Portuguese reds offer pleasures at bargain prices

By Jim Raper

Correspondent

REGULAR READERS know I am fond of Portuguese wines, especially reds from the Douro Valley, where most of the better grapes traditionally have gone into the sweet, fortified Ports. Over the last dozen years, however, the dry red wines of the Douro have built a fine reputation of their own by offering rich blackberry and earthy flavors that even a poor wine-lover can afford.

With the dollar so weak, in fact, Portugal may be the one Euro-currency country to which we can look for wine bargains. That's what wine importer Mark Tramont was thinking when his Touchstone Wines, which is based in Buffalo, N.Y., teamed recently with producer V. Leite de Faria, Ltd., in the Douro.

The Animus 2005 Douro, which is the first product of the collaboration, offers modern, fruit-forward flavors together with a touch of the mineral and leather notes we expect from Old World winemaking. It tastes more expensive than its $12 price tag.

Tramont, who was visiting customers in Hampton Roads this spring, poured some Animus for me, although he said it would not be in local stores for another few weeks. He said he and Touchstone partner Luis Capitao had learned during two decades apiece in wine and spirits marketing that Portuguese wines, and especially the reds from the Douro, are simply not getting the respect they deserve in the United States. The wines have just the qualities - bold flavor at reasonable prices - that youthful Americans want, they reasoned.

Animus is a blend of three noble Douro varieties, tinta roriz, touriga nacional and touriga franca.

Touchstone already has in the Hampton Roads marketplace the delightful Ricossa 2005 Barbera d'Asti ($12), just the red to serve with barbecued chicken and sausages.

Readers who crave unusual wine experiences should search out a bottle of rkatsiteli, especially if you like "old" wines. I am not referring to well-aged wines but instead to wines that go way back in history. Experts say that rkatsiteli seeds more than 3,000 years old have been found and that the grape probably originated in what is today the Republic of Georgia. The grapes make crisp white wines and sometimes are used in sparkling and sweet wines that are popular in Russia and several satellites of the old Soviet Union. Rkatsiteli has even caught on in China.

The Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars in New York State produce a sharp citrus and green apple example of rkatsiteli for about $25, and it is available in Virginia. Ask your wine merchant about getting it. You can just call it "r-cat," if you like.

Easier for us to find is a Virginia example of this varietal, the Horton Vineyards 2006 Rkatsiteli ($16), which is a refreshing white for summer drinking.

Horton is broadly known for its pioneering efforts in Virginia with the white viognier and red Norton grapes, but it has been a test vineyard site for many other varieties as well, including red grapes that are native to Portugal. One of these days I may taste a Virginia red that is as distinctive and pleasing to me as my much-loved Portuguese reds.

Jim Raper, humstew@cox.net