2018 Trincadeira Velho E Novo Vineyards

Long ago, the Neanderthals lived on this land; this was a time before anyone thought of stomping grapes into wine. Much later, the Romans came to Portugal, and that’s when wine got introduced to the population. Portugal is most often known for those bright, colorful tiles, its unique Baroque architecture, and those ceramic souvenir chicken pitchers, “Barcelos Roosters”. It is a land of party-gores with dozens of carnivals and festivals. Well, Portugal make, bottles, and sells wines. This ’18 Trincadeiera, one of Portugal’s grape varietals, is really too young to get its full benefit. It is blend with other varietals: Candeiera, Velbo and Novo. I got to taste several stomped & squished grapes together in a single bottle. This put me on the hunt for more and different other Portuguese wines. The wine gave off a floral nose, a soft red rose. In tasting, there was raspberry, cherry, a hint of saga, a smooth light tannin finish. It was an inexpensive bottle that had a genuine cork. If anyone wanted to keep it several years, it would mature in the cellar. After aging, it would pair well with Cornish hens, wild roasted turkey, Italian salami, or pork chops from the grill.