Help with Portuguese Wines

[Nina C.]

I really know very little about wine (Although I'm trying to correct that.) I'm meeting friends and foodies at Tintol, a wine and tapas bar in Manhattan and the wine list might as well be greek to me! or...well...Portuguese

Egullet thread on Tintol

Tintol wine list - pdf

If we end up doing wines by the glass, I'd rather not just do the "I'll have what she's having" or throw my money away. And even by the bottle, it would be nice to have suggestions.

I like medium-bodied wines but I'm pretty open. We'll be eating rather heavy food - the menu includes things like fried deviled eggs and lots of red meat. On the other hand it has seafood too.

What would you drink from this list? What's a good value?

Edited September 26, 2006 by Nina C. (log)

[Brad Ballinger]

I don't get an opportunity to try many Portuguese wines since very few are distributed to where I live. I have enjoyed a couple of reds from the Alentejo region, but I don't recognize any names on the Tintol list. Regarding whites, I have had alvarinho and vinho verde wines. But autumn is coming on, and you might be in a red mood.

from the Spanish glass offerings, I've had the Finca Luzon, the Emilio Moro, and the Borsao. The glass prices appear to be what the entire bottle probably cost wholesale, which is fairly typical. From the Spanish bottle offerings, I've had Muga, Remelluri, Altos, El Chaparral, Termes, and Torres. Prices are about three times retail, which is also typical. Many like the Termes wine, and it's good if you like a modern style of wine.

I'm afraid that's not much help. But there is a good chance that the bartender will let you have a small taste of a wine or two before you order an entire glass. It never hurts to ask.

[Capaneus]

I really know very little about wine (Although I'm trying to correct that.)  I'm meeting friends and foodies at Tintol, a wine and tapas bar in Manhattan and the wine list might as well be greek to me! or...well...Portuguese   

Egullet thread on Tintol

Tintol wine list - pdf

If we end up doing wines by the glass, I'd rather not just do the "I'll have what she's having" or throw my money away. And even by the bottle, it would be nice to have suggestions.

I like medium-bodied wines but I'm pretty open. We'll be eating rather heavy food - the menu includes things like fried deviled eggs and lots of red meat. On the other hand it has seafood too.

What would you drink from this list? What's a good value?

←

There's really good wine being made in the Douro, but it tends not to be cheap - and it isn't on this list.

On the plus side, I doubt any of these will be outright bad. Some of them may be a bit rough-and-ready for the modern palate, a bit tannic, but you see less and less of that coming from Portugal.

One option, if you don't get better advice here, is to just put yourself in the staff's hands, but with a strategy. Portugal has a number of native varietals: you could throw around some of the grapes and ask to taste good examples of Touriga Nacional (our noblest grape), and (if they have them - they're usually belended, but some single-varietal bottlings float around, mostly from the Douro) Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Periquita (I see one of these, from the Sado) or Baga.

On the White side, the prices may be lower, but the markup is higher, since Portuguese whites tend to be very inexpensive: Gazela vinho verde, which I enjoy as a Summer quaffer (as I do most of them - they're easy to like) can be had around here for $3.50/btl, with case discount. On the other hand, they're fun, and low in alcohol. Portuguese alvarinhos tend to be less complex than their Eastern counterparts from Galicia, but again, they're fun and easy-drinking wines.

Enjoy. At a minimum, it'll be a learning experience.

Pedro