Portugal Is Upping Its White Wine Game

Eric Asimov, chief wine critic for the The New York Times, explores the often-overlooked white wines of Portugal. Although Asimov doesn’t feel the “thrill of discovery” in these wines, he finds them pleasing and intriguing. 

Why aren’t Portuguese whites more popular in the United States? Asimov points to a linguistic difference and a sense of unfamiliarity; while most Americans understand that “Italy’s bianco and Spain’s blanco are white wines,” they “may not make the same linguistic leap when confronted with branco, the Portuguese term for white.”

Asimov finds the 2012 Luís Pato, made from the Beira Atlântico region, one of the best values. At just $13, “You can go through a lot of this wine in the summer.” He also tastes 2012 vintages of Quinta de Foz, Quinta do Sagrado, Vadio and Casa de Mouraz, offering two-and-a-half stars to all of them. [The New York Times] [Photo: Flickr/Pedro Rivera Simões]