantos los pretendientes, necesitaríamos la sabiduría de Salomón para no errar en nuestra decisión. Para limitar el posible yerro os propongo, no uno sino una terna. El primero, Batuta de Niepoort Vinhos, elaborado por Dirk Niepoort se convirtió en un mito desde su salida al mercado. Parecía imposible superar Redoma, el éxito anterior de la bodega y sin embargo ahí está. Caro, es verdad, pero cosechar uvas en el Douro nunca puede ser barato y si no ir a ver las escarpadas terrazas sobre el río y luego hablemos. El segundo Quinta do Vale Meão, de Fernando Olazábal & Filhos, tan lleno de fruto, tan intenso, que no tenemos adjetivos para describirlo. Y para cerrar la terna el Chryseaia, oh my God!, que dirán en USA los afortunados que se beben este néctar divino, estandarte de Prats & Symington. Si el médico os recomienda que limitéis las emociones fuertes, conformaros con Post Scriptum de la misma bodega. Pero tener la paciencia de dejarlo envejecer en bodega hasta que los taninos se domestiquen y la acidez quede bien integrada.

Y para terminar, olvidémonos por una vez de Oporto y Madeira, que eso requiere artículos específicos y cerremos nuestro menú-degustación con un  Moscatel de Setúbal. Ya que hoy estamos tirando la casa por la ventana bebamos la Reserva 20 anos que elabora Jose Mº da Fonseca, con moscatel roxo, esa uva en vías de extinción. Esos sabores son inenarrables. ¿Qué me estáis diciendo? Ah, que no lo podéis encontrar. Pues conformaros con Alambre, también de la misma casa, también con 20 años. ¡Que dulzura tan fina, nada empalagosa, para acabar una degustación maravillosa! Bueno, adiós, me voy a la cama, preguntaré a Morfeo si en el Olimpo tienen vinos parecidos a los de Portugal.

Levar o Douro ao Mundo passou ontem por uma acção de promoção na embaixada portuguesa em Paris. França é só o alvo número um. O objectivo é cativar turistas no mercado externo, num contexto de turismo de qualidade.

“Cerca de 85% da procura do Douro é interna. Daí que a margem de crescimento no mercado externo seja considerável”, sublinha Ricardo Magalhães, chefe da Estrutura de Missão do Douro. Paris é apenas a primeira paragem de um périplo mundial promotor da região duriense. A iniciativa “O Douro no Mundo” integra-se no projecto Douro Vivo, parte integrante do Plano de Desenvolvimento Turístico da região. Tendo como palco a embaixada portuguesa em Paris, a Fundação Museu do Douro promoveu, ontem, uma acção de marketing claramente “below the line”, isto é, dirigiu-se não directamente aos potenciais compradores, mas antes aos operadores turísticos e comunicação social residentes. Agostinho Ribeiro, membro do conselho de administração do Museu do Douro, reconhece que o Douro tem tido algumas dificuldades de afirmação, desde logo pelo facto de a promoção estar ainda muita ligada ao vinho do Porto. “Queremos aliar a promoção da qualidade do vinho da mais antiga região demarcada do Mundo e explorar o potencial do Douro para o turismo qualidade”.

A quebra de 14% na navegação turística e de recreio no rio Douro, ao longo do primeiro semestre, foi apenas um sinal dos tempos de crise, mas os responsáveis pela promoção da região mantêm a confiança no futuro. “Alguns projectos desaceleraram, mais concretamente quatro unidades de quatro estrelas, de tipologias diferentes, que tinham arrancado com o licenciamento. Entre Miranda do Douro e Mesão Frio, há só 3300 camas distribuídas por 24 concelhos. Mas mantemos a meta dos 500 mil dormidas anuais até 2013 (duplicação relativamente ao desempenho actual), apesar de ambiciosa”, afirma Ricardo Magalhães, crente nos primeiros sinais de retoma da economia.

Recentemente, a National Geographic Society classificou a região duriense em sétimo lugar, entre 133, na sua lista de destinos turísticos sustentáveis. O Alto Douro Vinhateiro e o Vale do Côa são património da Humanidade. O ADN duriense foi finalmente sequenciado: a aposta tem de ser no turismo cultural. O embaixador Seixas da Costa sublinha a importância da “abertura” das quintas do Douro, oferecendo agora ao turista equipamentos hoteleiros de qualidade. Note-se que tanto o Norte como o Douro têm em França um dos principais mercados emissores de turistas e, além disso, quase metade (49,1%) dos turistas franceses que procuram o Norte de Portugal fazem-no por motivos culturais.

Fonte JN

Mesmo para quem não tenha memórias da Cidade e desconheça sua História, como poderá sentir-se tranquilo sob a luz da tarde de Novembro se seus passos o levarem a passar sob as pontes?

Silhuetas de muitas épocas o assombram com agouros incertos. E o rio, luminoso e tranquilo, ilude e atrai. Como hão-de atrair as luzes do fim do dia espelhadas no casario antigo.

A Cidade ancorou-se ao rio nas arribas que lhe garantiram segurança, morada e alimento. E proximidade aos deuses.

Houve tempos que foi fronteira e tempos houve que foi campo de batalhas, mas sempre constante no propósito de ser porto de partidas e de chegadas, cais de sonhos e de fortunas.

Na sua margem virada a norte, onde o Sol ainda é mais ténue e distante, imensas caves foram construídas para guardar a fortuna que chegava do País do Vinho, na Terra Quente.

Do Douro, diz-se.

Não só a Cidade tem origem no rio, como este une ambas as margens abrindo-a ao Oceano e ao Interior Profundo.

Nas margens dum rio assim, a vinha surge nos locais mais improváveis. A Cidade é parte da estória do rio, o contrário já não é verdadeiro.

Esse será o maior drama da sua relação: demasiado rio, rio excessivo.

Mas sua influência benéfica é visível no pormenor das casas, nos arruamentos, nos negócios.

E podia ser de outro modo quando o santo popular da Cidade está ligado às águas e ao vinho?

Se a memória do tempo em que os rabelos desciam o rio até à Cidade está viva, é porque o essencial se mantém.

Por detrás de anódinas fachadas, em ruelas estreitas, como que alheadas do mundo, escondem-se tesouros. Ao caminhante não passa desapercebida a presença agressiva do granito em bruto.

É ele que sustém a Cidade, lhe dá a forma, conteúdo e sentido.

Escavadas nas arribas, caves escuras e frias preservam o fruto da união da terra com o sol, riqueza acumulada de saberes, suores e sensualidade ao longo dos séculos.

Sim, os milagres exigem a mão e o desejo do Homem.

Longe do xisto que lhe fez o corpo, sem o sol que lhe dá o brilho, sob o céu frio de Novembro, o tesouro da Cidade envelhece.

Ao contrário de tudo o mais, melhora com o tempo.

Milagre? Mistério? Engenho? Não vale de nada responder sem percorrer antes os caminhos que seguem o rio desde o Interior Profundo.

É na Cidade que o rio entra mar adentro. Mar igualmente caprichoso e enganador.

Se a Cidade muda de perfil com o passar dos anos, o rio nem por isso deixa de ser selvagem, por mais barragens construam para o adormecer.

Quem dele se acerque encontra espaços livres e momentos de perigo, como quando as sereias atraíam os marinheiros e as marinhas saíam das águas para seduzirem cavaleiros.

Um barco abandonado tanto está disponível para partir para todo o lado, como é indício da presença de piratas berberes, contrabandistas de qualquer fé ou de ninguém regressado numa noite de nevoeiro.

Virada ao Oceano e atravessada pelo rio, a Cidade sofre a humidade duma espessa névoa que borra formas e abafa sons, fechando cada um no mundo íntimo das cismas, fantasias, pavores.

Em tempos que já lá vão, os mais afectados escreviam poemas, novelas de amor e perdição. E desses, alguns morreriam a cuspir sangue. Ou mataram-se antes de morrer.

Quem vagueia depois dum dia de chuva não perceberá como se suspendem seus passos na tensão da luz e da cor?

Entre o cinzento do céu e do granito há uma cidade variável que se revela por instantes breves.

Indiferente ao estereotipo da “cidade cinzenta, granítica e triste”, mas cultivando a melancolia característica dos habitantes do país da morrinha, essa terra de marinheiros e labregos que cantam, dançam e versejam de modo incontinente.

País que começa aqui e termina nas rias altas galegas. Ou vice-versa.

A luz e a cor da melancolia, do tempo que passa e não volta, do ciclo das estações onde tudo se repete: não é o rio sempre o mesmo?… contudo, outras e outras são as águas que correm (*).

De estórias de águas passadas é este rio um manancial.

Quando rio e mar se juntam nas marés-vivas ou por dilúvio no Interior Profundo, suas águas transbordam nas ruas da Cidade.

Por toda a Hespanha não há outro rio como este a receber água de tanto ribeiro, vale e serra. No mais pitoresco dos postais do rio falta a lenda negra de todos os mortos que lançou mar afora.

Por temor ao rio a Cidade estendeu-se para o alto até tocar a Lua (fatalidade dum povo de poetas…). Não é por acaso que o dia mais importante da Cidade é toda uma noite.

As casas erguem-se suspensas nos penhascos instáveis que cedem algo de si ao rio, a cada Inverno, levando tudo e todos que se lhes atravessem no caminho.

Aos moradores nunca faltou astúcia e engenho para susterem o movimento, mas a luta é sempre incerta.

A vida não é fácil nas escarpas onde todo o espaço ou é roubado à rocha ou é acrescentado pela adição laboriosa de pedra sobre pedra até levantarem um providencial muro, uma passagem urgente.

Quando sobe pelas casas adentro, o rio proclama uma soberania que os Homens sempre aceitaram de má-vontade.

Porém, as casas destelhadas, esventradas, periclitantes, denunciam mais abandono por parte de moradores e vizinhos do que a fúria das águas.

Até porque continuam a só ter janelas para o curso da vida e da morte que mina suas fundações.

A ferros firmada no mais duro granito, a Cidade ultrapassa os caprichos do rio sem o renegar. Pelas pontes a Cidade estreita-se a si mesma num abraço.

Mas quem se passeie por elas que não se iluda ao contemplar de cima o rio. De suas águas, a seu modo luminosas, irrompe também a tensão. Luz abismal que retém o olhar enquanto atrai os passos, ilusão e promessa de passagem para outro lado, quiçá outra vida.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

(*) Heráclito in “Os Filósofos Pré-Socráticos” de Kirk e Raven , ed.Calouste Gulbenkian 1979

De acordo com a análise desenvolvida mensalmente pela ILM Advisory, especialista em assessoria a entidades públicas e privadas ligadas ao mercado turístico, o turismo nacional atravessa um ciclo de quebra contínua desde o início do ano.

A análise de desempenho turístico elaborada pela ILM no início do mês de Junho para o I-ON-TOURISM, conclui que “em todas as rubricas analisadas no último trimestre, apenas a venda dos Pastéis de Belém regista uma subida significativa na procura. O aumento registado nas vendas deste produto atingiu as 3.255 unidades em Março de 2009, face a igual período do ano anterior”. No seu conjunto foram analisados o tráfego aéreo nos principais aeroportos, movimento de cruzeiros nos portos de Lisboa e da Madeira, índices hoteleiros, número de voltas nos campos de golfe situados na região de Lisboa e número de visitantes em museus e palácios, registando-se na maioria das variáveis um claro decréscimo de actividade.

A análise do tráfego aéreo nos quatro principais aeroportos nacionais (Porto, Lisboa, Faro e Funchal) conclui que no mês de Março de 2009 se registou uma descida de 369.730 passageiros. Neste domínio salienta-se o aumento da dependência dos principais aeroportos nacionais face a turistas oriundos da União Europeia, com percentagens entre 75% e 95%.

Em relação ao movimento dos cruzeiros o estudo citado revela um decréscimo no número de embarcações em Março último, face a período homólogo do ano anterior. Na hotelaria a descida verificada em idêntico período, no número total de dormidas registadas a nível nacional, atinge os 22,3 %. Os hotéis de cinco estrelas registaram a maior quebra (-24,7%) e o pior desempenho (38,8%). Curiosamente o golfe registou em Março de 2009 um aumento de 11,8% nas receitas por volta, apesar da diminuição de voltas em 15.704. A visita de museus e palácios registou também um aumento de 8% no total de visitantes em Março de 2009, face a Março de 2008, sendo o Palácio de Sintra o mais visitado em ambos os meses.

De acordo com Andrew Coutts, CEO da ILM Advisory, “esta situação de quebra contínua no desempenho turístico nacional, espelha a preferência dos turistas por destinos mais perto dos seus locais de origem. Com a recuperação da economia, espera-se que esta dependência venha a alterar-se, assistindo-se a um incremento no número das viagens de longo curso”.

Para realizar o estudo descrito a ILM recorreu a dados fornecidos pela ANA Aeroportos e Aeroportos da Madeira, Associação de Turismo de Lisboa, Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação, Turismo de Portugal, IGESPAR, Administração do Porto de Lisboa, Administração dos Portos da Região Autónoma da Madeira, Fortaleza de Sagres – Ministério da Cultura, Pastéis de Belém, Castelo de São Jorge – EGEAC, Convento de Cristo e Parques de Sintra, entidades a quem agradece a informação disponibilizada.

Rio Douro - Pinhão

Press Play

Música de The Durutti Column, Lunch,  do álbum Keep Breathing.

Ciclo de palestras complementares à exposição – Dia 5 de Novembro, às 18:00, na Biblioteca da FEUP

O Ciclo de palestras complementares à exposição “Por este rio acima: água e engenho na bacia hidrográfica do Douro” continua a decorrer e   para a próxima sessão do dia 5 de Novembro, o enfoque estará nas questões ambientais mais importantes a resolver no Rio Douro e na respectiva Bacia Hidrográfica.

Esta sessão será apresentada por Álvaro Domingues, Professor na Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto e Rui Manuel Cortes, Professor Catedrático da Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD).

Para mais informações consulte o programa: PDF

Fonte FEUP

Neste Réveillon venha navegar connosco! Desde apenas € 420! Cruzeiro de 4 dias, em pensão completa, deslumbre-se com encostas em solcalcos do vale do Douro e comemore o Novo Ano numa das regiões mais bonitas do país! [Esgotado]Ver mais

Way back last month I was telling you about the white wines of Portugal.
My opinion was (and is) that Portuguese white wines “excite your palate, intrigue your intellect and awaken your sense of adventure for new flavors and experiences”. I also noted that Portuguese whites tend to be ridiculously affordable so it really pays to explore these lesser known wines.
This week I am focused on Portuguese red wines. They have been getting some good press lately, and deservedly so. They, like the whites, offer excellent quality, often at very reasonable prices.
I have been finding some really good Portuguese reds lately. If you have not yet tried these wines I have some excellent suggestions that will give you a good perspective on the prevalent style/regions/producers currently coming out of Portugal.
A few weeks ago Eric Asimov wrote in the New York Times about the red wines from the Douro region. Of the ten wines he reviewed in New York (where the selection is often quite different than what we get in California) he chose as his favorite the young Altano Tinto 2006 ($9.99). He described it as “Dry and balanced with complex, lingering aromas and flavors of fruits and flowers” which sounds about right to me. I find the wine to be youthful and on the gentle side for a Douro red. The dark berry fruit character is but a bit subdued in comparison to other wines from this region. This lends the wine a gentle food-friendly quality that never overwhelms lighter fare.
Another well priced Douro red is Twisted Tinto 2007 ($14.99), the entry level wine from Niepoort, maker of top quality Porto as well as several high end red and white wines. This wine is composed of a wide range of typical Douro grapes including Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão among others. Twisted Tinto is dark garnet in color with expressive aromas of fresh berries and minerals, tart cherry fruit character and a touch of tannic oak.
I am also finding plenty of excellent bargains in Portuguese regions outside the Douro Valley.  The young Meia Encosta Tinto 2007 ($8.99) from the Dão region is fresh and bright. Clear ruby color, cherry aroma and Gamay-like fruit character (the blend here is actually Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz) all work in harmony to express the tart,refreshing style that makes this such a perfect mid-week red.
From a small region called Óbidos located just north of Lisbon comes Quinta de São Francisco Tinto 2005 ($11.99) composed of 60% Castelão, 20% Aragonez and 20% Touriga Nacional. Garnet colored with a brickish tinge, this wine displays initial aromas of ripe berry and crushed rocks. I get more mineral notes and light mulberry fruit character on the palate along with a bit of black pepper spice. Eight months of barrel age lends a gentle tannic note to the wine.
The Spanish Table Wine Club is currently featuring the Cunha Martins Reserva from the Dão region. Most of this went into the club but I have a few spare bottles on hand for general consumption. Cunha Martins Reserva 2004 ($14.99) is a field blend of numerous grapes including Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Alfrocheiro Preto, Bastardo and Jaen. The wine was aged for 18 months in oak before bottling. This is a darkly tinted wine with dense texture, and fruit character reminiscent of mulberries and black plums.  Backnotes of black olive and wood smoke remind us of the wine’s Dão heritage, expressed here in a rich, silky style that will compliment an autumn menu of slow roasted meats and winter squash.
For something at a good price but with a bit of age we go again to the Dão region for Quinta da Cabriz Reserva 2005 ($19.99). This barrel aged blend of 50% Touriga Nacional, 30% Tinta Roriz and 20% Alfrocheiro possesses a bit of the old fashioned Dão rusticity framed by dark plum fruit character and well integrated oak. This mature expressive wine will be a perfect match with a broad range of traditional autumn fare such as slow cooked white beans with chunks of Linguiça sausage and the Portuguese smoked bacon called Toucinho Defumado (FYI, we sell the beans/sausage/bacon as well as the wine!).

 

 

Los Hermanos Fernández

The Ribera del Duero region in Northern Spain has been transformed over the last few decades. From its origins as an agricultural region mostly known for farming (sugar beets) and livestock (sheep), Ribera del Duero is now one of the most highly regarded wine regions in all of Spain. One of the pioneering winemakers in Ribera del Duero, a former beet farmer named Alejandro Fernández, started his own winery which quickly earned a reputation for excellence. His Tinto Pesquera became a game changing wine in Ribera del Duero. The region was transformed. Wine grapes became the crop of choice for local farmers, many of whom also went on to great success.
A less well known part of this story is that, unbeknownst to many of us here in the USA, Alejandro Fernández has a brother named Federico who also makes wine. His winery is small and his wines adhere to a traditional style that is fast fading from view in Ribera del Duero. Federico Fernández insists on slow barrel ageing to elaborate his wines. In the modern rush to market this practice is used less and less by the larger wineries. Federico still adheres to the old practice of classifying his wines as Roble, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva depending on how much time they spend ageing in oak. Federico Roble 2007 ($17.99) is the young wine from this bodega. Made from the local version of Tempranillo called Tinto Fino, this wine spends just six months ageing in barrel before bottling. The resulting wine expresses the earthy minerality of the region in a bold, fresh style.  Federico Crianza 2005 ($31.99) spends 12 months in barrel and several years in bottle before release. The tannins are substantial and chalky when the wine is first opened. With air the wine reveals a core of trail dust, saddle leather, black cherry fruit and an intriguing gamey note on the finish. As ever, the pairing for all good Ribera del Duero is lamb in all its guises (chops, roasts, stews, you name it).

10 Nov – 11 Nov 2009 – das 09:30 às 18:30 – AUDITÓRIO DE SERRALVES

A expansão das áreas metropolitanas associada à sua atractividade para a fixação das populações humanas à escala mundial e regional é um fenómeno indissociável da paisagem de hoje e uma herança do século passado. Os problemas e os desafios que se nos colocam são diversos e a Fundação de Serralves promove esta conferência com o intuito de debater e contribuir para o entendimento de uma das facetas deste fenómeno e herança: a ecologia e a sustentabilidade.

Na sequência de iniciativas anteriores, nomeadamente a Conferência em 2008 sobre a Sustentabilidade da Gestão dos Espaços Verdes, surge a presente iniciativa que terá como principal cenário a Área Metropolitana do Porto (AMP). Por sua vez, a Fundação de Serralves é um dos parceiros do Centro Regional de Excelência para a Sustentabilidade (CRE_Porto) empenhado na promoção de acções para a melhoria do desempenho ambiental na AMP.

A conferência é motivada por um trabalho desenvolvido nos últimos três anos em torno de uma proposta de uma rede de parques metropolitanos desenvolvida para a Junta Metropolitana do Porto pelo CIBIO da Universidade do Porto (Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos). Este trabalho, por sua vez, é entendido já como uma consequência do Plano Regional de Ordenamento do Território da Região Norte que recentemente foi submetido a discussão pública.

A Fundação de Serralves convidou um conjunto de especialistas nacionais e estrangeiros para trazer a sua experiência e reflexão sobre a paisagem metropolitana. Já muito se especulou sobre o significado da sustentabilidade. Nesta conferência entendemos a sustentabilidade como a atitude responsabilizada dos cidadãos perante a natureza e a cultura, privilegiamos a ecologia e focalizamos a actuação ao nível do planeamento, projecto e gestão da paisagem metropolitana – o habitat por excelência do cidadão de hoje.

Entendemos que a conferência interessa a uma grande diversidade de áreas disciplinares da biologia à arquitectura, da sociologia à arquitectura paisagista, da engenharia à geografia. Interessa a profissionais da administração local, regional e nacional ou da actividade privada. Interessa a educadores, professores e estudantes universitários. Interessa também ao cidadão comum cada vez mais cioso de uma participação activa e esclarecida na tomada de decisões sobre o futuro dos seus espaços, do seu património, dos seus valores.
Convida-se ainda os participantes para uma visita e debates no local pelas paisagens a norte do rio Douro – “descobrindo o verde escondido à nossa porta”.

www.serralves.pt

Quinta da Romaneira, Alijó

Vista do Douro, Qta. Romaneira

Quarto, Qta. Romaneira

One of the best places I’ve been in Portugal.

Uma quinta/hotel que permite uma profunda experiência de descanso e união com a natureza, com o Douro, o vinho, a gastronomia e um pouco da filosofia do slow movement integrada no turismo rural de luxo.

Quarto, Qta. Romaneira

Sala do piano, Qta. Romaneira

Salão convívio, Qta. Romaneira

O clássico e o moderno convivem aqui como duas faces de uma mesma moeda.

Two fronts, excelent location, 5 minutes to Porto or Gaia centres, walking distances to Port Wine cellars, riverside and Arrсbida Shopping. Great views over Douro, both D. Luэs bridge and Arrсbida bridge

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A Tertúlia do Vinho vem por este meio agradecer à revista Wine – A Essência do Vinho pelo facto de nos ter referido como destino gourmet na edição de Outubro.

Temos orgulho de poder levar o nome da cidade de Viana do Castelo tão longe, a par com a região do Douro (tão portuguesa), e com Nova Iorque (tão cosmopolita).

Pelas terras do vinho e das vinhas com “O Tecto” e a VivExperiência! Em pleno final das vindimas aproveitamos para visitar a  primeira região demarcada de vinhos do Mundo. O Douro mostrou todos os seus encantos num programa especial para gente especial.

Foram 3 dias de paisagens maravilhosas e montes de emoções, apreciando o que de melhor Portugal tem para oferecer, desde a monumental cidade berço ao vale que também ele faz parte do prestigiado lote de locais eleitos como Património da Humanidade. No Peso da Régua visitamos o Museu do Douro e em Santa Marta de Penaguião provamos o néctar duriense. Foi marcante a visita ao Santuário da Nossa Senhora dos Remédios em Lamego e  a descida do magnifico escadório seguido de uma viagem de comboio na linha do Douro. Por terras de Vila Nova de Foz Côa e Torre de Moncorvo pudemos conhecer um pouco mais acerca da história das gentes da Terra Quente e do ferro. Houve ainda tempo para provar as não menos famosas alheiras de Mirandela e regressar satisfeitos .

Certamente que a VivExperiência Douro continuará a  fazer as delícias dos apaixonados por uma região que ilustra de uma forma singular as vivências que se reflectem no nosso país.

Pakko laittaa pitkästä aikaa muistiinpano, tuli sen verran erinomainen punkku korkattua eilen (ja parhaillaan rippeet maistuu pirun hyvältä). Tällä kertaa en kuitenkaan mahdolliselle lukijalle lupaile päivitystahdista yhtään mitään..

Kaivoin siis illalla tissuttelua varten kellarista pari vuotta sitten Alkon poistomyynnistä vajaalla parilla kympillä hankitun portugalilaisen Quinta dos Quatro Ventos 1999:n (Douro DOC). Muistaakseni tätä kehuttiin Viinilehdessä tms. aikanaan, tosin varmaksi en jaksa muistaa. Harvemmin nykyään tulee kalsaroitua ihan näin täyteläisellä viinillä mutta tällä hetkellä kellari on tyhjennetty sellaiseen tilaan ettei oikein muuta mielenkiintoista, suht’ arkisen hintaista punkkua löydy ex tempore kotibrenutteluun.

Tinta Rorizista (eli Tempranillo), Touriga Francasta ja Tinta Barrocasta tehty punkero on nuorempana ollut varmaan aika tanniinista tavaraa, nyt tanniinit ovat pehmenneet mukavasti mutta kuitenkin viinistä löytyy mausteista voimaa sopivasti. Nopealla guuglauksella näyttää siltä että ammattilaisten mielestä olisi jo ohittanut parasta ennen -päivänsä, mutta ei siltä vaikuta tämän pullon perusteella. Hommassa on alusta loppuun laatutuotteen fiilis, lämmittää syysiltana mukavasti ja hiukan tulee itse asiassa hyvä toskanalainen mieleen. Vattua ja muuta punaista marjaa yllin kyllin, toisena päivänä toimii vielä paremmin (vuorokauden jääkaapissa korkin kanssa, ei tyhjiössä). Epäortodoksisti nautittu Riedelin Sauvignon Blanc -lasista.

Vähän ottaa jopa päähän että tuli avattua, tämä kun oli ainoa pullo, olisi voinut jonkun hyvän safkan kanssa tuhota. Nyt uppoaa toki hyvin Anastaciaa kuunnellessa ja sunnuntai-illasta nauttiessa.

Portugalista on kyllä viimeisen parin vuoden aikana muodostunut Italian ja Ranskan ohella/jälkeen meikäläisen suosikki, punkuntuottajamaista siis. Maasta on helppo löytää hintalaatusuhteeltaan hienoja viinejä.

Jos kyseinen viini tulee lähivuosina vastaan jossakin, suosittelen lämpimästi. Sakkaa löytyy muuten jonnin verran pullosta, joten kannattaa dekantoida.

O Douro – a mais antiga região demarcada do mundo – depois da classificação como Património Mundial da Humanidade em 2001, participou no concurso das “7 Maravilhas da Natureza”, ficando entre os 77 melhores, e foi agora destacado pela National Geographic Society com o sétimo lugar de um total de 133 destinos turísticos sustentáveis da National Geographic Society, ficando à frente de regiões como a Toscana (Itália) ou o centro histórico de Salzburg.

A National Geographic Society divulgou uma nova lista de destinos turísticos sustentáveis, para a qual contribuíram 400 peritos de diferentes áreas, que coloca o Douro no 7º lugar desse ranking, entre 133 destinos turísticos em todo o mundo, reconhecendo o valor da região vinhateira nas atracções históricas e naturais.

Como temos vindo a reiterar, quando nos manifestamos sobre a região, é preciso estabelecer uma estratégia de Marketing territorial, com base num modelo de actuação sustentável e participado assente na valorização dos recursos locais e nos modos de vida da população e na promoção do turismo de natureza.