Grills are lit all across the summering world. Although we pop so much refreshing rosé and white when it’s hot, we also need some good reds for all of our meaty BBQs. Get your tongs in one hand and a glass of one of these grilling greats in the other: malbec I actually never liked … Continue reading
It’s that luck of the Irish day, and everyone’s donning their best green garb and lifting their beer steins! We at grapefriend see things a little differently in our glasses. So should you not want to drink beer, we of course support that decision. So does the wine world, who has something even better to … Continue reading
On the 8th day of Fizzmas, I give you the 2010 Esporão Espumante (sparkling wine is called espumante in Portuguese, if you hadn’t figured that out). I haven’t had much sparkling Portuguese wine, but I liked this. It’s from Herdade do Esporão in the Alentejo region. Alentejo’s pretty warm and mostly known for red table … Continue reading
Went to a great dinner last night with Sandeman port to try the newly-declared 2011 vintage. When a grape-growing year is particularly good, they “declare” it as a vintage year and use only that year’s grapes in the bottle (Champagne does the same thing). We tried the 2011 which was full of fresh red berries, … Continue reading
This time last year I was foot treading grapes for vintage port at Taylor’s in the Douro Valley. Was suuuuper fun! Full posts here plus a pretty freaking hilarious video of chicken dancing in the lagar. Continue reading
Wine has been made for 1000’s of years, and the grapes all used to be crushed by foot. Very few port houses still do this though since it’s so expensive and time consuming. But to get the best quality out of the grapes, foot treading is the way to roll: it’s gentle, random, and can drag … Continue reading
OK, so I’ve been posting a lot about port but figured I should do one that just walks you through the some basics. First, to make port you add brandy to stop the fermentation process and “fortify” it (this makes it higher in alcohol and keeps it sweet). There are a bunch of different styles … Continue reading
Had one of the best tasting experiences! We got to try 21 ports from Croft, Taylor’s and Fonseca – 21! And it was 11am! Was amazing to try all of these and compare the different house styles. Croft is kind of spicy and chocolatey, Taylor’s is elegant and complex and phenomenal, and Fonseca is more … Continue reading
Just landed in Portugal this morning and staying at the Yeatman, aka awesomest place ever. It’s a “wine hotel”: every room is named after a wine producer, they have 82 wines by the glass, and the pool is shaped like a decanter!!! Grapefriends: I am home. Continue reading
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