Ports and Portuguese Wines

I just gave a wine tasting for some enthusiastic yogis, comparing Portuguese wines from the Douro region with their fortified counterparts - ports. To me, it's like comparing Warrior II with Triangle pose - same building blocks, different manifestation. Both wine and yoga come from ancient traditions, and both, when approached with intention and an open heart, allow us to engage the senses, marvel at the wonders of creation, and, of course, recognize our human capabilities and limitations. For you, my dears, an exclusive on the tasting notes... the yoga you will have to do yourselves. I wish you joy in exploration.

The Wines:

Castello d'Alba Branco Reserva (~$13)
"Castello d'Alba" means White Castle, but this wine's no slider. The blend of white grapes, tempered by the heat and stone of Portugal's Douro valley, is a full-bodied exotic beauty of a bottle. An intriguing bouquet wafts into melony, citrusy, sinful goodness and an absolutely decadent mouthfeel (think contraband silk stockings). Try it simply with fruits and cheeses, or with meatier fare like roast chicken or grilled swordfish.

Callabriga Douro (~$15)
Ok, people, you'll want to grab two of these: one to drink now - and I mean immediately, no arguing, please - and one to hide in your basement for a couple years till you've almost forgotten it's there and can joyfully rediscover it, like finding a shiny quarter on the sidewalk when the parking meter's running low. The deep imperial purple hue of this Portuguese red blend heralds bright notes of dark cherry and raspberry, their ripeness balanced by clean tannins and a clarion acidity, with hints of pepper, cedar, and eucalyptus. Lovely with a salad of blueberries, arugula, and fresh sheep's milk cheese, or toss it up against a roast (or mock) duck just for kicks.

The Ports:*

Burmester White Porto (~$15)
Take those stockings from the Castello d'Alba and bump them up to silk sheets and a cashmere throw, and you've got the Burmester. Exotic, aromatic, subtle, almost more delicate than sweet - but is that a hint of white chocolate, or is it caramel? Or marzipan? Guess I'll just have to keep trying it till I figure it out... and while I'm at it I might as well have some marble cheesecake too. Mmmm.

Sandeman Tawny Porto (~$14)
Aged in oak, the Sandeman Tawny takes the cherry and raspberry notes from the Callabriga and bakes them in the sun. The dried fruit, pecan and vanilla notes go great with anything nutty, caramelized or burnt, like pecan sandies, creme brulee, or vegan marshmallows toasted over your gas stove.

Noval LB Ruby Porto Finest Reserve (~$20)
Without the woodiness of the tawny, in this ruby from Noval the fruit is at the forefront, reflected in its deep magenta color. "LB" stands for "Late Bottled," meaning the port has been mellowing in a vat for a while, and all the flavors have had a chance to really get to know one another. Though it has the density, smokiness and nuanced spice of a vintage port, this one doesn't need decanting and fairly jumps out of the bottle into your glass. While fantastic with rich desserts like ganache or triple chocolate fudge brownies, the classic ruby pairing is still a big honking stinky bleu cheese like Stilton.

*Um, so what's port again? It's just a style of fortified dessert wine originating in Portugal. It's fortified the same way Minnesotans occasionally fortify themselves against our interesting weather, with some straight up, good clean hard-rockin' liquor, in this case grape spirits (brandy, basically). Dumping that in raises the alcohol content to 20%, as opposed to the usual 11-13% or so you see in regular table wines. That'll stoke your fire.