The diversity of Portuguese grape varieties is staggering, and a confusing topic for both Portuguese and non-Portuguese wine lovers.  I have personally witnessed arguments among Portuguese winemakers, unable to agree on the synonyms for a particular Portuguese variety, as most varieties are known in different regions by different names.   In naming them through the centuries, the Portuguese have borrowed references from body parts, animals even emotions - (i.e. Rabo de ovelha: the ewe’s tail;  Pé-agudo: pointed foot; Tinto Cão: red dog).

This hodgepodge of different names for the same variety, does not stop at the Portuguese border. Aragonez, the Alentejan name for one of Cortes de Cima’s star-performers, not only turns into Tempranillo when crossing the Spanish border, but also enjoys dozens of more Spanish synonyms for a real Iberian linguistic guessing game!

Our travels around the world on wine tastings are a great way to educate wine lovers about the mystery of Portuguese wines and their varieties. We are  invariably asked  -  “what does ‘Cortes de Cima’ mean?” answer: “a forest clearing on a hill”  ”What does ‘Chaminé’ mean?” answer:  ”A chimney” from ‘Chaminé do Giáo’. Both of these are place names taken from the parcel of land where the grapes are grown.

And the same questions pop up about the Portuguese varietals, i.e.  ”What does ‘Touriga’ mean?” as in our single varietal Touriga Nacional. According to local belief, there is a small village in the heart of the Dão,  ’Tourigo‘ - where the variety is said to originate.  The variety dominated the Dão vineyards prior to phylloxera (1870’s), and prior to its widespread appearance in the Douro, as a major grape for port production.  To back up this theory, it is pointed out that Mortágua, a neighbouring village to Tourigo, is a synonym for the same variety.

Touriga Nacional , also known as the ‘queen’ of the Portuguese grape varieties, is now grown successfully in all areas of Portugal, from the north to the south, and has spread rapidly across the border and around the globe, to Spain, Australia, California, etc.  Cortes de Cima was one of the pioneers in growing Touriga Nacional in the Alentejo where, characterized by its low production and small berries, when well ripened we find it one of our most unique wines, distinguished by highly aromatic fruit and an intense flowery bouquet. All 3 of our releases to date (including the currently available 2005)  have been showered with top +90 ratings, gold medals and trophies including the  IWC Touriga trophy, Alentejo trophy, and Portuguese Red Wine Trophy.

The summer months seem longer in the Alentejo than anywhere else.  Not just because watching grapes grow and ripen is a very slow process if followed day by day. Not just because of the anticipation and anxiety of guessing when the vintage will start, and bustling around the winery to get ready in time.   Not just because Portuguese school kids enjoy more than 3 months of never-ending summer holidays, and their parents enjoy a 1 month annual break.

The long daylight hours bursting with summer heat and sunshine, are followed by the magical summer nights, when the Alentejans emerge from their thick white walled houses to enjoy the fragrant balmy evening breezes until the wee dawn hours, visit the local popular fairs held in each village by turn, or for the true ‘aficionados’- watch a local bullfight.

An escape to the chilling Atlantic seaside is one of the highlights of the summer months for all Alentejans, whether it is to enjoy a prolonged family holiday in a rented Algarve apartment, or just a snatched Sunday drive to the closer and less crowded rugged Alentejan west coast, where the waters stay chilly all year round, and the seafood is divine!

Another one of the great pleasures of the Portuguese summer is the abundance of luscious local fruit.  Strawberries in the start of the summer are followed in quick succession by cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, figs, quinces, and melons, which as the summer progresses, appear in all shapes and varieties.  We have no pangs about gorging out on the local seasonal fruit, and it appears as an essential part of each and every meal on our table.  Amazing how well the local Iberian black pig Presunto and a slice of ‘Serpa’ sheep cheese, plus a nicely chilled (16º) Chaminé Tinto or Branco accompany a slice of melon, a fresh fig or an apricot!  Add a loaf of crusty sourdough bread baked just hours earlier in the village stone oven  - and sit out under the stars until the wee hours enjoying the simple pleasures of summer!

]]> http://cortesdecima.com/general/summers-simple-pleasures/feed/ http://cortesdecima.com/general/summers-simple-pleasures/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CortesDeCima/~3/z7mWda4F0VA/ http://cortesdecima.com/general/shoot-positioning-or-the-real-workhorse-of-the-vineyardshoot-positioning-or-the-real-workhorse-of-the-vineyard/#comments Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:02:35 +0000 Carrie http://cortesdecima.com/?p=3407

(Following our last post about Fruit Set and the Grapes - the ‘Stars’ of the Vintage - we think it is time to give some long overdue recognition to the real workhorse of the vineyard - the shoots and leaves!)

Let’s hear it for all the hard work that the shoots and leaves have been up to! Ever since budbreak in February, more than 3 months ago, they have been on an adrenlin rush to grow - upwards and outwards! On the Smart Dyson high trellis system which is practiced at Cortes de Cima, some shoots are already over 1 meter in length, which means that the leaf canopy is over 2 meter high!  (Overheard shoot conversation: “Ha Ha, Shorty! Beat you!”)

Now with the summerheat upon us, bringing increasing temperatures and falling soil humidity, the breakneck pace of growth of this leafy foilage is finally starting to slow, the perfect time for our ladies to get out there and whip them into shape through shoot positioning.   The vineyard workers must manually position the shoot within the trellis wires in order to expose the fruit hanging beneath,  opening  up the canopy on the east side to the morning sun, and leaving them protected on the west - shading the fruit from the harsh rays of the afternoon sun.  The advantages are manifold, but most important is the need to spray less, as the openness of the canopy combined with the high trellis system,  allows better air circulation around the grape bunches. This is a good natural way to combat fungus, reducing spraying with chemicals.

Following the heady days in early May, when the vines were fully focused during flowering with their ardous lovemaking task of pollination - we can now report that one month later, ‘fruit set’ is complete!  The emerging grape bunches of the 2009 harvest are here!  Meet Vintage ‘09, out there hanging on the vines!

Those sucessfully fertilized berries, the lucky ones with 2 or more fertilized seeds, are in there for the long haul - a growing season typically lasting 110-120 days, while the other unfertilized berries have fallen off.  (Overheard grape conversation: “Ha,Ha! Loosers!”)

Now, it’s up to the fertilized fruit to hang on in there and grow!  They are still in the early stage of grape development - cell division, which will soon come to an end and be followed by cell enlargment, as the grapes swell.  Now and in the period up to veraison, they are busy acquiring both malic and tartaric acid as well as tannins, to protect themselves from the birds. (Overheard bird conversation: “Yuck! These grapes taste terrible! Got to wait for the sugar before we start eatting them!”)

But, it’s not just about fruit, so we will talk about the shoots and leaves in our next post…

To Ulla, Hans and Mats - ‘Thank you for the music!’-  for bringing your music all the way from the Royal Opera, Copenhagen to the verdant Alentejan plains!  An event which symbolized a unique marriage of classical music and wine, realized in a beautiful, green summer vineyard setting.

Mezza-Soprana Ulla Kudsk Jensen and Pianist Mats Knutsson have performed at the Cortes de Cima Annual Summer Vineyard Concert for the past 5 out of 7 years, but for Baritone Hans Lawaetz, this was his  Portuguese Debut,  and we already look forward to seeing him return in 2010 for the 8th Annual Summer Vineyard Concert!

Pianist Mats Knutsson did full justice to the Steinway piano, provided by RTP Antena 2, who also recorded the event for broadcast.  (Watch and listen to the songs on YouTube)

The concert was proceeded by a tour and tasting, and  followed by a sumptuous Gala Buffet dinner, prepared by Chef Bjarne Otto.  The highlight of the tasting was the launch of the Chaminé Tinto and Branco from the excellent 2008 vintage, and as the evening wore on, it turned into a very animated Chaminé Launch Party!  (See all the photos on FLICKR).

Chaminé Branco 2008  is a blend of  Viognier, Antão Vaz, Verdelho and Semillon, it shows lifted floral aromas of pineapple, lime and jasmine spice with some smoke and flintiness. The palate is crisp and elegant with white peach and citric fruit flavours and complexing minerality. The finish is long with cleansing acidity.  Awarded a ‘Commended’ at the IWC 2009.

Both wines are bottled early, with no barrel aging, and are perfect served chilled for summer drinking!

In the same competition in 2007, our Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2007 achieved a 2nd place for the ‘Medium Fruitiness’ category.

Reserva 2004 picked up it’s 4th Gold in Paris (Vinalies);

Incógnito 2005 got it’s 3rd and 4th Gold Medals in Paris and Berlin;

Syrah 2005 it’s 1st Gold in Paris;

Aragonez 2005 picked up 2 Silvers (Bordeaux and Paris);

Cortes de Cima 2006 in London got a Silver(IWSC) and Bronze (IWC);

Touriga Nacional 2007 and Syrah 2007 both got identical medals in all contests - 3 Silvers in London, and Bruxelles, both got ‘Best in Class’ at the IWSC, and Gran Menziones in Italy!

And finally, Chaminé Branco 2008 got a Commended at the Wine Challenge UK.

In summary for 2009 -

4 Golds, 6 Silvers, 2 Best in Class, 2 Gran Menziones, and 1 Commended. For full details go to our Awards page.

(Note: neither Chaminé tinto 2008 nor Cortes de Cima 2007 were submitted for this year’s competitions due to the timings.)

Love is in the air in the vineyard! The vines are busy getting it on…in other words - flowering has started! Like humans, vines find it easier to get in the mood for love, if the temperature is warm and the breezes are gentle and caressing. Rain and windy cold weather during flowering turns them off to their lovemaking task, and poor pollination, and a reduced crop can result.

Following budbreak in late February, the vines work hard for 2 long months of photosynthesis and rapid shoot growth, to gather the vigor needed for this sex marathon.  March and April in the Alentejo this year, have been warm and dry with average temperatures of 14ºC/57ºF and accumulated rainfall of 86mm. While the first half of May so far, has been excellent flowering weather, with average temperatures of 18ºC/64ºF and only 10mm rainfall.  Temperatures of 16ºC/59ºF are the starting gun for flowering to begin -  ’Hey you vines out there! - ‘Let’s get it on!’

Vitis Vinifera have a very ‘KINKY’ side to their sex life.  They are hermaphroditic, or self-pollinators, possessing in the same plant the male stamens (which contain the pollen) and the female ovaries.  That surely explains why their flowers are not more exuberant - you have to examine a vine plant closely to even see them! No need for them to attract strange lovers! They would much prefer to be left alone, to get about their own pollinating business!

Once fertilized, the lucky 30-60% of flowers who got themselves pollinated, begin the long process of transformation into a grape berry (fruit set) to protect the seed within.  Stay tuned for the next chapter in the long growing season in the vineyard!