Ep 563: Alentejo, Portugal -- Original Blends, Great Value

Wine for Normal People

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

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week I go in depth on one of the best value regions of Portugal -- Alentejo. These wines are mainly blends and they are as easy on the palate as they are on the wallet -- a perfect combo!

Photo: Vineyards in Alentejo outside of Évora. Credit: WFNP

Located in southern Portugal, a two hour drive east of Lisbon, Alentejo is huge -- representing almost one-third of the Iberian nation. Although in the past the region was known only as the breadbasket of Portugal and as the world's largest supplier of cork (nearly half of the world’s corks come from Alentejo's cork trees), today the region is experiencing a wine renaissance. After a rocky history, Alentejo has grown and its reputation has expanded with it.

Known for fruity, lush and plush red blends (about 75% of the wine) of grapes like Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez (Tempranillo), Trincadeira, Alfrochero, and Castelão, there are some higher end versions that sometimes contain Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah as well. The whites are in the minority and are fruity, soft, yet balanced blends as well. The tropical, tangerine noted and soft Antão Vaz is Alentejo’s most important white with Arinto used for acidity, Fernão Pires for aroma and soft textures and Roupeiro for aroma as well.

Map: Rota dos Vinhos, from the Wines of Alentejo

This show covers all the bases on this fascinating region -- from its turbulent history to the climate, terroir, and the many DOPs that each have a distinct identiy.

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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.
0:15.7	I'm your host Elizabeth Schneider, author of the Wine for Normal People book and certified wine dork.
0:21.6	This show is brought to you by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access.
0:25.9	Wine ACC-C-C-E-S-S dot com slash normal is the place where you can join my wine club
0:31.6	and get six awesome bottles for just $150 four times a year.
0:36.0	That includes shipping.
0:37.2	Or you can just go on Wine Access as site at Wine Access.com slash WFMP. just $150 four times a year. That includes shipping.
0:41.6	Or you can just go on Wine Access's site at Wine Access.com slash WFMP.
0:44.1	It is the place to discover your next favorite bottle.
0:45.6	Incredible values.
0:48.4	Free shipping on orders of $150 or more.
0:49.4	You can't go wrong.
0:52.0	Go to Wine Access.com slash normal today.
0:59.7	Last week, the show was on Margot. I'm excited to be doing this deep dive into different parts of Bordeaux, started out with San Amalian at the beginning of the year, did Margo, and now
1:03.9	I'm going to tackle one a month, and I've got it planned out through the end of the year.
1:07.8	So we're going to learn a lot about Bordeaux and mostly because I like
1:11.6	to let you all know that even things that seem like they are inaccessible are accessible
1:17.3	in wine once you know about them. But one thing that is super accessible in wine are the wines of
1:24.0	Portugal. And I thought for the longest time that I had done a podcast on Alentejou,
1:30.4	which is the southern third essentially of Portugal. I have been there. And I guess that I covered it
1:37.4	as part of a recap of a trip, but I've never done a deep dive into it. And I think that it's
1:43.0	really important. And I'll tell you why.
	...

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