Ep 549: The Grape Mini-Series --Touriga Nacional

Wine for Normal People

Alcohol, Lifestyle, Arts, Education, Food, Wine, Dining, Grapes

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Touriga Nacional is, beyond a doubt, the most important, praised, and discussed red grape in Portugal. An essential part of Port and the dry wines of the regions of Dão and Douro, this powerful grape has spread throughout Portugal and has captured the imagination of winemakers from Australia to South Africa to California and more.

Photo: Touriga Nacional. Credit: Unsplash

In this show, I go through the highlights of this beautiful grape and talk about how it went from near extinction to the Queen grape of Portugal.

I review the origins, vineyard habits, aromas and flavors, and then discuss the specific places the grape grows and why it thrives where it does.

Touriga is not just a fantastic grape, it will be an important factor in dealing with our changing climate. Take a listen to the show and see why this grape is so outstanding.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Wine for Normal People, the podcast for people who like wine, but not the snobbery that goes with it.
0:15.8	I'm your host Elizabeth Schneider, author of the Wine for Normal People book and certified wine dork.
0:21.4	This podcast is brought to by Wine Wine Access, my exclusive sponsor. Go to Wine Access.com
0:27.4	slash normal and join the Wine for Normal People, Wine Access Wine Club. Six bottles selected by
0:34.6	me and the Wine Access team are shipped to you four times a year for $150.
0:39.7	You will not find a better value for better wines.
0:42.7	Check it out today, wineaccess.com slash normal and listen in the middle of the show for more
0:47.0	details.
0:48.8	I know the great mini series is a favorite for a lot of you.
0:53.4	So here it is this time, a grape that if you are not
0:58.3	familiar with Portuguese wine, you may think is super obscure. I'm here to tell you that this
1:04.7	grape is not only important to Portugal and to port, but also to the entire wine world. It's going to have increasing
1:14.1	importance as the climate starts to change. Tariga Nacional is the queen grape. Every region or
1:23.6	country has its star red grape. And in Portugal, without a doubt, it is Tariga Nacional. It is not
1:29.6	the most widely grown grape, but it is absolutely royalty here. When we think about Tariga
1:36.3	Nacional, we need to think about it in league with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Surrah, Nebolo,
1:43.6	San Jovese. It is actually often compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, sarah, nebriolo, sangeau.
1:44.7	It is actually often compared to Cabernet Sauvignon.
1:48.1	We'll talk about that when we talk about the aromas and flavors.
1:51.7	Tariga is essential in the fortified wines of port.
1:56.4	It is really important in the regions of the Tao and the Doro,
2:00.7	which I will tell you more about,
	...

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