Monte do Enforcado

Varietals

50% Arinto, 30% Antao Vaz, 20% Verdelho

About this Wine

This blend of 3 grapes is full of Citrus and Minerality. It is fresh with good fruit and acidity and is also big and round. The Arinto gives the wine freshness and acidity, the Antao Vaz give the wine its complexity while a touch of Verdelho adds fullness to really give this wine everything. It will pair well with heavier seafood dishes with cream and oil.

I was visiting our winemaker in Portugal and having dinner at his house. They served an appetizer with oil, spices and shrimp along with a glass of this wine. The first thing I noticed was that they bottle didn’t have a label. After the appetizer I asked him about the wine. He explained that they had bottled earlier that week and he took a few of the first bottles without labels for the house. The next day we visited the vineyards where they grow the Arinto and Antao Vaz. This is another wine that while you can enjoy it in its own country, it hadn't been exported yet. Over lunch I explained the Advent Calendar I was working on and asked if it would be possible to bottle this in 375ml bottles. It took a few weeks for them to find a way to adjust their bottling and agree to include it. We were very happy to be able to include such a historic and unique wine from Portugal.

Indigenous Ingenuity

Arinto is the oldest indigenous grape in Portugal. While all grapes can adapt and sometimes thrive in areas they are brought to, there is always something special about having a grape where it originated. While Portugal produces excellent Red and Rose wines, the White wines have historically been there largest and most consumed wines. In a country that was built around shipping and fishing, this makes sense. Like all European countries and their wines, the wines were created to compliment the foods from that region.