Fernão Pires 2006 from Portugal (From The Northern Echo)

Fernão Pires 2006 from Portugal

12:07pm Monday 11th August 2008 in

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Portugal’s wine regions are categorised into, D.O.C. – reserved for the best growing regions (the wine itself doesn’t have to be first rate) but that’s the way to bet.

Some are Vinho Regional, a lower category where some wines are very good, this one is a good example.

The area is Estremadura, which is situated in the coastal region north of Lisbon. The estate from which this wine came was founded in the 19th century and now has 160 hectares of vineyards.

The grape variety is fernão pires - Portugal’s most planted white grape. It gives a zesty fruity nose of lemon and freshly cut grass. On the palate there’s racy acidity balanced by 13 per cent alcohol with a tasty finish. This is a wine you could drink on its own. I found it went rather well with spicy fish cakes.

I found another interesting wine from Oddbins, which as we are now (officially in summer) would be a good addition to a picnic.

This is a sparkling wine rather than a rosé. It doesn’t have to be Champagne - there’s plenty of good Cava about. Oddbins do a nice dry white called Segura Vindas at £6.99 (6 for the price of 5). It’s from Penedes made by the famous Frexinet group and has a lovely full rich nutty style with a fresh clean crispness. It’s been made by the traditional “champagne method “ and matured on its lees for three years. The Spanish grape blend used is very different from France, macabeo, parellada and xarello. The top sparkling wine man – Tom Stevenson likes it, I think you will too.