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At its most basic level, wine tastings are a fun experience. We check out the wine’s color, smell its bouquet, and most importantly, we taste the wine. Universally, this is accepted as the essential steps of tasting; but the irony is, we all have different sensations, feelings and experiences towards each and every wine. Some find blackberries where others are thinking about plums; some describe a wine as mineral and others say it’s earthy. And does the alcohol affect your month in the say way it affects mine? And acidity, are your taste buds more sensitive than mine?

We interpret the winemaker’s masterpiece in different ways, which logically, allows each and every one of us to discern what we enjoy and what we’d rather dump down our kitchen sink. Even the same wine, tasted by different people, can receive widely different reactions.

And so the story goes with our Quevedo Vintage Port 2007, recently tasted by Jay Miller of the Wine Advocate. Jay tasted a large cross-section of the 2007 Vintage currently in the US market, scoring our Port at 88 points. On the other hand, Wine Enthusiast, another American wine magazine, rated it at 92 points, while Roy Hersh, considered by some as the top Port wine expert in the US, gave it a 93/95+.

So I was wondering, what qualifies as an 88 point Port wine for Wine Advocate? Here are some examples:

We’re pretty happy to be in the company of such fine wines. Critics and points are nice, but what matters more to us is what you our customer think of this wine. Therefore, we invite you to visit our winery to share a glass of our Vintage 2007 with our family; or if you stumble across our wine in another part of the world, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts here.

But better yet, tell us what you think a point tastes like? What do points mean to you? How do they shape your experience with the wines that you love! We want to know!

Oscar

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The bad weather of the last week-end left a trace of destruction almost everywhere in Portugal. After landslides reported in Azores, heavy rain in the north and center of Portugal with floods in the Tejo valley, in the Douro the troblemaker was the wind. At our winery, the most affected part was the roof of our stainless steel bins cellar. 30% of it flu away. And guess where the pieces of the roof flu to? Right, to the middle of the vineyards!

This is definitively not a big issue, only material damage reported. But we will need some weeks to repair our winery and restore the coverage of the different building affected.

And as this was not enough, yesterday we lost the phone connection…

If you are visiting us these days, you already know what is waiting for you!

Oscar

Now the challenge: with which music would you pair the Vintage 2007?

Cheers,

Pedro

The first to guess it will get a free bottle of Quevedo Rose Port next time he/she visit us!

Oscar

How many of you can recognize this road? And how many of you know where this dam is located? It has been raining a lot here and the soils can’t absorb more water. So all the water goes down the hill, quickly reaching the streams that take the water to the Douro river.

Is this damaging the vineyards? No, but I would say that we do not need more water for now, at least until March or April.

Oscar

Oscar

Oscar

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• a big pot with one vine of Tinta Francisca and one vine of Pinot Noir, as I want to find if they are really the same varietal
• a ticket to see the Uefa Champions League final between F.C. Porto and F.C.Barcelona
• wizard hands to finish all the repair works at my parents’ house
• that in 2010 the peaches from Trovisca come without worms
• some rain during the months of April, May and June to help the new white vines we are planting growing strong and healthy
• a pair of cycling boots to ride more efficiently up and down the valley
• that 50% of all the friends that have told me they would come over in 2010 really show up
• cold nights during the next year so I have a good excuse to drink more Port
• no new roads or highways constructions in the Douro so its autenthecity can be maintained
• and new snickers as it is not been easy to find some nice ones that fit in my feet!!!

And what about you? What are you asking to Santa Claus?

Oscar

If you are considering to visit us these days, please don’t forget gloves, scarf and boots. We give the wine!

Oscar