Recommendation: Not recommended.
Winery/Producer: ITO Wines; Hammondsport, New York
Grape Variety: Blend – 45% Touriga Nacional, 45% Touriga Franca and 10% Alicante Bouschet.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Portugal
Vintage: 2014
Price: $17.99 (plus shipping)
Purchased From: Traveling Vineyard wine tasting
Paired With: Pesto chicken pizza with caramelized onions and fennel, sauteed mushrooms and goat cheese; green salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Tasting:
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He said: Open and decanted 90-minutes before drinking. Opaque, inky dark purple color. Zero aroma except for a whiff of alcohol. Juicy dark fruit flavors led to a long finish that was dry, with slightly grippy tannins and absolutely loaded with juicy fruit. Not much to say about the way it starts, but from mid-palate to the end it was packed with dry jammy fruit flavors. Just OK with the pizza, but not good sipping without food. Disappointing for a Portuguese red wine.
She said: Opaque, dark ruby red color with many quickly moving legs. Very mild aroma dominated by an alcohol scent. The flavors were fruity and accompanied by a thin, dry, harsh, acidic mouth-feel. The finish was long and dominated by tannins and ended with a touch of bitterness. The wine was agreeable with the pizza and even the salad, but was not great sipping without food. It was one-dimensional and a bit harsh so I would look around at this price point, especially since Portuguese wines are generally a great value and $18 should buy an excellent Portuguese wine.
This wine comes from Traveling Vineyard, a company that buys juice from all over the world, processes it, bottles it, and then sells it through parties, like “Tupperware”. The parties are hosted in homes and directed by a Wine Guide from the Traveling Vineyard Company. There are a variety of wines available from the company but only five are presented at each party, accompanied with food pairings provided by the hostess. The wines are all $25 or less, but be forewarned, shipping costs on one or two bottles are inhibitive. The way around this is to get together with several other participants and buy a dozen bottles in one person’s name to reduce the shipping costs to a reasonable amount.
Alcohol: 13.9%
UPC Code: NA
Imported by: ITO Wines; Santa Rosa, California.
Photo from Traveling Vineyard.