Although I have never met Zev Robinson, I feel as if I know him. We chat on twitter and always seem to be just one or two weeks behind each other in our travels. Many near misses, but I hope to see him soon at one of the screenings for his new documentary Life on the Douro. Robinson's film traces 300 years of history of the Douro wine producing region in Portugal featuring interviews with many of the key figures working in the region today. Here is a preview below.
I supported Zev's IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for the film and I recently got an advance copy of the film. I toured the Douro this past February and it was great to re-live my visit and reconnect through the film with the people I met including Adrian Bridge, George Sandeman and Oscar Quevedo--all of whom I have written about previously here in this blog.
If Oscar Quevedo is not elected Ambassador of Portugal Wine, I imagine no one ever will. It would be hard for anyone else to match his enthusiasm. His easy charm and infectious joy for the wines of Portugal is so genuine. We were on the same bus at the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference and after spending time with him and his then girlfriend Nadia, I vowed to visit the Douro and see his family's Quinta. I got very very close to that goal back in February but due to a scheduling sanfu, I missed the Quevedo winery by about 6 miles and 3 hours. Luckily Life on the Douro spends much quality time with the Quevedos and through the film I feel like I got to visit there after all.
I loved this film. It's a kiss on the lips to the Douro and the winemakers. If you have been to the Douro this film will deepen your experience, and if you have not yet been, this will be your tipping point to go and make your own discoveries.
The film premiered on September 6, 2011 as part of the Douro Film Harvest festival and plans are being made for screenings in North America and Europe over the next year including these dates in California.
Los Angeles -- November, 15th
San Francisco -- November, 17th --More details here--
http://www.delanceystreetfoundation.org/enterscreening.php
Paso Robles-- Novmber 19 or 20th - - http://www.pasoroblesfilmfestival.com
For more information visit:
http://www.facebook.com/LifeontheDouro
http://lifeonthedouro.com/
http://zevrobinson.com
Showing posts with label George Sandeman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Sandeman. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Portugal Part 4: A Visit to Sandeman & Vini Portugal
I thought Port was a sweet fortified wine you drank after dinner. Port was Port. But boy, was I wrong. It turns out there are many kinds of port—Ruby, Tawny, Vintage and the Special Vintage Reserve. There’s Pink and White and LBV and Colheita and Crusted and Single Quinta Vintages. Also 10, 20, 30, and 40 year vintages. But not all aged Port is from the same year, it can be any combination of years that add up to 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. It’s like the sudoku of winemaking.
Port seems way more complicated than needs be, so forget trying to sort it all out in the beginning and just start tasting. But don’t be surprised if after trying many styles, you become intrigued and desire more in-depth information. Then Oporto (aka Porto) is the place to go. Actually, Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river, is the place. All the major Port caves and cellars are here including Calem, Kopke, Cockburn, Offley, Croft, Rozes, Taylors, Graham and of course Sandeman.
Sandeman
Even if you don’t know Sandeman Port you certainly have seen their branding with the iconic image of the caped man. Throughout our tour of the cellars we were shadowed by a woman in the hat and cape, a living logo that added to the drama of the tasting.
But by far the most dramatic moment of the Sandeman tour came in the Sandeman cellar when one of the Hollywood TV hosts from our group asked the winemaker to pour a barrel sample from the thief, directly into her mouth, creating an improvised Port shower. Well, Sandeman is a classy place, so you can imagine the gaping jaws when this occurred. Highly unusual behavior in such a hallowed and august Port house. Yes indeedy it was quite the scene…I only wish I had some pictures to share!! (Um hello @aneeshb or @terencecarter ... please send photos. I will post and link to your page.) Not something you see everyday, or ever for that matter.
UPDATE: This just in! Here is a photo!
After the cellar tour we were served two types of Port cocktails. The Sandeman Founder on the Rocks made with Founders Reserve Porto over ice and the Sandeman Royal prepared with Sandeman’s 20 Years Tawny Porto and Scotch Whisky. It was the first of many Port cocktails I would have in Portugal and they became an evening ritual for the remainder of the trip.
At dinner I was seated at George Sandeman’s table and I later heard that George personally chose who would sit at his table after looking at everyone’s blog. So that was nice to hear. I guess he took a peek at my blog on a good week!
The dinner was exceptional, especially the Sea Bass entree that was baked encrusted in salt, and arrived on a platter looking like it was ready for a Saveur photo shoot . The sea bass paired perfectly with the 2009 Quinta de Azvedo Vinho Verde. We also enjoyed the Sandeman 20 year Tawny with an apple and roqufort salad; the 2000 Sandeman Vau Vintage Porto with chocolate mousse; and with coffee, the Sandeman 40 year old Tawny. I loved the richness of the 40 year tawny.
George proved to be a witty conversationalist and it was a pleasure to be seated at his table. He also gave us a quick lesson in the nuance of Port, when the 20 year Port was served. We all tasted it and then George declared it was not exactly as it should be, that it was "flat"--immediately all the glasses were removed and a new bottle poured. I honestly don't know what he detected in the first bottle, but I did notice a difference in the second pour. It definitely tasted more lively, the flavors more pronounced and defined than the first.
It’s always great to be able to experience something like that even if it is not intentional. I learned a lot from that episode and was able to tune in to the differences in Port much better after that accidental object lesson. Like I said at the beginning, there is a lot more to Port than you might think, and spending time learning all about it from the experts is the best way to move from being a Port drinker to Port lover.
Vini Portugal—
Of course there is more than Port in Porto and if you want to learn more about all the incredible table wines being produced in Portugal head over to Vini Portugal. Vini Portugal is a trade organization promoting wine production and producers in Portugal. You can learn about the different regions and try the wines of the day in their stylish tasting room in the historic stock exchange building near the river.
Miguel Nora, Sr. Manager for Vini Portugal hosted us afterwards at Restaurante O Comercial located in the Palácio da Bolsa - the stock exchange building in Oporto. I almost foolishly missed out on this event because I was feeling under the weather, but I'm glad I attended.
A stylish version of traditional bacalhau
It was a great opportunity to drink some wonderful Portuguese wines paired with traditional Portugese cuisine. And I got to check out the world’s most trippy writstwatch on Miguel’s wrist. I was convinced he could control the thermostat of his home or office and launch small missiles with it, it but he insisted it only told the time, albeit in a very stylish manner.
View from guest room at the Yeatman Hotel
We stayed at the magnificent Yeatman Hotel the night we visited Sandeman, and after a full day of touring three Quintas in the Minho, I was a bit exhausted by the time we got there. But it was such a brief visit I went back after the blogger trip to experience it again. I'll tell you more about The Yeatman in a separate post. But for now, here's a quick room tour featuring another drive-thru window!
Visiting the Port cellars without a trip to the growing region in the Douro, would be like visiting a museum of flight and aeronautics, but never flying in an airplane. You miss a huge part of the experience if you don’t go to the Douro. I’ll show you why in the next posts.
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