Portuguese winemakers eye success with red wines

By Leslie Gevirtz

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Portuguese winemakers hope to replicate the success of their Vinho Verde, the slightly fizzy white wine that Americans guzzled by the case, with their red wines.

The challenge for the winemakers is to get Americans to taste something other than the Vinho Verde. Last year, they drank more than 105,000 cases - a 124 percent rise in consumption from 2005, according to Nielsen research.

"The U.S. consumer, in my opinion, is always looking for new things. They continue to look for new things to try and don't mind spending when the wine is worth it," said Antonio Franco, a member of the seventh generation of winemakers at the house of Jose Maria Da Fonseca.

Luckily for Americans even as the dollar weakens against the euro, most Portuguese wines sell for well under $20 a bottle.

And for city dwellers, who may lack the room for a proper wine cellar, most of it is meant to be consumed upon release. Of course, one can decide to lay down a case of Periquita Reserva 2004, a blend of Castelao, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, or Dao Sul Quinta de Cabriz Reserva 2005, for a few years, but it is not necessary.

Franco's uncle, Domingos Soares Franco, is the chief winemaker of the family and the first to graduate from the University of California at Davis, where he learned to "bring the technology of the new world to the grapes of Portugal," Franco said during a visit to New York.

The visit followed on the heels of the ViniPortugal trade association show that brought more than 60 winemakers, including Dao Sul's Carlos Lucas, the 2007 winner of Portugal's winemaker of the year, to New York to showcase their wines.

Most spoke of how they used native grapes such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Castelao and Tinta Roriz in elegant blends that reflect the native soils.