Explorers Club
February 2025

Over the past two years we have only featured two wines from Portugal in the Explorers Club but it is a country that is starting to produce a lot of world class wines so it bears more exploration. I should be clear that the lack of selection is not due to limited selection, but rather that much of what I taste from Portuguese producers are wines made to have mass appeal. Primarily a reference to red wines these are bottles I describe in my notes as “stylized” meaning a lot of extraction, copious amounts of oak and typically high alcohol. Thankfully there are a number of winemakers who are turning away from such production methods and utilizing their numerous indigenous grape varieties to produce wines that are more authentic to their place of origin. As a good introduction to this category I have selected two wines from the same winemaker, João Portugal Ramos, who is crafting authentic wines across the country that are a beacon for other producers. To understand the wines of Portugal we need to first understand the unique history of production in this country and why they are finally making their way onto the world stage. 

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