My Vineyard Blog December 2010

Touriga, Touriga, Touriga

The theme of the Oporto conference  is ‘Discover Touriga Nacional’, the grape that Portugal is trying to turn into its ex-libris. I have a few problems with this. While I have no qualms about the undoubted qualities of Touriga Nacional as a variety, I am not convinced by TN as a varietal or monocasta as the Portuguese say. Like Cabernet Sauvignon which can be very one dimensional on its own, Touriga Nacional has a rather nebulous floral fragrance and a sweetness which flatters and leaves a slightly sickly finish.

The past is a foreign country...

To Porto for a conference organised by ViniPortugal. It is unseasonably warm so, having spent the last week snowed up in the north of England with temperatures of minus 14, I spend the afternoon walking round the city. I used to visit Porto very regularly but now that my visits are much less frequent I notice the changes that have taken place. Porto used to be a backwater but now that Ryanair have turned the local airport into a minor hub there are many more foreign voices to be heard in the streets.