A quick look - Black Cottage Sauvignon Blanc

I love New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I mean I love good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. That blackcurrant leaf smell, the minerality, the nice fruity citrus and the acidity giving it structure, you know? When it is made well, it becomes magical - like any other grape variety or style.

This is another quickie for ya! Nice wine in the ~15€ price range. Everything good in a NZ SB is present and it is well balanced and above all rather subtle. This is a great combo for people who don't want to be attacked by acidity like munching on lemons. It is a great summer wine to analyze, but a salad and some roasted chicken does bring this bad boy to life. Plus they are big on sustainability and all that eco stuff, woohoo!

Black Cottage available by order basis at Alko stores in Finland. Internationally, check out your local wine heaven.

Robotic Wine Storage Solution

Looking for a shelf, rack, fridge or cupboard to store your wines? Forget all the aforementioned options and go for this robot design by an anonymous artist in North Phoenix, USA (Craigslisted)

For only 7000$ this half ton beast could be in your livingroom. It is a one-off piece though so "hurry up and buy" before that one winegeek, your tasting nemesis gets a hold of it. Made from old transmission parts from cars and motorcycles, mounted with LED lights and room for 32 bottles, including the six bottle cannon where you can stick your Bordeaux vintages, its a great piece of art. Worth it!

Tasting Champagne with François Hautekeur

A while ago I was invited to a tasting by Champagne giant Veuve Clicquot, who brought over their oenologist François Hautekeur. The tasting took place at an atmospheric, cozy-but-epic wine cellar downtown Helsinki. (Kudos to Kari Sjöblom!) First of all I have to admit I have never been an avid Champagne drinker, but I've always respected the style, history and professionalism that goes into the winemaking. It's strange since I very rarely have had a bad experience with Champagne. It's just so cleverly branded and valuable people tend to only pop that bottle at special occasions where the mood is already great. Must do well for the established brand on the other hand - many people get awsome experience, but then again they are more rare than lets say, tasting epic Rieslings. The scarcity does work for Champagne though, keeping in mind the pricing. A rich elite consumer group buys the bulk that keeps things rolling and everybody else has a special event every now and then... Luxury branding 101 right there. Learn from these guys.

On THE menu - 

Non-Vintage Rosé

Vintage 2002

La Grande Dame 1998

Vintage Rich 2002

Alright, starting with the Non-Vintage Rosé, the most recent addition to the Veuve Clicquot family (at least over here in Finland) - A Chardonnay & Pinot Noir blend. My notes describe it like this; "Berries and citrus in the nose, Floral - Rose feel, quite short taste, balanced acidity and those famous small bubbles, balance in the berry side (not over the top). Hints of fudge(!). Colourwise more towards apricot. Party wine?"

"The Chardonnay is the backbone - The Pinot Noir are the muscles" - Mr. Hautekeur

Next up the Vintage from 2002 and my notes; "Nuts, rasins and fruits in the nose, rich fruitiness throughout and a long taste. Everything in balance from the acidity to bubbles." I must say I enjoyed this more, even though the Rosé was a nice surprise.

"Orgasmic" - Mr. Hautekeur

Off to my favourite La Grande Dame (1998) that had us all smiling and looking at each other with polite acceptence. This might have been my friend Kale Agnus's (Nomad Importers) favourite too. And the notes go; "Great acidity and bubbles. A balance between citrus and fruit. Lots of in-your-face character for its age.  A bit of that classic french toast feel." This is in the same price class as a Dom Perignon, that only over 100€ bottle on Alko's shelves and while similar to each other, they are both great competitors!

Then the weirdo of the buch - Vingate Rich 2002. Basically the sweet version of the vintage. This had so much sugar it was not my cup of tea. I could see the target audience though - Women! There is just something about women and their sweet tooth that has created demand for a product like this and well, Veuve replied nicely! The acidity is still there, fruits and all, but with an overwhelming amount of sugar I find it hard to reach for a second glass. Well if this isn't expanding the brand I don't know what is. As long as the stretching is done in a subtle manner, Veuve can get off with these "stranger" personalities in their Champagne family.

Keep 'em coming!

Mr. Hautekeur has been working for Veuve for almost a decade. As an oenologist he is an expert in all areas of winemaking. He takes care of the red grapes grown and needed to blend the Rosé among other things, like tasting many samples each morning. More recently he has been the embassador for Veuve's Nordic and Russian market. Much respect!










François & myself with La Grande Dame.

A quick look - Quinta Da Gaivosa 2005

I will be doing these smaller reviews of wines I find interesting. Needless to say I recommend trying Quinta Da Gaivosa out and here are the reasons why:

- Great body, that doesn't overdo it.
- Over 80-year-old vines blending about 20 local grape varieties.
- Already signs of ageing with the most spicy and tanninic edge chopped of.
- Still has potential for around 5-7 years storage (or maybe even more) - I would taste one every two years, write down notes and compare.
- Portugese reds are underrated.
- Great balance with oak, tannins, spices and berries.
- Works well with steaks or a huge cheese platter.
- At a bit under 40eur/bottle it's worth the investment.

Quinta Da Gaivosa 2005, paired with grandpa's old wooden pipes. Available at Alko in boxes of six.

The Grand Annual ViniPortugal Tasting

Yes, I still am a Douro Valley fan so the biggest Portugese wine tasting of the year (in Finland) simply cannot be missed. I'm even trying to get a documentery about the area together and hopefully head out to film in the autumn. We'll see how that goes later. Right now, it's time to write about what was the ViniPortugal 2012 experience for me. I'd like to note here that many of the wines mentioned, if not all of them are blends. The main grape varieties in these blends are Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Temrpranillo), Tourgia Franca, Sousão and Tinta Barroca. You can check the grapes and percentages for each individual wine on the producers website or by asking your local wine shop.

I arrived anxious to get my "taste on", being sure that time will run out like last year. Met up with Ilkka Sirén at the Graham's section and started from there;

Graham's (of the gigantic Symington family) had their port wine well represented. The LBV from 2007 is a nice basic port that I think everybody should taste. It doesn't offer a mindblowing experience but is good quality and works out nicely every time they come out with a new one. The tawny port Graham's offer is nice too. My tasting notes include; "fresh, peppery, hazelnuts, spicy aftertaste" The two really great things on the Symington's line up - Graham's Natura - An Organic port now available at Alko - an always welcome product and a good port with depth (tasting notes; balance on oak, depth, berries, hint of spicyness) The real gem here though was Smith Woodhouse LBV from 2000 having all good LBV qualities and letting you really use time to analyze the wine.

Off to one of my favourites; Portal. Besides the amazing computer game, Portal is a great port wine producer. We visited them last year and it was a truly memorable experience. One of the best climbs on a dodgy road from the village of Pinhão with spectacular views only comparable with the stint from Quinta Do Crasto back down to Pinhão. Portal had their marvellous Colheita port from 2000. Tasting notes include; "blackberries, oak, small well balanced spicyness, sweet, nuts" They had their red there as well and I do enjoy and recommend it - good quality for the price, but for me Portal all about port wine. Like Symington, Portal has a long history in wine and they do know quality.

After Portal I quickly noticed Secret Spot. This is a cool project by Goncalo Sousa Lopes and Rui Walter Cunha. The genius winemaking duo chooses different vineyards every time to make their Secret Spot wines. 2008 was from the Alentejo area and 2007 from Douro. Both rich reds with lots of though put into them. I like this way of thinking - choosing vineyards from where they see a good batch coming. Tasting notes for the Alentejo Secret Spot 2008; "Blackcurrant, oak, low to medium tannins, lighter body", Douro Secret Spot 2007; "EPIC depth, oak, spices, berries". The Douro version is a prime example of an underrated Portugese red wine. Not many get a note from me saying EPIC, I mean it's a real gem that is still not known well worldwide and one of those things I can take over to any wine loving friend of mine and brag about knowing something special...

Next table was Quinta Do Crasto. I've had their wines mentioned earlier so I won't go deeper into that but I definately recommend tasting the whole line up. Pure quality. Ok, lets be honest - They had the best red wine in the whole event. The Reserva - Made from only the amazingly old vines, mixing 30-something grape varieties that make up a fragile and outstanding blend that is sure worth the money. Selling at Alko for 200€ a box (of six) it is a great choice to invest in. Notes included; "EPIC, really deep, powerful, long lasting, winner material". Oh, and I promised to mention their pool every time I mention them so here it goes again; they have that great terrace style pool where you kind of think you'll swim right off the edge. Worth a visit.

Next up; CVD Companhia dos Vinhos do Douro. I recommend to check out their Oboé range of reds. They capture some of the best qualities of Douro reds. Here are my notes - Oboé Superior "fresh, adicic, perky, spicy", Oboé Grande Escolha 2009 "good tannins, powerful, black currant" & Oboé Grande Escolha 2008 "softer tannins, more subtle than 2009, rich, good balance, still great body"

By now I was checking my watch constantly and picking what to go taste with the little time left. I thought that a couple of more random and less known (to me) wineries should be on the list so I give you Quinta Do Romeu. They had the most persona in their reds in a sense. These wines were not so similar to the qualities I mentioned earlier and I had that "I can't quite put my finger around it" moment where you taste something with character, but your mind runs out of adjectives to describe it. For me, it's mostly a good thing. I mean this can happen in a negative way, but not with Quinta Do Romeu. The Menéres family has an over hundered year history in winemaking (like many Quintas in the region) and the vines are planted 350m above sea level. The WHOLE 5000ha estate is 100% organic - think about that. Notes for the reds I was bad at describing - Colheita 2010; "Interesting acidity, short taste, great stew companion" - Reserva 2008 - "Another questionmark, softer, more developed, c'mon man!". Oh, and these guys are in the Douro Superior area, which is far inland, close to the Spanish boarder. This area is well respected (hint in the title) and many producers bought spots from there a while back. Now they are all sold out and are restricting producers from buying.

I'll finish off with some port. Quevedo (Also available at Alko) had the oldest port to offer. The Colheita from 1992 was "dense, raisins, figs, softened down well, great balance" and the 10 y.o Tawny "hazelnuts, sweet but acidic, great balance". The rather small Quevedo is something to check out and the price range is not bad for a 1992 port, that is a perfect example how nicely port ages.

From the many others I tasted, not alot of them were bad wines, but I have to cut this at some point. Hopefully I'll get to taste and write about the others some time soon...
All-in-all a great experience once again! Kudos to ViniPortugal - I'll see you next year!
Ps. The material and service at the event are outstanding. Thank you for taking care!

Ice hockey wine

I mentioned earlier on Facebook that the design for the official white wine for the ice hockey world championships may have the worst graphic design in a wine bottle ever.

Well here it is:

I understand the reasons behind making these promotional wines - MONEY. At least they are not even trying to produce quality wine, just by looking at the bottle and reading the mysterious, yet lazy "Produced using grapes grown in Italy" and the well-at-least-you'll-get-drunk "it will make every game - whether win or lose - an enjoyable one!" everything starts to fall into place. I'm guessing there is enough marketing research done to determine that hockey fans have a need for wine at the event, but do not give a shit what they are drinking. Having an official event or restaurant tailored wine may be concidered a service - yeah, if it's a good quality wine made with some thought. It's a radical comparison, but hell, I'll make it - An amazingly good restaurant in Helsinki called Farang made a really good quality red with Australian producer Hewitson, of "Miss Harry" fame. Now theres an example how to do it! Unfortunately there isn't many positive examples like this, but please do correct me if I'm wrong. I would love to hear more success stories in this area.

Oh, and anybody remember that terrible HIFK Merlot from a few years back? What is it with ice hockey and bad wines?

On a side note, I plan to do what the wine tells me to. Watch an ice hockey game and get drunk. After that I can see if it was enjoyable even though Finland loses. I seriously doubt that.

Go team Finland! "yay!"

Oh, and it was awful - Sodastream ftw!

Vappu!

1st of May is right around the corner. I have not been updating my blog for a while, seriously I need to speed up the pace. Had some good wines over the past month though and cool stuff coming up in May like the massive Portugal tasting in Helsinki I'm really looking forward to. Anyway this entry is about 1st of May, Vappu, Labour's Day, Fetê Du Travail, Loyalty Day or whatever you call it wherever you are. I sure do hope it's a bank holiday in your country too.

Vappu traditionally for us in Finland is a working class holiday, a celebration for those who sweat their asses off for a few bucks - the god damn backbone of our society. Wrapped around with a carnevalistic atmosphere and a few high school graduates wearing hats, Vappu is about booze, fatty, sugery foods and booze. I thought at first to do a sparkling wine special here as most winebloggers do this time of the year but I'm going to go more working class than that - selecting three under 10€ wines to take with you outside and enjoy your picnic with. So left-winging myself to Alko, the socialist monopoly of wine I spent quite a while amongs the shelves, kneeing down in awkward positions reading etiquettes and descriptions from the bottom shelves with a sense of desperation creeping up as sweat began to form on my forhead (This all happening in just a few minutes) What a task! I was making it too hard for myself - "get a grip, man! It's about having fun and an easy drinking"

I have to admit I went 2/3 with what I know. Too much of a gamble to go with random descriptions and impressions of winemaking areas. One red, one white and one sparkling mystery.

      From the left; Soligo Prosecco, Treviso, Italy - Leth Duett, Wagram, Austria - Sá De Baixo, Blend, Douro, Portugal

Lets start with Sá De Baixo. This is an older find from the under 10€ pricerange. It features a classic Douro blend with Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca as the grape varieties. Pretty much something you stumble upon in the area everywhere. The wine is medium bodied with cherry flavours and hints of raspberry, but the important note is that it's not a juicy one - there are nice spicy tones at the end and it leaves a relatively good, earthy aftertaste. This is easy to drink and enjoy, but works well when paired with my sausage selection for Vappu. ("Again with Portugal! When does he stop!?")

Leth Duett - Riesling & Grüner Veltiner. This Austrian is packed with a great acidity, lots of lime - the more fruity end of the citrus palate - and a fresh minerality. Really good bang for your buck! It's a strong blend with Austria's two most epic white grapes. This is what I enjoy outdoors in the spring sunshine. If you are having picnics with sallads, cheeses and baguettes Leth Duett is certainly a friend to bring along.

Then there is the mystery bottle. From producer Soligo, a Prosecco from Treviso, northern Italy. I admit this is a bit more for the ladies so it was a pick between the ever-so-boring Pink from Yellowglen and a Prosecco so we are going to have at least one "real" tasting experience over Vappu. Prosecco as a style is definately recommended for the occasion. Perky, light, easy - these go well with mid-range Prosecco and there are suger levels suitable for all tastes. This one has, according to Alko, sugar 11g/l and a rather low acidity so its one for the easy-to-down sparklers.

So thats about it. We bought materials for an epic Vappu brunch and after a booze and smores filled 30th we can go with the tradition of Vappu gluttony and be happy spring is here with summer around the corner.

Happy whatever-it-is-where-you-are!

P.S Bloggerfriend of mine, Caroline Henry (Missinwine) recommended some Billy Bragg for a Vappu soundtrack so here is my choice http://youtu.be/nZaYEniPaJg "Great Leap Forward"

Viiniexpo 2012

The annual wine event mammoth that is Viiniexpo took place in Helsinki's Messukeskus. I went there on thursday excited to see what they have to offer this year. My memories of past Viiniexpo years were good and expectations quite high for at least a couple of finds. In this entry I will guide you through the best I thought the expo had to offer. First of all I must mention that as always all majors well represented in Alko like Torres, Cono Sur, Freixenet etc. had their selections available for tasting, but for me thats obviously not the thing. I don't see it as a futile effort to come and win over winegeeks, but as a really good opportunity for wineheads starting their hobby to taste them all in a few hours in a "get-it-out-of-your-system" kind of way. For a more critique involving approach the "wine porn" presented at Viiniexpo was ok - not spectacular, but ok.

I'll go for the gold straight away:

Austria was well represented with a government sponsored stand and maybe the most overall quality found at Viiniexpo. Great austrian not-to-miss acidic deep Riesling and the lighter, easier well balanced Gruner Veltliner. Weingut Brundlmayer, with a 98p Riesling (Robert Parker fame) and Hirsch with the near perfect Zöbing and Nigl.

Over to Italy: Chateau Punk was a really good example of modernising the product. This is the spirit I want to see with younger winemakers looking forward and giving the product an image they personally want and like. Traditions are traditions, but what should we take with us into the future and what to change? If not my Viiniexpo favourite at least in the top 3!

I was trying to spot Portugese reds among the hundreds of wines and after not finding any I had to search the info-pamflet to actually locate the few Portugese present. Quinta Do Casal Branco from Tejo, a bit north from Lisbon. These southern-portugese reds are a lighter and more easy to approach than the thick and spicy cousins from the north. Sad to see the general lack of Portugese wines. Maybe next year?

Mud House was there (Vuoden Viinit competition winner fame) and they had others besides the Sauvignon Blanc - Pinot Gris, Riesling and two different Pinot Noir. Well I have to be honest and say there was nothing special here besides the older, 2009 Pinot Noir, which was the richest in flavour of the bunch. The sugary Riesling I would avoid especially after the Austrians. You definately saw the trend of N-Z Pinot Noir everywhere throughout the expo, and Pinot Noir in general - I'm tired of it.

What maybe surprised me most was a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Greece - Amethystos. Rich, heavy, dark, intense, spicy - The bomb! Something else than the normal-Greek-below-average-reds this really knocked me back for a minute. I suggest you try this if you manage to find it but please open many hours before serving...

That ends my highlights of Viiniexpo 2012 - I'll leave you with two pics:

Sara La Fountain, Chef fame - At the PANINI stand (of all stands) over at Gastro (Food expo next door). One of my favourite fast foods. Needless to say I had lots of free panini. (With Juha Veijonen)

And the beer & cider department. I don't usually do this but that Lemonade stuff was great. I could imagine myself having one of them on a hot summer day outside somewhere...

I'll be back next year

The quest for a perfect Zinfandel

I've always been keen on finding a wine from a grape variety that is somehow special. Zinfandel has this special little thing, since it's ancestor comes from Croatia and the grape itself is basically Primitivo (found in Italy) but there comes a certain twist when it makes it "abroad". There are only subtle hints of history here, since the Zinfandel you get these days is its own persona and oh boy do I love the characteristics.

So a while back I started a quest to find the best Zinfandel there is and it is pretty much California-related all the way. You can always go and diss the Cali-Chardonnays and other French whatnots - that's easy. The Zinfandel though, is a whole different thing - it's big and it's popular but whats most important that its succesful in terms of characteristics and persona. Hell, theres even a ZinFest going on over there. It's unique and it's something Californian wines provide that sweeps everything else they have pretty much off the table. (Wait a minute did I just say that?!)

What am I looking for? To put it short: Something that will blow my mind and taste like nothing else. Sounds quite epic I know. A nice Zinfandel is robust, dense, spicy but balanced, not overly tanninic and gives berry aromas that don't go to the juicy side. It's a wine for a well done steak and a good companion on a BBQ - just to name a few, it's a wine for a wide variety of food.

Today I'm enjoying a nice Zinfandel from Castoro Cellars, the 2009 vintage (Available at Finnish Alko stores, 14,90e) and this is a good competitor I must say. The quest continues though and I don't know if it's a lifelong one or will I eventually hit something that makes all others not-worth-it-anymore. Hopefully I can get over to Cali later this year to do some intensive tastings!

A recommend for your weekends meaty dish

Heavy wines after heavy snowfall with some heavy music

After a few days of snowing, the weather climbing above zero and dropping down again it feels like we are at the core of the Finnish winter. This is not a time for a light Pinot Grigio - this is a time for something heavy, aggressive and spicy to give you a kick that you feel. It's a time for massive reds and quality port. Some wineheads might still disagree and find it hard to down something heavy, since "balance is everything" and the subtle tones leave more room for... well, other tones. For me the balance here comes from what we experience around us and what kind of needs it creates for our wine choices. Think of it as some sort of weird seasonal terroir.

Ok, so what we are looking for:
- Thick, heavy, full bodied, aggressive
- Spicy

Lets start of with A, like for Argentina
Don David Malbec Reserve, 2010

This has it all. A really nice and think a-bomb full of tannins, bit of berries and cherry and that oak for an extra boost. It's like a bodybuilder! I've had lighter, smoother Malbec, but I have no prefrence in what it should be. Both ends work and Malbec is definately my number one grape pick from Argentina. Plough and drink with some strong cheese. (AND MEAT.)









Adabal Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, 2007

The spanish really know how to bring that spicyness to the table - pepper, oak and tannins really work together nicely here. This like drum & bass for your palate and not the hit list stuff, I mean the deep hard-for-your-grandmother-to-understand stuff. A good year in oak certainly does the trick and a Cabernet is always a strong (not boring, you...!) choice. The catalan Cabernet delivers, now go and recieve.








Mayu Reserva Carménère, 2009

Mayu has less tannins than the other two, which might be a game changer to many, when concidering these heavy giants. It is rich, full of nice berry aromas, an oaky feel and warmth in the aftertaste. The ridicilious alcohol percentage, structure of the ever-so-lovely Carménère and the epic Zen of Elqui Valley work together to make this an easy to down, yet heavy nectar. Carménère is still my top grape pick from Chile. Please try to prove me wrong if you can.







To top things off I would like to give a musical recommendation to the afterski after-snowplough to acompany these wines: Machine Head - I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)
Machine Head are trash metal giants and the two latest albums have taken them to a more progressive style, which I enjoy. The refrence to blood in the beginning of the song goes well with thick full bodied red wines. "I Am Hell" might be the feeling when you have 20cm of snowfall to go through in your front yard. Listening to this gets you through it much faster.

Now is the time to try something heavy! I would love to hear your thoughts about these wines (or the music) so please do comment. Porvoo people remember that "Viiniä, Viiniä" kicks off at Porvoon Paahtimo 2nd of March! Some tickets still left!

Wine events at Porvoon Paahtimo!

Welcome to join our wine events at Porvoon Paahtimo (in Finnish)!

The first evening is on the 2nd of March.
Tickets sold at Paahtimo!

We will be talking about some of my favourites and answering what gives the wine personality and discussing the large variety of styles available.

"Viiniä, Viiniä" begins!

Go to Douro Valley!

Portugal, oh Portugal!

Still not quite recognized for it's fine wines, the Portugese deserve much more and are slowly getting there. Focusing on the north, my interests are all crammed into one huge stretch of river, from the Atlantic all the way across northern Portugal into Spain. What happens here in between is quite remarkable. Winery after another, vineyards filling the hills, all planted horizontally, making the surroundings look like massive green steps by the river, only to be disturbed by the occasional olive trees - The Douro Valley. Filled with narrow roads, lots of hills to climb, a great rural atmosphere and breathtaking views.

You must be thinking Portugal - Porto - Port Wine. Yes, there are hundereds of Quintas (wineries) devoted to the art of making Port, but I will not go into that now, I'll save my love for Port to another post. This is about the area and it's lovely reds, yes, epic lovely reds.

One might arrive to the valley by train, from Campanhã Station in Porto it takes approximately two and a half hours to a quite central town in the valley; Peso De Regua. From here a car is extremely important and one can be rented in town. Few minutes from town, northside of the river you will find Quinta Do Vallado - a stunning winery, expanded hotel and renovated facilities certainly give a convincing look for a quality winery. What they produce varies from Port to White and Reds, my favourites by far being the reds.

I love the fact that the vineyards are full of grape varieties from that area. You can instantly see that there is a lot of knowledge about the varieties, since they have dealt with them for hundreds of years. To just take, say Shiraz and plant it in Douro would be somewhat blasphemy, instead you get rich flavours from "locals", such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Sousão. Not like Shiraz doesn't have any history - My point is that they have sticked to their own, not borrowed from abroad and it gives you a certain level of genetics and knowledge that can't be found everywhere.

The two reds I would like to mention from Vallado are the Touriga Nacional and Sousão. There is a nice depth in the small yielding Touriga Nacional, tough spirit, great body and superb amount of tannins for a youngster like this, making it a perfect companion for meaty dishes kept slightly on the medium side. And hell, this is QUALITY. No fooling around here, seriously a end product full of potential. The other favourite of mine is the Sousão. It certainly shows even more character, leaving you guessing for a while what the hell it is trying to be, in a good way! Like a disorted punk rock song to an elderly lady in the eighties, who later becomes an anarchist. It's that "Boom!" feeling first, followed by analysis. Quite rarely used as a single variety, yet rarely blended for Port, hints of raisin, darker berries and a well balanced spicyness. Vallado sure nailed it.

The variosity of wineries in the Douro Valley is amazing. You get big powerhouses with well known international brands to the smaller contract farmers producing grapes to whoever wants to buy them. Obviously everything in between too - Like the cozy Quinta Do Tedo. Situated by the road from Peso De Regua to Pinhão, this rather small Quinta has much character to offer - Nice light summery Rosé Port and a good basic red that really convinced me. I would definately recommend to stop by.

Wineries might seem close to each other, but the ever twisting mountain roads keep things rather sparce and the many times you simply want to stop to enjoy the views - all eat into your schedule. Remember to plan timetables with a local, or at least ask how long does it take to get somewhere, not just relying on a map. The climb from Pinhão to the Portal Winery is recommended, as is the road from Pinhão to Crasto Winery. The sense of adventure, thats what is missing from many wine producing areas these days - In the Douro Valley it is present, unique and honest.

An introduction

Hello there,

I'm Lasse Yrjölä, a Finnish guy who loves wines. Rather quite simple, eh?

My passion derives from many years spent working for the Finnish Alcohol Monopoly - Alko Oy. Even though I have my critizims for them I have to admit the amount of different wines I got to taste was astonishing. It gave me that final kick to really analyze, keep track and get more deeply into the culture. The main problem with me is I get into things with a passion thats hard to shake off. In my Alko days I just couldn't keep myself all that neutral like we were supposed to be - I had my opinions about the wines and I wanted to express them. Now I feel unchained and free to explore the culture as an entrepeneur and I'm not shy to share my views and knowledge.

I look for persona in the wine - some would you the word "Character". Thats probably the easiest way to describe what I'm after. It's like meeting people - sometimes the chemistry is there and sometimes nowhere to be found. Every new person you meet is sub-conciously compared and analyzed by the formula inside you, social skills, mutual interests, beauty and such. It's quite the same in wines. You build your knowledge, but keep your preferences. Sometimes even the preferences might change when you grow as a person or when you hit that perfect dish with a wine you didn't like before and your eyes open to see (and taste!) the magic.

It's not all Alko influenced though. There are people around me who have really inspired to make a shift towards wines and showed the necessary attitude. Young cats out there like Ilkka Sirén and Arto Koskelo (ViiniTV fame) showed Finland (and apparently the world) that there is much more fun in wines if you just simply change the attitude and perspective into something more funny, honest and vibrant. Hell, one even might say bring it to this century!