Today on Movies & Booze we’re going to look at an organic Prosecco and a great red from the Portuguese wine region of Alentejo. Sunshine in a wine glass - the weekend starts here!
La Jara Prosecco €15.00
Stockists: Carry Out, Nationwide and Karwig Wines, Carriagaline, Co Cork & independent off licences, nationwide
Prosecco is a light fresh sparkling wine, low in alcohol and intensely aromatic. The DOC is for a dry white wine labelled Tranquille (still), or for the sparkling wines labelled either Gentile or Frizzante (slightly sparkling) or Spumante (fully sparkling). The driest wines are labelled brut, and the sweeter ones "extra dry". Prosecco is best-drunk young and should be served well chilled. Prosecco used to be both the name of the grape and the wine but in 2009 the wine laws of the region were changed and the grape is now known as Glera.
The DOC applies to the region, which runs 33km from the town of Congegliano to the picturesque village of Valdiobbiandene in the Treviso province of Veneto. There are over 3,364 grape growers in the region, farming a total of 7,549ha who work with 438 co-operative wineries. The region also has 178 producers.
The global financial meltdown sparked the Prosecco phenomenon. During the boom times consumer got a taste for drinking bubbles, when austerity hit and belt tightening was de rigeur, the arrival of Prosecco was a game changer. Prosecco, almost unknown 12 years ago is now the sparkling wine served at many family focussed celebrations such as weddings, christenings, graduations, etc. This value Italian sparkling wine, is fruity and light is now the drink of choice for those in the market for the “pop” factor.
This wine is made sparkling using the cuve close (or tank) method. The second fermentation, the most important phase takes place in a pressurised tank; the wine, sugar and natural yeasts undergo the second fermentation process for at least 40 days. This forms the mousse (bubbles) in this elegant Spumanti style wine. The wine is then bottled under pressure.
La Jara is made from good quality organic vines. In the flat fields surrounding the 50 hectare vineyard the gravel bed bed of the river Piave, shapes their unique terrain.
The soil that the grapes are grown on for this wine has a unique character, compounded white limestone gravel which originated from the Piave river. This soil absorbs heat during the day, then slowly releases it at night. Owing the soil’s unusual characteristic, the grapes produce a Prosecco with a lovely flowery aroma.
2015 Herdade Paco do Conde €12.99
Stockists: Carry Out, Nationwide; McHugh’s Artane & Malahide Rd; Lilac Wines, Dublin 3; Coach House, Balinteer; Gibney’s Malahide & independent off licences, nationwide
Portugal’ two main strenghts are the diversity of its climatic regions and its wealth of native grape varieties The coastal wine regions are strongly influenced by the Atlantic, the moderating effect which dimishes rapidly as you move inland. As a result light fresh flavoured dry white wines are produced in close proximity to full bodied reds and rich fortified wines. Added to this are Portugal's unique and varied grape varieties. From the wild berry fruit characters of Touriga Nacional, Baga and Periquita to the distincitve white wines made from the spicy Fernao Pires, the delicate Loueiro or the floral scented Rupeiro.
Alentejo plain a large region of rolling plains that has extremely high summer temperatures and very low rainfall. The Alentejo is where Portugal’s climate finally escapes the Atlantic influence, and the scenery changes to large, gently undulating plains that experience baking hot summers and cold winters more typical of continental weather systems. Think of it as Portugal’s ‘new world’, with the potential to make extrovert, ripe wines with a taste of the sun about them. This is the least populated of Portugal’s regions, and instead of the smallholdings that typify the agricultural landscape elsewhere, the Alentejo has many large estates.
Referred to as the ‘bread basket’ of Portugal, wheat is the most important crop here, with the poorer soils being reserved for olive trees, cork oaks and vineyards.
In 1995 the Castelo Branco family changed their traditional cereal based agricultural activity to a more competitive agricultural activity of vineyards and olive groves. They now have 200 hectares of vineyards, south-facing and set on sand-rich schist loam. They make wines from red wine grape varieties such as Aragonez, Trincadeira, Castelão, Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet.
Alentejo is Portugal’s “new world” and the wine though made from indigenous grapes are very modern. This wine is a blend of native Portuguese grapes including Aragonez (known in Spain as Tempranillo), Trincadeira, Alicante Bouchet and Touriga Nacional (the great grape of the Douro Valley)…
This is a lovely red wine full of berried fruit and lots of it. It is very drinkable and shows the value that southern Portugal is capable of producing. Drink it with Roast Pork and garlic stuffing. They also have a new wine coming soon the Herdade de Abernos Tinto which will be available soon price €9.99
Wine Diary – Check out the wine diary for lots of events and wine courses all starting soon. Look out for A Taste of Kildare on Sunday 19th August or the Airfield Festival of Food on 8th & 9th September, 2018 https://jeansmullen.com/
