All language subtitles for V.is.for.Vino.S04E01.Travel.Portugal.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB

Welcome to Portugal!

There's no country like
Portugal to make you feel alive.

The people are welcoming,
curious, talkative,

always out and about eating,
drinking, and celebrating life.

They love to share
their culture, and it's easy

to make instant friends here,

especially since almost
everyone speaks English.

The country is rich in history
and must see destinations;

from the beach towns of the south,

to the modern yet
traditional capital of Lisbon,

to the baroque churches of Braga,

Portugal's got enough to keep one occupied

for weeks of exploration.

The best part is that it's only

about a six hour drive from north to south,

which means we can take a road trip

through the entire country

and its wine regions peppered
throughout, which offer some

of the best dollar for dollar
value wines on the planet.

Welcome to Portugal, and
welcome to "V is for Vino."

♪ Do you like that ♪

Y'all ready for a road trip?

Of all the countries in Europe,

I think Portugal may be one

of the best self contained road trips.

It's only about 350
miles from north to south,

and 110 from east to west,

which means you can cover a lot

of the country in a short period of time.

But don't let its size fool you;

Portugal has a ton to see and do.

The western most point in Europe

and the closest European country to the US,

Portugal's entire west
and south are coastlines.

This means that much of Portugal's history

and traditions are tied to the sea.

The Portuguese Maritime
Empire established some

of the first global trading networks

in the 15th and 16th centuries,

leading the way in the age of exploration.

But from a wine
perspective, the ocean breeze

from the Atlantic helps cool down

what is generally a hot,
wine growing country.

The further away from the ocean

and the further south you go,

the warmer the temperatures become.

For a long time, Portugal
was only known for Port wine.

But in the last 20 years,

Portugal has completely
transformed their wine industry

and is now making some of
best underrated table wines

on the planet.

If you're a fan of bang-for-your-buck wines

that over perform for the
price, and let's be honest,

who isn't, then Portugal
is the country for you.

Portugal has about a
dozen major wine regions

and about 30 DOCs, or
Denominação de Origem Controlada,

which are similar to AOCs
in France or DOCGs in Italy.

They regulate geographic
and quality controls.

And while Portugal is just slightly smaller

than the state of Indiana,

it's established itself as a
wine making powerhouse.

It's 11th in the world in terms

of wine producing countries by volume.

11th may not get you up on the podium,

but if you compare Portugal

to other wine producing
countries on the list,

it's way geographically smaller.

Most of the other countries

in the top 10 are much
larger than Portugal.

France is seven times larger,

Argentina is 28 times larger,

and the US is over 100 times larger.

Needless to say, this
country impressively punches

above its weight class in
wine produced per capita.

And while we can't visit all
the DOCs in one episode,

we'll be driving from the Minho all the way

to Alentejo and hitting as
many as we can along the way.

Our first stop is the
far north Minho region,

to taste a wine that
like the rest of Portugal,

has really re-defined its reputation

over the last few decades.

Vinho Verde, here I come.

If you've heard of Vinho Verde,

which is a DOC in the Minho region,

you probably know it
as a lightly carbonated,

spritzy, simple wine.

And while I love those fun,
easy versions of Vinho Verde,

there's a new wave of
producers making a style

of this wine that's more
serious and complex.

Don't worry, though,
they're still half the price

of your comparable
Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc.

I met with my friend Antonio of Azevedo

to learn more about the
new side of this classic wine.

Tell me about the property.

The house itself is
from the 12th century.

Back then, we were trying
to get our independence,

so we were fighting with
the Spanish all the time,

so we needed to have these kind of castles

to protect our country.

There would be a lord
here protecting this area.

It was not a specialist estate in wine,

they would have everything, like the cow,

the cereals, the vegetable
garden, everything,

and the wine also.

In addition.

Yes, in addition, on top of it.

But that's amazing
that you have a history

that goes back to the
12th century of making wine

in this area. - It's incredible.

Speaking of this area,
so we're very far north

in Portugal, what makes this area distinct?

Well, I would say in terms
of Portugal is the coolest

in terms of temperature area.

It's a little bit rainy, as well,

it's a rectangle, big within a
small country like Portugal.

What do they make, what do
they grow here, what grapes?

Portugal, we use our
native grape varieties,

so with difficult names, but that make part

of our DNA as a wine producing region.

So different flavors, we
have varietal Alvarinho,

which is the same that
our neighbors in Spain have,

Alvarinho, is the same
grape variety, Trajadura-

But you call it Alvarinho

with a V, right? - Alvarinho,

yes, because we are
more exquisite, Alvarinho.

So the bulk of what

you would see would probably be white.

White wine.

Which is Vinho Verde,
which is what I think a lot

of Americans associate with
a light, spritzy, cheap wine,

but that's not really what you do here.

To be fair, that was the beginning.

So they had the grapes
outside of the property

in high trellising systems
underneath the shade.

So they were not getting enough ripeness,

so that style of not
having enough ripeness,

so lower alcohol, high acidity,

some spritziness was
the main style of the region.

Several years after, once
you planted the vineyards

in the right way, in the modern way,

you can get enough ripeness to make,

I would say, a general white wine.

And this is what the region
is going to towards nowadays.

Our Azevedo Loureiro Alvarinho,

from Loureiro and
Alvarinho, two grape varieties.

Two grapes.

So we blend a lot in Portugal.

If you've been traveling, you
know that we blend everything,

so generally it's difficult
to find a varietal wine,

a wine from just one variety.

So Loureiro bringing all the crispiness,

all the citrus character,

all the white flower aspect that it has.

Lots of white flowers,
lots of lime, lime peel.

Lime, yeah, and then the
Alvarinho brings the creaminess,

the texture, peach, yellow
peach kind of flavors,

and fresh mango.

Oh, yeah, so lots of
tropical on the palate.

So the nose is more
of that crisp, that floral,

and then when you taste it,

really, really juicy mango tropical fruit.

It's really kind of rich and creamy

for that lower style of alcohol,

which is really, really nice.

It can have some touch
points with some Pinot Grigio,

Sauvignon Blanc, some Soave,

some wines from the Northern Italy.

And I appreciate you comparing

'cause I don't like to compare.

I don't like to put words in
your mouth to compare it,

but when these grapes are
things that people don't know,

it's helpful to give a frame of reference.

I love this, I am very
pleasantly surprised.

I don't know what I expected

'cause I'd only ever had
kind of the other style,

the light, spritzy, fun style.

The relaxed style.

So this is the Reserva.

So the Reserva is from
this estate, again, it's-

Oh, completely different.

Yeah, the Reserva
is completely different.

Much more tropical.

It kind of has... More dense, more dense.

I think it's the other
one in bold, I would say.

The other one, just crank
it up to 11, as they say.

It has a
little bit of oak, oak-

Used oak, but.

Used oak, yeah.

Any lees contact?

Yeah, lees contact, and-

You can taste that creaminess.

And a little bit of skin
contact fermentation,

which is not normal in white wine-

Skin contact, okay. - Yeah.

A tropical fruit dessert
with whipped cream on top.

Yeah, that's a good, a good taste.

This is shockingly good, I don't know,

like I said, I came in with
kind of zero expectations.

I hadn't tried these wines.

Ask them, I didn't try them at lunch

when they poured them 'cause I was like,

I want to be fresh when we taste.

Oh, delicious, thank you so much for this.

This is phenomenal.

Thank you for-

And we're spending
tomorrow together, too, so.

Yeah.

Indigenous grapes, what are they?

Sometimes called native
or autochthonous grapes,

these are grapes that are native

to the country they reside in.

Most of the grapes

that we all know are the
opposite of indigenous grapes.

They're what we call international grapes,

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc,

grapes that have been
planted all across the world,

taken from country to country,

and put in the region that
best suits their climate,

we all hope, anyway.

Compare that to indigenous
grapes that, like your buddy

from high school living
in his parent's basement,

never left their hometown.

Indigenous grapes may have less caché,

are less well known, and
have less marketability

than their international counterparts,

but they are often better suited

to the territory they grow in.

There's no better example
of this than Portugal,

because while some countries may have kept

their indigenous grapes,

they've often allowed
international grapes to creep on in.

Italy is a great example, they may lean

on Sangiovese and
Nebbiolo, which are native,

but you can definitely find
Chardonnay or Cabernet

in Italy in pretty high quantities.

Not so much in Portugal.

My rule is if I don't
recognize the grape variety

on a Portuguese label, that's a good thing.

Portugal has over 250
indigenous grapes planted,

and really have fought

against international
grapes barging their way in.

Their relative isolation,
with Spain blocking one side

and the ocean blocking
the other, also helps.

This cuts them off from the rest of Europe.

And until the end of the
Salazar Regime in the '70s,

international grapes weren't
even allowed in anyway.

So while everyone else
was planting French grapes,

Portugal was just doing its own thing.

Plus, most of the wine
was drunk within its borders,

so the Portuguese had no
one to please but themselves.

And in 2021, this adherence

to native grapes is finally
starting to pay dividends.

Consumers are looking for more authenticity

and less ubiquitous wines.

These grapes are more
hardy against climate change.

And the reds in particular
are exactly what a lot

of American palettes love,
fruit forward and full bodied.

So what are these
indigenous grapes of Portugal?

Well, for whites,
they're things like Síria,

Arinto, Fernão Pires, and Alvarinho.

For reds, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca,

Castelão, Baga, and Trincadeira.

But there is one grape that has a

slightly larger reputation
than the rest, Touriga Nacional.

It's used both for still wines

and as one of the primary grapes of Port.

It stands up well to the heat

that's prevalent in much of this country,

and this is Portugal's answer
to Cabernet Sauvignon.

It's big in body, fruit,
tannin, acid, and alcohol.

This bold grape has
flavors like violets, plums,

menthol, chocolate, licorice,
blueberries, and slate.

It can also stand up both
to oak and time in the bottle,

which means these wines can be age worthy.

So do you need to know
the character and profiles

of all these indigenous Portuguese grapes?

Absolutely not, I certainly don't.

Anyway, the reality is

that almost every
Portuguese wine is a blend,

not a single grape.

So you're much better off
learning Portuguese wines based

on place, which
coincidentally is how they label

their wines, and not worrying too much

about the grapes involved.

Unless of course, you're the one

who always had their
hand raised in math class,

and then by all means,
try and learn all 250 grapes.

But for us average folk, we'll be sticking

to associating these wines
with the place they came from.

If all else fails, just
start drinking them.

These wines are so under-priced compared

to other wines in their category

that it's easy to experiment
with a whole bunch.

Bom Jesus do Monte,
Good Jesus of the Mount,

577 steps up a zigzagging Baroque staircase

that lead to a basilica on top

that overlooks the city of Braga.

Braga is the largest
city in the Minho region,

and the third largest city

in the country after Porto and Lisbon.

It's known as the
religious center of Portugal

because it has the highest concentration

of religious buildings in the country,

from Roman temples to Baroque monuments.

There's also a large university here,

and like anywhere else in Portugal,

coffee and a ton of places to consume it.

Don't tell the French or the Italians this,

but the Portuguese claim

to make the best cup of coffee around,

and they tend to take their breakfast

at cafés or pastelarias
rather than at home.

So to try and fit in, I met Antonio

at a local spot to get my coffee

and pastry fix for the morning.

This is a special blend,

the beans of the coffee, it's
a special blend for the house.

Oh, that's good, that's really good.

The Portuguese coffee culture is no joke.

If you go outside, even
if it's not a coffee shop,

they're serving good coffee everywhere.

I heard we are top two or three countries

who have more coffee outside home.

The Portuguese believe

that they have the best coffee around.

No, we believe that, we believe that.

In Italy, we have get coffee, as well,

but in Spain, I'm sorry.

Yeah, is there a place

they're getting the beans from primarily?

Yes, we have importers and
we have historically a presence

in the countries that produce coffee

because our discoveries time in,

so we created those commercial routes

and we brought coffee to Europe, so.

So the same places that
you traditionally got them from,

you're still getting them from now.

We have historical
relations, so with Brazil,

that's why we are in
Brasileira with Brazil, of course.

I like Italian coffee,
it's so short, it's hard.

It's almost like a challenge to drink.

I love this, this is kind of, the mouthfeel

on it is really rich and creamy,

compared to some other espresso.

All right, so this is pasteis de nata,

which is everywhere I've gone,

every city, every small
town, this is the pastry.

This is the pastry.

What is it?

The Portuguese pastry, so
we have the origin is in Lisbon,

in a place called Pastéis de Belém,

so it's a very thin pastry, and outside-

It's like a flaky kind of crust.

Yeah, flaky crust, and
then a cream inside with eggs,

a custard, I would say.

And the inside is super custardy,

egg yolk, and cinnamon, a
good amount of cinnamon.

And then I like that they get kind

of this caramelized texture on top.

And wonderful pairing with an espresso.

I feel like everywhere I've gone,

everybody is beyond nice.

Everybody speaks
English, everybody is happy

to show off their culture

and to help you... No, we are proud,

we're proud in our country, yeah.

It really, really is that,

and I'm not exaggerating when I say that,

and it's one of those
X factors that you get

in a country that I never expect,

but is really important
if you come as a visitor.

Yeah, of course.

Is you want people to be excited

to show off. - To show you.

And also be willing to
at least try and guide you

through the menu with the language barrier.

I think it's very nice.

We love to show our country

and our food and one of culture.

Before I knew it, it was time for lunch

at the Braga restaurant, Dona Julia,

to try some classic
northern Portuguese dishes,

and as always, some more wine.

All right, what do I have?

So we have Gazela on a can.

In a can. - In a can.

Now, why did you choose
to throw this wine in a can?

It's a low ABV wine, kind of spritzy.

And it's semi spritzy.

So it makes all the
sense to have it in a can,

to have it in a relaxed
consumption moments with friends,

without thinking a lot about
wine and having just fun.

And what is this?

This is the Portuguese
traditional bacalhau.

It's a small cake with codfish and potato.

It's interesting to me

because you see the fish in the stores

and it's completely flat,
and then when you get it,

yeah, when you get
it in a dish for instance

it looks like a hunk of sea bass.

And then for this, they take that fish

and they mix it and then
they fry it like a fritter.

Yeah.

Little did I know, lunch
was just getting started.

The Portuguese do not mess around

when it comes to lunch.

This is eggs with
shrimps, and that's a thing

I know they do in
Spain, obviously here too,

egg is a lunch dish?

Yeah, something for lunch, yeah.

Yeah, you can have eggs at lunch.

This is gonna be my favorite

'cause I love when you have the fried-

Very small sardines?

Yeah, they're like the best
french fries you ever have.

2.0 version of a fry.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and then this is-

It is a salt cod, you just season it

with olive oil and the vinegar,

add some onion and a
little bit of traditional bread,

mix it all, it's a salad.

Oh my gosh, I love it, I love it.

It's a crudo, it's raw, yeah.

So we have here our Gazela, okay-

And this is what
we just had in the cans.

We brought consistency
to the traditional style.

So it's always a wine
with low alcohol degree,

low calories, by the way,
which is in fashion now, right?

Spritzy, made out of
Portuguese grape varieties.

Semi, it's not super spritzy the way

even a Prosecco or a champagne would be.

It's just a little bit of
that spritz for texture.

Should be between zero and 10

in terms of intensity of
aromatics, should be an eight.

It's got a bit of that lemon
lime soda thing going on,

just really fun.

This is an institution
in this country, correct,

this wine, the Italians have the spritz,

the Portuguese I think have Gazela.

It's like you can find bottles anywhere.

Everywhere.

It's accessible, it's for aperitif,

it's for casual dinners, it's for anything.

It's even for everything we do, friends,

just in the sun, and relaxing.

Oh, that's really good.

I love that because the
bread soaks up the vinegar

and the olive oil, the salt
cod kind of bring a little bit

of that saltiness,
obviously that fish flavor,

and as expected, perfect with this wine.

You can't get better than
something high acid like this,

fried food, acidic food, fatty food,

a little bit, 'cause you add olive oil-

And then we add the creaminess,

the creaminess... Yeah, creamy.

Of the egg yolk and the-

And it's why, as winos,
we love acidic wines.

When you've got a lot
of dishes on the table,

you usually can't go
wrong with a high acid wine.

They pair with salty fried foods,

fatty foods, and acidic foods.

And you know what's awesome,

is this place is a high-end style place,

and I have no problem
having all these dishes

with this wine, which is a really

- entry level, easy wine.
- You're okay, you're okay.

You're in Portugal, there's no problem-

No rules.

No rules, you can do whatever you want.

Next was the classic dish

of red wine braised goat called chanfana,

entrecôte, which is the
French word for rib eye steak,

rice with beans and cabbage,
broccoli, and wild mushrooms.

First, talking about the
wine, this is our Silk & Spice.

When you look at Portugal
as a red wine country,

you see that we blend almost every time.

So basically it's a Touriga
Nacional and Baga,

but basically, this is a wine that came not

from only a region, but from
different regions of Portugal.

So it's a blend of grapes,

but it's also a blend of several regions.

It's a dense, intense red wine

to go with hearty, meaty food.

So ruby, deep ruby color.

Silk & Spice, it's like an homage

to our commercial routes back in the-

Sure, your
spice trading and your-

Yeah, spice trading, and we tried also

to bring those kind of aromatic
environments to the wine,

so the silky... Silky.

And the spiciness of the wine.

The first thing I got, besides,

I got some really
generous ripe plummy fruit,

but then I get some smoke.

I get some smoke. - Yeah, some smoke.

Some sweet vanilla, some
maple syrup, some juiciness.

I know this wine, too, this is always

in all the best buy lists.

When they have top 20 wines under this,

or top 100 wines of the year,

it's always in one of the
best value wines for what it is.

We're just taking
advantage of our experience

in blending and frame it in a modern way,

using our Portuguese grape varieties.

This is important
because we're not doing it

with Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is our grape
varieties, so they add a layer

of originality, of a sense of
place, and that's important.

Hearty braised dishes and
steaks need a big red wine

to match the weight of the food,

plus tannic wines love fatty rib eyes,

and are a classic pairing.

Can we also talk about, by the way,

lunch is a big deal in Portugal.

Lunch is an institution.

You said even some of
the other European countries,

you start to see the lunch fade, here-

But in here, we're keeping our lunch.

And they do, these guys over here,

drinking during lunch, cigars,

and then they went to
scotch at lunch, I love it.

We hit the road for our next
big stop on this trip, Porto,

the second largest city in the country.

This town is known
for its Port wine houses,

but while Port may be aged in the city,

the grapes are grown about 60 miles east

in the Douro Valley, and this area is

probably the most famous
Portuguese wine region,

though for a long time,

only because it grew
the grapes for Port wine.

But over the last 20 years, the still wines

from this region are
gaining international acclaim

and have really come into their own.

Luis has witnessed
this evolution firsthand,

and is the winemaker
for both Ferreira Port wine,

and their table wines, Casa Ferreirinha.

So he met me while we were in Porto

to taste through some
tables wines from the Douro.

The Ports have been
made for hundreds of years,

but these style of
wines are relatively new.

New, yes, relatively new.

Casa Ferreirinha, it has been one

of the first pioneer producing Douro wines.

Well, what I didn't
realize until I came here is

that the Douro is huge.

280,000 hectares of area. - Wow.

Total area.

And what is really
something I think people need

to know about Douro wines,
and I'm gonna say this a lot

as we taste, is that they are
just such a tremendous value,

wines that often retail
for $20 or less in America,

they drink two to three times their price.

So we start, Papa Figos.

In the case of the Papa Figos,

the Papa Figos is going to found grapes

in high altitudes, usually
five, six different varieties

to put to that wine.

Like most
Portuguese wines, it is a blend.

Yes, it's a blend of different varieties,

and this has been vinified
in stainless steel tank.

So you know what I love about this?

It reminds me a little bit of
other warm climate whites,

so maybe like southern Rhone,

but with maybe a little more acidity.

I feel here a lot, some
floral and some white fruit.

White peach.

Yes, melon also there-

Melon, yeah, sure.

At the same time, some minerality.

The Papa Figos red,
made again with varieties

from same subregion, from Douro Superior.

What we do here is to try to have a blend

between high and the not so high altitude

to have some body, some structure,

but at the same time, a quiet good finish,

a good acidity.

Just the minerality to this from-

Some minerality, yes, also like in white.

Fun, fresh, really, really juicy.

Some black fruit aromas,
some balsamic aromas, like cedar.

One of our oldest wine, Vinha Grande,

I hope to leave more time in bottle,

and I hope to pair with a
more sophisticated food,

and that wine, we do a stage in oak.

How long?

French oak during 12 months.

12 months in oak?

12 months, yes, yes.

You do get a little
bit of that baking spice.

The oak is there, not very present,

but it helps the complexity.

It's also softer, it also
helps soften the wine.

And fruit character to
me is a little bit riper,

a little bit darker, so wet leaves,

soil, mushroom. - Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Yeah, absolutely, and like you said,

as you lay this down, that fruit will start

to fade a little bit and you'll
get more and more of that.

Yes, yes, yeah.

And now, to finish with the Callabriga.

With that wine, you try to produce a wine

with something similar
with that wines produced

in the new world, which usually are wines

with a lot of fruit and oak,
a little bit more present,

some cacao, some chocolate.

Yeah, I mean, and
it's absolutely still fresh,

but you're right, the
acidity's a little toned back.

The fruit character, I'm
now in blackberry land.

The spice is kind of dark,
I get those clove notes,

those allspice notes.

All of these wines are made only

with Portuguese grape varieties.

In our opinion, we have more chance

if we use our own varieties
than if you use French varieties

or other varieties, and who wants

to taste a Portuguese wine made

with Cabernet Sauvignon, I think no one-

Listen, who needs
another Cabernet Sauvignon

in the world, nobody,
we have enough of those.

So, but those... I'd
much rather have this.

And that was the reason why

we only used Portuguese
grape varieties in our wines.

When everybody else is trying to market,

they're trying to go for
whatever's marketable,

whatever is sellable, I
love that Portugal has stuck

to their guns and says,
"No, we're making the wines"

that we've made forever,
and if you want to enjoy them

with us, please feel free,
but we're not"- - Thank you.

- Thank you for this.
- Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Cheers.

Next stop,
Portugal's capital, Lisbon.

If Lisbon isn't on your
list of places to visit,

you may want to reconsider your list.

Of all the European cities I've come upon,

Lisbon is one of my absolute favorites,

and it grows on me each time I return.

I'm a sucker for the endless labyrinth

of alley ways that connect
massive, expansive squares.

The hills with rattling
trolleys ferrying locals up

and down remind you of San Francisco,

while the bone-white cathedrals

that dot those hills remind you

of your favorite cities in France.

It's packed with cafes, restaurants,

and bars where locals pair their libations

with every type of canned
and fresh seafood imaginable,

in addition to the hearty
sausages and meats and cheeses

to soak up the next day's hangover.

Its sidewalks are full of
color, tiles, and patterns.

You'll catch yourself constantly
looking down at the ground,

only to then look up and
then see similar mosaics

on the buildings.

Musicians sing Fado music in cozy bars,

and street performers inhabit open spaces.

The older generation

in this town can still
remember its colonial past

and living under
dictatorship until the '70s,

while the younger
generation fills the community

with hope and optimism
for the transformation

they're witnessing in their
country before their own eyes.

The city can be peeled
back like layers through time

as you explore the architecture,

museums, theaters, and monuments.

In a country that was once
the worlds richest empire,

Lisbon was at the center of it all.

But after all it's been through,

it knows what it is at this moment.

It's a city that relies
heavily on visitors.

Tourism has become an
economic mainstay of the city,

and seeing as I was visiting in 2021,

after what one may call
a rough year of travel,

I found that everywhere I
went, I was greeted with a smile,

though that's pretty much
the norm in Lisbon, anyway.

As Lisbon transforms
into a more modern city,

so do its bars and restaurants.

The Red Frog is a speakeasy
in the Bairro Alto neighborhood.

Using classic Portuguese ingredients,

Port for instance, they put their own mark

on the world's craft cocktails scene.

It was rated best bar in
Lisbon a few years back,

so naturally, I found
myself in for a drink.

I love it, it's like
counterintuitive marketing.

It keeps this mystique around the bar.

Yeah, so this is a speakeasy.

So the tourist speakeasy,

normally you don't see from outside.

Let's do some cocktails.

Yeah, yeah, so
let's do something with wine.

I appreciate you keeping in theme.

Yeah, so it's green
wine, so green wines regions.

Yeah, we were just
up there a couple of days ago.

This is the green wine, it's fresh.

Sometimes you can have
fruity notes or some acidity also,

so that is very good for any cocktail.

So this is a white, we
want to keep it light,

we want to keep it fresh,
we want to keep it simple.

So what we make is a cordial.

So we use a tonic water, but
then we flavor the tonic water

with lemon verbena, apple, cucumber,

and a little bit of citrus. - Oh, cool.

So this is gonna give you freshness

and also a little bit of bitterness,

our take with Gazela.

Thank you, I'd cheers
you, but you're working,

so I'll drink for you. - So, yeah,

so that is, you're gonna drink,

it's something you can
drink one, two, no problem.

It's gonna be light,
so if you're in the pool-

Oh, yeah, I can.

So.

Well, and what a lot of
people don't understand

about cocktails is that
it's a lot of the same thing

we're looking for in
wine, which is balance.

You want to balance your acid, your sweet,

your body, it's a lot
of the same principles.

I don't think, I don't see
anybody not liking this.

I guarantee you, this has never
gone out and got sent back.

No, no, no, no.

So what time do the bars
get busy here in Lisbon?

Normal busy
is after nine, after 10.

Yeah, it's a late town.

It's not just a late town in going out,

it's a late town for everything.

Breakfast is late, it's like at 10,

and then lunch is late,
and then dinner is late,

and then the bar is late.

So you guys just moved
everything a couple of hours down.

I love this town, it's quickly becoming one

of my favorite in Europe.

We're gonna always
have new things to see,

new things to do because it's a city,

but also you have the sea,

we have Monsantos, our green parks.

The weather is good, the food is good.

It's still a very cheap country, I think,

price, money is very, very-

Yeah, for us Americans, especially.

Yeah, everybody who comes
to here is gonna be, enjoy it.

So for our second cocktail,

we're gonna make
something more traditional.

So one of the most iconic cocktails,

classic cocktails is the Porto Flip.

For warm days, the creamy cocktails,

and especially in a summer country,

is something people are not-

Yeah, the egg makes it heavy.

Yeah, how can we recreate
the Porto Flip in a modern way?

Using the Port wine, in
this case we use Sandeman,

the Tawny, and then on the ruby,

we make something different.

On our left, we have rotovap.

So what we've done, we blend Port wine

with one of our most iconic desserts,

the custard tarts, the pasteis de nata.

So we blend it and then we distill it.

So wait, wait, wait,
you blend the Port with-

Custard tarts.

With the custard tart
and then you distill it?

For the taste, it's gonna be more clean,

you're gonna have the kind
of creaminess of the egg,

but in this case, of the custard tart.

Oh, cool, oh my gosh, that's really cool.

I love it, 'cause blending the two Ports,

first of all, you get the nuttiness,

but you also get the fresh fruitiness

from the ruby, and like you said,

that distilled spirit just
gives it that creaminess.

Sometimes I'm nervous
to go to a cocktail bar

and ask for a dessert cocktail

because it's gonna be a chocolate martini

or an espresso martini,
it's really thick and weighty,

but this is really light.

The accolades are well
deserved, thank you, man.

Cheers. - You're welcome, welcome.

♪ I like it, baby ♪

If you ask your parents if
they know any Portuguese wine

from when they grew up,
they'd probably say Port.

If you asked them besides
Port, they'd likely say Mateus.

It was rosé before rosé was cool, and one

of the first successful
international rosé brands to exist,

and it was created by the great grandfather

of Mafalda Guedes, who I met for lunch

at one of the many rooftop bars in Lisbon,

Ferroviário Bar Terraço.

So we have some Mateus dry.

This wine has a lot of history, I think,

with the Portuguese wine culture, correct?

Yeah, it's a very iconic brand.

So it was created in 1942
by my great grandfather.

So in the middle of the Second World War,

he launched a rosé wine,

which was not very typical at the time.

It wasn't like today,
where rosé is everywhere.

No, I think it was one
of the first rosés ever,

and it was a success, but we
have the shape of the bottle,

which was very exquisite, so-

Yeah, let's talk about the shape,

'cause this is super unique, this shape.

How did it come about?

It was inspired to the
canteens of the soldiers

from the World War.

Oh, interesting, and what
are these little guys?

I like these little ones, these are great.

These are amazing, I really like this.

It's very easy to just
take, grab, open the bottle-

Yeah, I was gonna say,

this is a to-go thing...
Use a straw and drink!

My sisters and my cousins,
we all invited some friends

for a huge party with our wines,

and we had this huge fridge,
only with these small bottles,

and everyone was drinking the wine.

So everyone was having the straws

and everyone was drinking,
and you just go into the fridge-

I love the idea of you opening a fridge

and there's just nothing in there

but these little bitty bottles-

But it was like that,
and even in the picture,

it looked amazing.

- I really like this wine.
- Good citrus flavors,

good kind of white cherry,
a little bit of peach notes.

It's really just a great,
it's what I want from rosé.

So an astronaut spoke about it

and he said he wished he had a bottle

while he was looking
up at Earth from space.

There's some cool stories like that,

it really has this kind of
air of mystique around it.

We have pictures of
Queen Elizabeth drinking,

Jimi Hendrix, and it's an Elton John song.

So it shows that this wine actually,

it went all over the world.

You're coming for America,
what would you want people

to know is special about Portugal?

You have so many
different places in Portugal,

and they're so different from each other.

So you go up in the North Portugal,

is very typical region,
people are very welcoming.

It's really such a culture of,

let me show you this,
I'm happy to help you,

let me help you through the menu-

And they'll take you.

What do you want to eat?

If you ask them, "Where is this place,"

they'll just walk you there

and they'll show you everything around.

And you go, compared to
Lisbon, it's such a beautiful city,

full of life, full of night life,

and then you go down to south, to Algarve,

so you have the amazing beaches.

I think the good thing about
Portugal is it's so different

from, each city is so
different from each other.

Porto, there's Lisbon, there's Alentejo,

there's up north, but
they're all very close.

In the time it takes me to
drive Cleveland to Chicago,

which is six hours, I can do
the whole country of Portugal.

It's very easy, and
that's the good thing,

cuz you can go...

A funny thing about the wine
and when it was launched

by my great grandfather
is that he sent two bottles

of Mateus to every Portuguese ambassador

around the world, and
he said, "Try a bottle.

If you like it, share it with a friend."

So it was a marketing-

Guerrilla marketing, yeah, yeah.

And at the time, it was
really novel to do this,

and so he got people trying the wine,

just by a word of mouth.

Somebody who worked really, really hard

to produce a brand, to market a brand,

and unfortunately, they never
get to see what it is today,

but it's really amazing that you do.

That's why it's so important to us,

because it started small, it started

with a passion for the
wine, for the products,

and it grew so much, and for us,

it's something that makes us really proud.

Welcome to the "V is for Vino" Nerd Lab.

We take complicated wine
topics and make them simple.

Today we're talking about wine glasses.

Wine glasses.

Plastic cups, coffee mugs, solo cups,

mason jars, tumblers, technically,

anything can be a wine
glass if it can hold wine.

And while wine glasses
vary from really small

to really, really big,

some companies even make different glasses

for each different grape,

and while that may be a bit extreme,

there is some science that
says certain wines are better

in certain glasses, but
before we chat about that,

let's talk about what we should look

for in every wine glass.

Number one, we want a
clear, unobstructed view

of the wine and color,
so that eliminates etchings

and painted glasses.

Number two, we want it to be large enough

to be able to swirl without
spilling, and why do we swirl?

In science terms, chemical
compounds created

during fermentation bond
to the alcohol molecules.

Trace amounts of alcohol molecules start

to evaporate upon contact
with oxygen when you swirl.

This carries the alcohol molecules

and the flavor aromas up into your nose.

In non-science terms, it
makes the wine smell nice.

If you don't believe me, next
time you have a glass of wine,

smell it and then smell it
again immediately after swirling.

This automatically eliminates
some traditional styles

of wine glasses, like Port wine glasses,

yes, even for Port, and small wine glasses.

Number three, we want the bowl

to be large enough for the
aromas we release during swirling

to be partially captured and
contained so we can smell them.

So while flutes may do a
good job preserving bubbles

in sparkling wine, they
do a terrible job allowing

you to smell and appreciate the wine.

Think about it like this,

which candle is gonna give off more aroma,

this skinny one or this fat one?

Number four, we want a stem.

I know stemless glasses
are trendy and easier to wash,

but they make it hard to swirl.

You get fingerprints on the bowl,

and you warm up the
wine from your body heat

'cause, you know, red hot.

And number five, we want
glass or crystal, no plastic.

Plastic can warp, it gets
cloudy and stains over time,

and may even leach
chemicals into your wine.

As far as crystal or glass,
crystal is known as the best.

It's light, thin, while still strong

and refracts light better.

But it's also more expensive,
and if you're like me

and have a bad habit of breaking things,

glass can work just as well,
and because it's cheaper,

you're not so upset with yourself

when they inevitably end up shattering.

Why?

So we're left with three different glasses,

and if you have these three,

I don't think you need any others.

First are your white wine glasses,

whose name is a bit deceiving

because I think it should be
used for a lot more than that.

I use these glasses for light
to medium bodied whites,

dessert wines, rosés, and
yes, even sparkling wines.

The smaller bowl keeps
the wine cold longer,

while still hitting all our points

from before in regard to aromas.

It's a good balance of bubble preservation

and aroma capture for
sparkling wines and a good size

to keep high alcohol wines Port
and Madeira far enough away

from your nose so you
don't burn it from the alcohol.

Next are your burgundy glasses,

which are for the two
grapes of burgundy, Pinot Noir

and Chardonnay, and also
a few select other grapes.

But this translates to a full bodied whites

and light aromatic reds.

The super wide bowl
allows the delicate aromas

from these wines to accumulate

and then be funneled right into your nose,

and the wide rim spreads
the wine across the front

of your palate when you sip

to better appreciate the more subtle wine.

Finally, you have Bordeaux glasses

for medium to full bodied reds,

things like Bordeaux blends, cabernet,

Merlot, Shiraz, Tempranillo,

basically any red that isn't Pinot Noir.

The extra distance between
your nose and the wine provided

by the glass helps tame
down the intense alcohol

so you smell the flavors and not the booze,

and the smaller rim helps direct the wine

to the back of the tongue,

which minimizes bitterness from tannins.

If you insist on only one glass,

and I don't blame you if you do,

look for what we call an all purpose glass,

which is in between
the sizes of a white wine

and a Bordeaux glass.

And while I do recommend using a wine glass

to drink wine, I won't hold it against you

if you find yourself drinking
out of something else.

What?

I hope you learned a
bit about wine glasses,

and as always, keep geeking out.

Our next stop was the Alentejo region,

to a town called Évora.

While this city may not be as famous

as other Portuguese
cities, it's another must see.

The roots of this town
date back 5,000 years,

and it's incredibly well preserved.

The city is enclosed by medieval walls,

and you can find a Roman temple,

the temple of Diana, in
surprisingly good shape.

There's some pretty remarkable cathedrals,

and for you thrill seekers,
the Cappella dos Ossos.

This is a chapel decorated with the bones

of 5,000 people from church graveyards

that were overflowing in the 17th century.

As you walk in, an inscription

over the door reads "we
bones that are here await yours,"

just in case you were having
too much fun sightseeing

and needed to be reminded
of your own mortality.

Alentejo feels different
than the rest of Portugal.

It's the newest it spot for wine lovers,

about 1/3rd of Portugal's
wine comes from here.

Its southernly inland location keeps it hot

and dry during growing season,

which makes it great not only for grapes,

but one of wine's most important,

under-appreciated commodities, cork.

Much of Alentejo is home
to huge cork tree forests.

This region actually produces about half

of the worlds entire cork supply.

Most importantly, Alentejo
has a distinct style of cuisine,

different from the rest of the country.

This is the land of tradition.

While Lisbon embraces
modernity, Alentejo dives deeper

into the recipes they've
been making for generations.

It's known as the breadbasket of Portugal

because of everything
grown and harvested here.

No fuss, hearty food developed
from poor farmers trying

to stretch their ingredients
and waste nothing.

Rustic breads grace every table,

olives and really good
olive oil, wild mushrooms,

lamb, cheeses, and most importantly, pork,

specifically, black pork, a type of meat

from the free roaming pigs in the region

that have a diet rich in acorns

that fall from the cork trees,

which make the meat particularly succulent.

Where does one go to try these dishes?

How about a place as old

as the traditional cuisine it serves,

a the wine cellar of a 16th century castle

that's been repurposed as a
Cafe Alentejo by owner Rita.

And for the wine, my friend
Luis from Herdad do Peso.

This is a salad with
tomato, figs, ham, cheese.

Now is this the
ham, is this the black pork?

The black pork, yes. - Yes.

Yeah, and that's famous for here.

Yes.

Perfect.

This is very traditional
in that part of the season.

The cheese in Portugal,
finally in the last few days,

I've been starting to sample, it's amazing.

It's amazing.

It's amazing, we've
gotta do some wine, yeah?

Of course.

I'm gonna be honest, I
don't know a lot about Alentejo

in general, as a region, as a place.

Well, this is incredible heritage.

This is in south of
Portugal, and is a region

where you have incredible sense of place,

incredible sustainable agriculture.

Oh, this is lovely,
I'm on the nose still.

This is a blend of the two varieties.

One gives you body, the other
gives you acidity, freshness.

And what I will say about the whites,

I've now have a good
amount of Portuguese whites,

the whites are fun, and
because they're blends,

all the wines are pretty complex.

Even the lower end white
wines are really complex.

Portuguese wines are blends.

Portuguese wine makers
are blenders, definitely.

I get these cool melon flavors

you might get from a
Marsanne or a Roussanne.

This is a hunting pie.

So it's like a meat pie.

These seem like already we're kind of

in very traditional dishes.

And that wine is the
reserve from Herdade Do Peso.

What it means is a
blend of the best blocks,

but four varieties.

Oh, wow, the nose just
blasts out of the glass.

Lots of violets, lots of
plummy, lots of black fruit.

Well, Alentejo is that,
good and red wine in Alentejo,

it's big, big wines, very low
intervention in wine making.

We try to bottle the sense of place.

All these are 90 plus score wines.

You would have to spend a lot of money

to get that from most
California wine regions.

Here, the great value.

It's natural, you have a natural

, like French say.

How would you compare
the red wines of Alentejo,

if you had to put it on par
with similar to another region?

I would say our
region has the best style.

You do, just say, yeah.

Another plate, this is migas,

the traditional dish of Alentejo,

made with the breads, the rest of the pork.

Very good, and then we got more pork,

of course, because why not.

Oh, this is spicy, I like it.

It's a blend of Alicante
Bouschet and Syrah.

And I also get a little bit of
balsamic notes, which are-

Balsamic comes from Alicante Bouschet,

and spicy from Syrah.

Yep.

And here you can feel
one more time the freshness

of our subregion, warm
region, but cool nights,

and you have the acidity.

I'm loving this style
of food they have here.

It's very American comfort food.

So the first one was a pot pie.

This reminds me, this is like stuffing,

and then this pork is so nutty
and delicious and flavorful.

And the last one, this is our style

of,

oxtail with Alentejo red wine.

Well, last one is a
Herdade Do Peso icon, 2014.

It's from a special plot we
have of the Alicante Bouschet,

and normally, after some
years, goes very, very well.

Wow.

Well, here you have complexity,

you have an elegance,
you have the sense of place.

So a lot of what I
got from the other ones,

I get the spice, I get the balsamic,

I get the plummy fruit, I get the flowers,

and mulberry fruit.

Long in mouth.

Really, really long finish,

really, really long, really rich.

I'm really happy we ventured this far south

because this has been one
of the best meals I've had.

I love this kind of rustic cooking,

and more importantly, all the
wines are gorgeous, so cheers.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Luis was so excited about
his wines, and rightfully so,

that he couldn't help but
share some with the crew.

They normally wait until
after the cameras are off,

but when the winemaker's
pouring, you don't say no.

Broken hearts, longing,
resignation, and lost youth.

This is the music of Fado,

the most iconic living
art coming from Portugal.

The blues music of the Portuguese,

it features an emotional singer accompanied

by a traditional 12 string guitar,

and I appreciate that there are still spots

that keep this tradition alive.

But what's ironic is that
today's Portugal doesn't seem

to carry much of that sentiment.

At least, not the Portuguese people I met.

The Portugal I've come to
know is welcoming and warm.

They're optimistic about their future,

their culture, and their wines.

They appreciate the land

and the diversity their country offers,

and they want travelers like
me to experience it as well.

The crew and I were in
Portugal for two and a half weeks,

and there isn't much a
travel lover could ask for

that couldn't be found here.

Is it the best kept secret
in Western Europe?

Eh, I'm pretty sure the
secret's out, but I will say this,

I wouldn't hesitate to put
Portugal on even footing

with the Frances and Italys of the world.

But don't take my word for
it, come decide for yourself.

I hope you enjoyed Portugal,

and we'll see you next
time on "V is for Vino."