When people think about Portuguese wines (I'm sure you've all spent many sleepless nights pondering this subject), they usually think about Port, the famous fortified dessert wine made in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. While Port can be absolutely delicious, it tends to overshadow the many wonderful dry table wines that Portugal produces. It's unfortunate, but if it's not Port, people just tend to forget about Portuguese wine.
That's why we were so thrilled when we found Casa Antiga. It's just a textbook example of everything we love about Portuguese wines:
- First of all, there's the "geek factor." Portugal is known for growing all kinds of indigenous, nearly unheard-of wine grapes--and we wine geeks love weird grapes! Casa Antiga is chock full of them: Bical, Cerceal-Branco, Malvasia-Fina, and Encruzado make up the blend. Dont worry if you've never heard of them--we hadn't either!
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| Vineyards in the Douro Valley | | |
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- Portugal also has a number of wine regions that are absolutely ideal for making wine. The Douro Valley (pictured above) is the most famous, with its picturesque sloping vineyards, but there are plenty of other fascinating places that make some wonderful wines. The Dao Valley (pronounced "dow"), where Casa Antiga is made, is one of the best. Surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges, with soils rich in schist and granite, the terrain is ideal for making wines with finesse and elegance. Casa Antiga is a great example, with a wonderful balance between fruit and acidity, and a stunning dose of earthy minerals that you don't usually find in wines at this price
- Lastly, Portuguese wines are often very inexpensive. Vineyard land is still pretty cheap over there, and since Portuguese wines are so obscure, the demand isn't terribly high, keeping prices low on these high-quality wines, and providing great bang-for-your-buck!
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Pastures overlooking the Serra da Estrella mountain range, one of the ranges that encloses the Dao
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