A Portuguese Red From Port Grapes

Let's try something from the Port growing area of Portugal ...

Portuguese Wine Regions

The Douro Valley of northwest Portugal is particularly well-known for its Port wine. This wine is not a Port, but it is made from typical Port grapes such as Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional. While this wine isn’t organic, the producer has developed an Environment Management System which it sees as a contribution for sustainable development and the preservation of natural resources. By the way, Charamba is a Nineteenth Century Portuguese dance.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Charamba Douro 2007 13.0% alcohol about $9

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note : Deep purple colour with ruby highlights; aromas of plum, black currant, and spice; dry, medium to full-bodied, crisp acidity, with flavours of spice, earth, and red currant. Serving Suggestion : Serve with spareribs. And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine started thin but was quite long. It pleasantly tasted of oak. Its first pairing was with home made chicken “nuggets” with Mediterranean spices to which I added an orange slightly sweet, slightly spicy Thai dipping sauce. With the sauced chicken the wine was powerful with a pleasant taste of oak. It was round and lightly tannic. The wine balanced nicely with the accompanying potatoes roasted in chicken fat. There was also an overly spicy salsa with tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and cilantro that weakened the Douro somewhat.

The next meal involved a boxed eggplant parmigiana that I slathered in grated Parmesan cheese. The wine showed the right combination of acid and tannins. There were plums and caramel.

My final meal was composed of barbecued beef ribs in a sweet ketchup-based sauce. The wine was fairly powerful and tasted oaky with some tobacco. The accompaniments were the same as in the first pairing. With the potatoes the wine retained its power and washed the grease away. Once again the salsa weakened the wine, but only marginally.

I ended the bottle with two local cheeses. When paired with a relatively tasteless brick cheese, the wine provided some black cherries and cinnamon. It was pleasant but not powerful. When facing a tastier Swiss cheese, the wine was somewhat acidic with black cherries but it was weakened.

Final verdict. Not bad for a bargain wine. I would buy it again. In fact, you may be able to find it for considerably less.

Access the companion wine I Love Organic Wine - An Piedmont, Italy Barbera

About the Author

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine websites include
www.theworldwidewine.com    and    http://www.wineinyourdiet.com

Visit his website devoted to Italian travel www.www.travelitalytravel

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