Page 29 - Code de Vino, #17/23, a/w 2018

28 Personalia Code de Vino #17 Code de Vino #17 Jorge Monteiro, Head of the ViniPortugal association 29
— Wines of Portugal has been on the Russian market for a are less knowledgeable on average. In China, we need to explain — First of all, we must understand that 150–200 years ago,
while now. What are your impressions working in Russia? what wine is and where Portugal is located so people can we didn't have the technical possibilities and knowledge we have
What do you expect from these efforts, how do you define understand. But in Russia, we don't need to explain any of this. now. For starters, this is historically connected to the fact that
your tasks in Russia, and what do you think of the Russian winemakers are people who work based on their own
market? experiences as tasters. Sometimes grapes are grown mixed
— What is the most important thing you want your Russian in vineyards as well.
— We collaborated closely with the Russian market until 2011, consumers to know about Portuguese wines?
but in 2011 we suspended our operations here. Now, in 2018, Of course, in bad weather, some vines bring more grapes,
Wines of Portugal has revised its business strategy, reconsidered — That wine is a complex product, a product of culture. To enjoy some less, and diseases may attack one variety but leave another
a great deal of what guided us in the past, and strategically wine, you need to be knowledgeable about it. If you think you're unaffected. All this provided the historical basis for the process,
reentered the Russian market. already experienced in wines but you want to learn more and go meaning it was simply the way people survived. It helped make
on tasting, developing both your knowledge and your taste, their business more stable and balanced.
Portugal is the perfect place to start. I can't say our quality
is second to none, we'll discuss that further on, but we have
distinctive wines that are quite different from others and offered — Port wines are probably the world's most blended
at appealing prices. in terms of varieties. Is there anywhere else in the world
that can beat Portugal in this respect?

— Now for a question about recent developments In the vineyards of the Colares region there — That's true. Nobody is like us, especially in the old historical
in Portuguese winemaking. Looking at the situation are still old plots unaffected by phylloxera wine regions. Our blends are the richest and most varied, making
in neighboring Spain, we can say for sure that within the wine that's more complex and interesting.
last 30 years Spanish wines have shown a drastic change
for the better. What does the picture look like in Portugal? As for modern wines, there is less and less blending going on
What are your thoughts on the ongoing changes and wine — Yes, white wines from the Bairrada region show very good in general. Opportunities continue to grow, and oenologists prefer
quality dynamics in Portugal? aging results. Here the most popular varieties are Fernão Pires, working with unblended wines. Meanwhile, we have over 250
Bical, Arinto and Cercial. But if you're talking about autochthonous varieties, which are just the ones we've identified.
— In Portugal, we're major traditionalists. But Portugal has also modernization, red wines were the first to be developed. Only 70 of them are produced and sold consistently.
certainly entered the globalization stage, which first and foremost later did the production of white aged wines begin. In Douro,
affected production technologies. Over the past years, our winery for example, we have wines made from three autochthonous
equipment has underwent considerable modernization, which varieties: Rabigato, Viosinho and Malvasia. This is a typical Douro
is a huge advantage. But we still stick strongly to our traditions. blend. These wines have high aging potential. But even in
Alentejo, we are now making age-worthy white wines. Last week
in Toronto, I drank a 2014 white Meandro from Douro (produced
— Do you mean the style of wines? by Quinta do Vale Meão). It was 4 years old, and it was excellent.
— Yes, the style, and most importantly, the preservation of
Now we see the Russian market as a consumer, as people who autochthonous varieties. For example, Arinto, Touriga Nacional, — Here's a question for you as a Port wine specialist and
are ready to learn about more complicated wines and who have Baga, Trincadeira... we have big plans to go on working with former head of the Port Wine Institute (Instituto dos Vinhos
already reached a new level. In other words, there's a certain these grapes and preserve them. We offer modern wines. They do Douro e Porto). There is something Russian consumers
culture of wine consumption here we understand very well. are very balanced in terms of price, which we learned how fail to understand about Port wines: why are there are
That is essential. to influence with our abundance of autochthonous varieties. so many varieties in this blend? There can be up
to 40 different grapes. Why is this so?
Regardless of all the work done, if we consider the average
situation, Russian consumers believe wine should be rather — In terms of Portugal's ancient vineyards, are there
simple and cheap. Thus, our main goal is to change their mind. any regions with vineyards and varieties not affected
And we're working on it. We want to show off our 14 regions, by Grape Phylloxera?
our key varieties and the native grapes we're so proud of.
— Very few. For example, in the Colares region near Lisbon,
We aren't on the Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon where Rabisco, an old red grape, is grown and used to make very
bandwagon: we promote our own grapes. Therefore, our first interesting wines. In the Douro Valley, there are remote areas with
priority task is to invest a lot of effort and time in education. very sandy soil which were the least affected by Phylloxera than
As a part of these efforts, we organize various wine events in other areas; the insect did not spread here to any great extent. — Are they strictly Portuguese, or Iberian varieties?
in Russia. People must understand how everything is organized, There are also some regions in Portugal where there is no need
how blends are made, what varieties exist and what their names to graft thanks to their sandiness. Today, we have so-called — Initially they were Iberian. But Spain has done a good job
are. These are the main issues we're working on. Pe Franco wines from ungrafted vines, as in the majority of areas creating the illusion of disappearance. We should mention it has
American rootstock was used. But it is traditionally believed that been proven that the majority of wild vines are located in Portugal,
such wines are worse, less stable and less predictable. which really tells you something. Regardless of the fact that we
— What market can you compare Russia to in terms But frankly speaking, these cases are few and far inbetween. promote the product, there is also a private association which
of knowledge level and sales volume? Colares near Lisbon is the most well-known. studies domestic winemaking and vines. The ViniPortugal
President is also the President of this organization's research
— For us, we see it as an emerging and developing market council. This ties back to what I said earlier: we not only promote
in need of a little training. We'd place it above the Chinese, — Are there any Portuguese white wines in particular the product, but introduce and educate the public about
but below the markets of Sweden and Norway because people worth mentioning? it as well.