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A Glass To Snuggle Up To

Quinta do Passadouro
Vinho Tinto 2019
55% Tinta Roriz, 25% Touriga Francesa, 10% Touriga Nacional, 10% Field Blend from old vines
Duoro DOC
Pinhão, Portugal

Inky maroon with purple pops. Sniff and a little oak dances through & mingles with dark cherries, black olives, wildflowers, blackberries, black currants, plums, and a pinch of warm spice & anise. Tasting and there’s dark cherries joining the blackberries, blueberries, black currants & plums & a red currant or two with a not quite ripe tart raspberry, licorice, horehound, and the teeny tiniest of vibrating tomato leaf appears & then tells you you didn’t see them…or shhh they were never there it’s all an illusion. Everything smooths out into an elegant, graceful sip. You know…this wine pairs well with a lot, but honestly I prefer just snuggling up with a glass while watching the snow fall.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: this is one of those moments of YES!

Yes, I’ve had my fair share of Passadouro wines over the years, but when I saw this bottle, I knew it was time to revisit this old friend (actually brought 2 home). While the Genetta genetta on the label may look somewhat like a cute kitty you want to rescue, it’s better to leave them in the wild. I think the best description I found was on discoverwildlife.com: “Genets resemble the love child of a cat crossed with a smidgen of mongoose and a touch of marten, with a soupçon of lemur thrown in for good measure.” These nocturnal creatures are also great for natural pest control since they’re generally carnivores and love snapping up rodents, birds, bugs, and other small critters; but they’re also know to enjoy figs, olives & the like. It would be such a wonderful dream to travel to Portugal, sit out in the dark in a vineyard, and get to see one unclose & personal on its agile nightly hunt.

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A Different Kind Of Romance

Odfjell Vineyards
Orzada 2020
100% Carignan
Organic, biodynamic, sustainable, native yeasts
Valle de Maule. Chile
Odfjell family’s latest generation: Laurence & Dan Jr.

Deep maroon with a shining rim. Right off the bat I’m sniffing raspberry, blackberry, cherry, followed by boysenberry, rosemary & thyme that turns into sassafras, and a little tingle of gooseberry & wild flowers. Tasting cherries (dark & tart, pits, skins and all), fresh picked blackberries & raspberries, plummy depth blending with a little raisin, boysenberry w lemon zest, dark cured olive pit taste that balances all, smidge of licorice on the back, and a sprinkle of good earth. It’s juicy, lovable and made me smile.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: BIG yes actually it has me craving an old school grilled cheese sandwich

Odfjell Vineyards came to life due to a Norwegian love story. No this is a romance between two lovers but of a man & the land that captured his heart. Dan Odfjell (Norwegian businessman, ship/tanker owner & builder) visited Chile and fell hard. Who wouldn’t? He loved it enough to embark on his wine journey that now includes 3 vineyards, a gravity-flow winery (1st in Chile), and they are biodynamic & organic certified. Now his sons are at the helm ,and they’re also keeping with their inherited nautical theme. This bottle is from their Orzada line which translates into: “To sail against the wind”, and the label is “inspired by the movement of water and its energy” which to me is a lovely way to honor their Norwegian (Viking) heritage and their now Chilean roots. 🍇🍷🇳🇴🇨🇱

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #instawine

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“Bring Me a Shrubbery!”

Quinta do Passadouro
Vinho Branco 2019
40% Rabigato, 35% Códega do Larinho, 25% Viosinho
Duoro DOC
Pinhão, Portugal

Yellow/light golden (deepens over time) with a green shimmer. Inhale and there’s gentle scents of pears & apple, gooseberries, lychee, spring flowers, touch of apple blossoms, and a tiny bit of nose tickling citrus zest. Sip and there’s a blend of crisp pears & apples, white peaches, gooseberries, lychee, honeydew, touch of honeysuckle, a little tangerine spritz & zest, and a cool mineral lick & a pinch if salt. It’s fresh & light yet luscious at the same time.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: Nah

Doesn’t everyone need a bit of blue shrubbery (especially “Knights Who Say ‘Ni!’” in their life or at least Anagallis Monelli aka Shrubby Pimpernel. These deciduous perennials don’t need a lot of water and can flourish even in a hot dry summer. My bet is that they reside in or around Passadouro’s vineyards, since their other labels (Vinho Tinto) have displayed critters from their locale. Also the flowers’ name “Anagallis” is also derived from Greek “ἀνα” & ἀγάλλειν which translate into “to delight again” because these pretty blossoms close in the evening only to reopen to for the sun so we can enjoy them over & over just like this Branco.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #portugal #douro #FrederickWildman #QuintadoPassadouro #vinewinenyc

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Bad Bunnies

Bodegas Más Que Vinos
Los Conejos Malditos
Tempranillo Carbónico 2023
100% Cencibel (local clone of Tempranillo)
Working sustainably, farming organic, indigenous grapes, and 1 of the first wineries in Spain to receive “Wineries for Climate Protection” certification
Cabañas de Yepes, Toledo, Spain
Margarita Madrigal, Alexandra Schmedes and Gonzalo Rodriguez

Ruby/purple depth. Breathing in cherries, plums, raspberries, blackberries, a swirl of violets, and over time a tiny grind of white pepper. Hopping out of the glass and onto my tastebuds are cherries (fresh & dried), plums, light raspberry, blackberries, dates & a little dried dark fig, black olive pits, as it opens violets grow but don’t over creep, and oddly a drop of black tea & maybe even a little herbal.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: juicy

This isn’t a buddy movie but a winery. Starting back in 1999, three wine loving/making friends (Margarita, Alexandra & Gonzalo) launched Más Que Vinos (wine consulting business), ventured into winemaking, breathed new life into an old family winery, and built a new modern one. From all of this hard work these friends sound like they have the limitless energy of that certain drumming rabbit with sunglasses. Speaking of cotton tails, sounds like their local ones have a penchant for excellent grapes and can gobble up a lot prior to harvest, hence the name “The Damned Rabbits”. These little bandits may be adorable but I can see where their cuteness wanes and may drive a person to find solutions like on this label. 🍇🐰

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #Spain #badbunnies #valkyrieselections #BodegasMasQueVinos #LosConejosMalditos #vinewinenyc

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Creature Of The Night

Quinta do Passadouro
Vinho Tinto 2019
55% Tinta Roriz, 25% Touriga Francesa, 10% Touriga Nacional, 10% Field Blend from old vines
Duoro DOC
Pinhão, Portugal

Inky maroon with purple pops. Sniff and a little oak dances through & mingles with wildflowers, blackberries, black currants, plums, and a pinch of warm spice & anise. Tasting and there’s dark cherries joining the blackberries, black currants & plums & a red currant or two with a not quite ripe tart raspberry, licorice, and the teeny tiniest of tomato leaf appears & then tells you you didn’t see them…or shhh they were never there it’s all an illusion. Everything smooths out into an elegant, graceful sip. You know…this wine pairs well with a lot, but honestly I want it all to my self solo.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: this is one of those moments of YES!

My first encounter with Passadouro was when I was browsing wine in Montreal and a little Oryctolagus cuniculus hopped in my way. Yes, I was pulled in by the label but not just because of the little Portuguese bunny, but also the artistic details from the drawing & the distinctive zipper-like cut in the design. The next one to flutter in my path was a native game bird, the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) on their Tinto 2012. Now this 2019 red may just be my favorite yet with the sleek, stealth, and agile creature of the night…the Genetta genetta. I wonder if they are part of the natural pest control for their vineyards since they are carnivores. Back to the vineyards/grapes, another reason why I have fallen for these vinhos is their consistent yet somewhat varied blends. They always start with the 3 same grapes: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa, & Touriga Nacional but may not be the same percent depending on the harvest and sometimes (like this one) it’s rounded out with a field blend of old vines. Hands down this bottle is not only a work of art, but it’s also simply delicious. 🍷

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #portugal #douro #FrederickWildman #QuintadoPassadouro #vinewinenyc