With Euro Cup now over and the mighty Portuguese are resting up for another year I thought I should talk about a great Portuguese winery that is literally kicking things up.
The winery is Herdade de São Miguel located in the south part of Portugal in region know as Alentejo. Within Alentejo, the property is in the municipality of Redondo.
Winemaker/Owner Alexandre Relvas is certainly doing his part to be sustainable. However, I was surprised to learn that there is a donkey shortage in Portugal, mainly the ‘Mirandela’ donkey species that is considered to be the oldest donkey species in Portugal. Back in the old days before machines, this donkey was used to plow and till the farm. Over the years, automation has slowly taking over and sadly, farmers stopped breeding this donkey. However, the winery is doing their part to keep this animal from becoming extinct by having about 12 donkeys roam the property at their leisure. The donkeys are well received by locals and visitors to the winery.
Most people think of cork being coming extinct but this winery did their part by planting 100,000 cork trees back in 1998 and 1999 as well. There is definitely no cork shortage here.
Grapes planted here are mostly Aragonez (aka Tempranillo), indigenous Portuguese varieties as well as some Syrah.
Currently in Vintages at the LCBO is the 2010 Montinho Sao Miguel Reserva, a red blend which is a steal at $15.00. Look for white and black pepper notes with a spicy vanilla edged palate. This wine would pair perfectly with burgers on the BBQ or a nice flank steak.
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