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Tasting Sustainable Wines From Herdade do Esporão

February 11, 2022 by evebushman

It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to taste and study wines from Portugal so I was very interested in sampling four that I‘d never had before – two whites and two reds from Herdade do Esporão – and learning all about them. Here is an excerpt from the invitation:

Esporão Group Chairman João Roquette, one of the most influential people in the Portuguese wine industry today, will brief us on Esporao Group, his vision for the future and his take on the Portuguese wine industry. Herdade do Esporão lead winemaker, Sandra Alves, will talk about the estate and taste through the wines.

What I Learned

Both Roquette and Alves shared the efforts that the winery has made in creating holistic, sustainable and organic vineyards via composting, natural pest control, no chemicals in the farming, beneficial insects, animal grazing and soil maintenance. They spent twelve years educating themselves and visiting other wineries as they worked on their own sustainable program, and are now 100% organic.

Alves has 20 years of experience with Esporão. And Roquette’s family has owned the winery for two generations. Their workers are all part of the team, sharing in the work and benefits.

Their products, including olive oil and a craft brewery, express their agricultural place. Eighty percent of their products were originally sold in Portugal, now that percentage has gone down to thirty-five with the balance being sold internationally.

They do purchase some grapes beyond their estate for entry-level wine.And they produce 16 billion bottles per year, though their country is not large like Spain or France, more the size of Holland.

The Wines (Abbreviated technical sheet information, and finding some of the same tasting notes, are all in italics)

Esporão Colheita White 2020 / SRP $18

Concept: Wine produced solely from grapes grown at Herdade do Esporão, applying organic farming methods. Expresses the typical features of this vintage, diversity of the soil where the vines are planted, as well as the character and identity of the selected varieties.

Grape Varieties: Antão Vaz, Viosinho, Alvarinho and others. 13.5% alcohol

EB Notes: Golden Delicious yellow apple, white flower, lemon zest and green tea on the nose with flavors that were fresh and zesty, lemon, grapefruit and minerals with a long finish.

Esporão Reserva White 2020 / SRP $20

Concept: A classic wine obtained exclusively from our organic grapes. The diversity of Herdade do Esporão, together with the different characteristics of the grape varieties, the soils, the maturity of the vines and the character of those who make this wine consistently over the years, results in a rich, intense but always harmonious wine.

Grape Varieties: Antão Vaz, Arinto, Roupeiro and others. 13.5% alcohol.

Awards from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. 

EB Notes: Aromas of bruised fruit, incense and a surprise of mint followed by a mouth that reminded me of an older wine though it was young, balanced fruit, flint, smoke, muted but interesting.

Esporão Colheita Red 2018 / SRP $18

Concept: Wine with sense of place, intense, direct, and vibrant. Expresses the typical features of the vintage year, diversity of the soil where the vines are planted, as well as the character and identity of the selected varieties.

Grape Varieties: Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Touriga Franca, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet. 14% alcohol.

Awards from Wine Spectator.

EB Notes: Hello LEATHER on the nose, like a well-worn saddle! That blew off somewhat but still lingered with the addition of sweat, tree bark and dark fruit. On the palate I noted dry fruit, that same smoke, oak, Espresso and tannins.

Esporão Reserva Red 2018 / SRP $25

Concept: The first wine made by Esporão in 1985. Obtained from grapes grown at Herdade do Esporão, it shows the consistency and rich character typical of the best Alentejo wines.

Label illustrated by Anne Geene.

Grape Varieties: Aragonez, Trincadeira, Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante Bouschet. 14.5% alcohol.

High scores from Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast.

EB Notes: Earthy, dark fruit, velvety, fennel, green peppercorn, spice rack – very aromatic aromas. The taste had the same spicy qualities as well as a sweetness that counterbalanced all of the dark berry flavors, very long finish.

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Filed Under: Eve Bushman Tagged With: alcohol, Alicante Bouchet, alvarino, aroma, cabernet sauvignon, craft beer, estate, finish, flavor, fruit, organic, palate, portugal, red wine, robert parker, soil, spice, sustainable, Syrah, tannins, tasting notes, touriga nacional, variety, vintage, white wine, wine education, wine enthusiast, wine spectator, Wine tasting, winemaker

Winemaking in SCV: Since 1987 (Vintage Beacon Circa 6/09)

June 10, 2014 by evebushman

In wanting to find the oldest wine grapes grown in the Santa Clarita Valley, I remembered that Juan Alonso, owner of Le Chene French restaurant in Agua Dulce, had his own wines on his extensive 34-page wine list.  

Stephen Hemmert w/bottle, Juan Alonso

Stephen Hemmert w/bottle, Juan Alonso

I e-mailed Juan thinking starting with him was the best.  Yes, he had been making wine since 1987 and also sold grapes to other winemakers.  He invited my husband Eddie and me down for a visit, a tour and…a taste.

We knew our way to the “rock house” (as the restaurant had been dubbed years ago due to its rock-face façade) but never just for wine.  We had many meals in the dining room prior to the remodel when you could see the chef handcrafting soups through the little cutout in the wall, surprised our waitress by asking her to read the sealed letter from our obstetrician telling us the sex of our unborn child, had brunch and met Cameron Smythe for maybe the first time at Juan’s generous annual wine tasting benefiting SCV seniors.

Oh that this were an article about the food.  Suffice to say from the Escargot through to the rich French sauces thickly poured over your entree, pureed vegetables, cream of anything soups to Crème Brûlée and espresso – there is no finer French dining in our town.

And to go with it, Juan’s wine list has continuously been awarded the Wine Spectator magazine’s Best of Award of Excellence.

(From www.winespectator.com: Created to give special recognition to restaurants that clearly exceed the requirements of the Award of Excellence. These lists typically offer 400 or more selections, along with superior presentation, and display either vintage depth, with several vertical offerings of top wines, or excellent breadth across several wine regions.) We had our first Chateauneuf du Pape at Le Chene.

So here we were, just Juan, my husband Eddie and me, sitting at the rich oak bar about to taste from SCV’s oldest vines before a tour of the Alonso Family Vineyards.  I spied his newly designed Vinum Conservator (http://www.vinumconservator.com/about.html) that promised to be less work than hand pumping, less money than nitrogen systems and a couple of local wine establishments had recently purchased.

Juan deftly demonstrated the machine and we were happy to hear that he, and friend Alain Frochaux, were also working on a smaller version for private home use. “It allows you to sell a better bottle of wine every time.”  Juan said as he poured our tastes.

We tried Felix’s 2004 Cuvee, a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah and then the Felix Cuvee, with 100% Shiraz.  Juan leaves his grapes on the wines 2-3 weeks later than other vintners, taking advantage of a marine layer that ends at his property, and a different temperature.  Factors that shown in the perfect balance of the two wines we sampled, and agreed, would be the ones to order at our next Le Chene meal.

From there Juan took us to the vineyards that you can see dotting along Sierra Highway on your way north into the town of Agua Dulce.  Pulling my car in between the rows you could clearly tell two different grapes were being grown. This year alone Juan had Syrah, Grenache, Tempranillo, Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mencia, Alvarino (Spanish grape) and Chardonnay.

Then we drove a little bit more, back to where his home was, to see the larger area of vines clustered behind an ornately decorated gate.  As we toured these, and Juan’s gardens and home, we got to learn a little bit more about the man behind the vines.

“I learned about wine from my dad when we lived in Spain and in France,” Juan began. “He made it for himself and sold some.”

“I didn’t wait until I was 21 to taste what we grew.  We didn’t drink sodas, just watered down wine.  I would walk on the Cabernet grapes and my dad would stand by to make sure that the fumes didn’t make me pass out – which can happen.”

“Here I started with 100 vines from a nursery and am proud of them all today.  I can make up to 1200 cases. Laws do change, and I would prefer to process my grapes into wine and do the bottling.  I would have more control here instead of driving it elsewhere.”

As I took photos of the vines, and Juan, I had to put my notepad away.  It grew quiet.  My husband and Juan chatted amicably about his life’s work.  I was in awe.  Then Juan, without prompting, raised both his arms out as if to take in all that he had created and said, “These vines, this tour of them, you could be in France or Spain.  But it’s more about love than money, because what we see as ‘charming’ is a lot of ‘work’”.  And I was left grateful to Juan for doing that work for our community.

Filed Under: Eve Bushman Tagged With: agua dulce, alvarino, balance, bottling, cabernet sauvignon, Chardonnay, chef, France, grapes, Grenache, Merlot, Santa Clarita, Shiraz, spain, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo, vines, vintner, Wine tasting, winemaker

From Elite Magazine: SCV Winemakers Give Back To The Community

October 22, 2012 by evebushman

When I read all about the wonderful winemakers and beer makers that were highlighted in a story in Elite magazine, I asked for permission from Elite to reprint the story here on my site.  I hope you enjoy learning about how these local winemakers give back – and I see many of you at Sunset in the Vineyard on November 4.  Below the story is additional information sent to me by Jeannie Carpenter, who is co-chairing the event with Leila Rosenberger, as well as a link for tickets.

SCV Winemakers Give Back To The Community

Winemakers give to so many in a philan- thropic way, whether they donate their wine or help pour, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we at élite Magazine, wanted to focus on some of the generous people in SCV who we are proud to call our own, who have graciously given back to our community. We would also like to thank them for their giving spirit.

Whistling Vineyard

Roman Weiser

My fascination for wine goes back to my childhood. Born and raised in poorest of villages in Czechoslovakia, I often read about culinary arts and the amazing wines of France. In 1989, I said goodbye to Eastern Europe and hello to America.  In 2006, I trans- formed the east sloping hill behind my house covered with brush, into a vineyard of 75 plants of Syrah and 25 of Grenache. My wines are all natural, made from bio dynamically grown vines the old fashion way – grow, harvest, stomp, ferment and bottle.

Sharing wines with friends is fun. It is special however, to share the wines with friends while helping those less fortunate. I can relate to people who have very little or nothing at all. Offering my wines and participating in charity events in SCV is my way of giving back to the community that gave me so much.

Compa Vineyard

Jeannie, Chris & Tim Carpenter

Wine is meant to be shared, and we have been happy to share and donate to our community. My husband Chris and I began our journey into the world of wine in 1985. We attended small wine pairings. After many years of wine country visiting resulting in a cellar of outstanding wines, we constructed a temp controlled wine room. We decided to offer our wine to local charities; The Youth Orchestra, the SCV Senior Center Wine Auction, Boys & Girls Club to name a few.

In 2005 we planted a vineyard with my brother-in-law, Tim Carpenter, making wine with fellow enthusiasts. We reached out to my favorite charity: Assistance League of Santa Clarita and offered our home and adjacent vineyard for the fabulous fundraiser Sunset in the Vineyard. Bringing our love of wine, winemaking with friends and food together, it has been a great success!

Bouquet Vineyard

Danny & Nina Mascari

Nina and I are home winemakers, and call ourselves Bouquet Vineyard.  We own a four acre ranch property and planted one and a half acres in Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grape (approximately 1,000 vines) 18 years ago. We have been involved with Assistance League and “Sunset in the Vineyard” since the event was started. Nina and I enjoy supporting Assistance League, and do so by pouring our wines at this very unique event. Though we have been involved in other charitable wine events, this is the only event where we pour our own wines. Come stop by and try our Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Muscat, and Sangiovese wines.

Bobcat

Tomas &Jenny Lukas

Several years ago we were fortunate enough to meet several other home wine makers here in the SCV. Over the years we have developed a network of contacts through our group of friends, which has allowed us all to benefit by obtaining access to reliable grape growers, equipment and different views on the art of wine making.

Members of the wine making group also introduced us to participating in philanthropic events that were based around wine tasting. With many different vehicles available to a person who would like to donate time or money to a worthy cause, being able to give back with a wine that you worked hard to produce, make the effort seem even better. We are happy to say that we have participated in Sunset in the Vineyard since its inception along with many other local wine tasting events over the years and look forward to many years more.k

Nuggucciet  Estate Vineyard

Russ &Nancy Briley

Nuggucciet Cellars is a boutique winery producing very small quantities of pinot noir. Nancy and I have been very involved with the community especially in our younger years.

While we had to cut back on our community involvement, making wine has reintroduced us to helping serve non-profits and our community in another way. We have donated wine and poured at the Circle of Hope, Vine to Wine Classic, the Wine Affair, Sunset in the Vineyard and we were also the featured wine for the VIP dinner at the Jazz Festival held at Valencia Country Club last year.

One Vine Four Branches

Jeff Lippencott

I have been growing Syrah and Cabernet grapes in Hasley Canyon now for six years. I am only a hobbyist and enjoy the whole process from farming the vines until it’s poured in the glass several years later. I have been all over to learn and study all different types of wine and winemaking styles. Up until this year, my volume has been fairly low as the vines had yet reached maturity. Now that I am making a larger volume of wine my hope is to be able to offer my wine to charities and local fund raising events. My 2010 Syrah won a gold medal in the L.A. Cellar Masters home winemaking competition and a silver medal in Wine Makers Magazine home winemakers competition which is the largest of it’s kind in the world.

Pulchella Winery

Steve Lemley &Nate Hasper

Pulchella Winery is not only dedicated to producing world class, premium Paso Robles wines right here in the SCV, we are also very dedicated to supporting the local community that supports us. We are winemakers who allocate a large amount of wines each vintage to support many local charities and fund raisers. Many of these charities are managed by close friends of ours and their organizations’ income relies on events and fundraisers to keep their cause supported. It’s the least we can do for the SCV given all the support the winery and tasting room has received.

Kerry & Susie Clark

Two Hearts Cellars

Two Hearts Estate Vineyard is nestled in the rolling foothills north of Santa Clarita. We are “amateur” winemakers who make award-winning wines from our own grapes as well as from grapes that we source from around the globe. For us wine has always been about sharing. We feel fortunate that doing something we love to do can also help others. We are proud to donate our time and our wines to help our community.

We encourage wine fans and the wine curious to join us in enjoying and leaning about wine while supporting local charities. Looking forward to seeing you at the next event.

Alonso Family Vineyards

Juan Alonso

My father had vineyards when I was growing up and I thought it would be a great thing to do as well. I started with planting about 50 grapevines in 1995 and it just kept growing and growing. Every year, I kept planting more, and now I have about five acres in the Agua Dulce area. The vineyards are located near Le Chene Restaurant along Sierra Highway. We grow Grenache, Syrah, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alvarino and many other varietals.

I have been a part of the SCV Senior Wine Auction for 17 years, and also Sunset in the Vineyard, the Agua Dulce Fair and much more. I feel it is important to give back to the community… without the community you have no business, and I think it is important to share and to give.

Latest additions to the auction:

7-Day Cruise donated from the Princess Cruises Foundation
The artisans will donate a dinner & pizza for 10 with the winemakers.

Tickets are $65 in advance and $75 at the door.  For more information, contact Jeannie Carpenter at 661-255-5853 or e-mail ALsantaclarita@gmail.com. Information about Assistance League membership, philanthropic programs and community involvement can be found on their website www.assistanceleague-alsc.org.

Filed Under: Eve Bushman, Guests Tagged With: alvarino, cabernet sauvignon, elite magazine, grapes, Grenache, Merlot, muscat, Pinot Noir, pulchella winery, Sangiovese, Santa Clarita, Syrah, Tempranillo, Valencia Wine Company, Vine 2 Wine Classic, vines, vineyard, vintner, winemaker

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Eve Bushman, owner Eve’s Wine 101 and Eve Bushman Consulting.

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