It seems Quinta de Gomariz continues it’s campaign of winning over US wine drinkers! The 2009 Alvarinho has been selected as the best candidate for Alvarinho on the website  “Fifty Best Wines,” a division of “The Fifty Best.” . It also recently received 90 POINTS from Wine & Spirits Magazine, as well as being selected as a “Best Buy” for the second year in a row. As summer continues to heat up across the US, the Alvarinho is a great choice for your summer BBQ’s, whether pairing with chicken, pork, ceviche or fresh seafood. So, if you’re looking for amazingly fresh white wine, check out the Quinta de Gomariz Alvarinho!

Cheers,

Michael

We’re very pleased to announce that after several years of hard work and determination from Oscar Quevedo and ourselves, the amazing port wines from Quevedo are available on US soil! These incredible ports, as well as a still red wine which is a special project of Oscar’s, are being sold in Pennsylvania through the PLCB, as well as a very limited quantity online through www.flickingerwines.com. While a relatively young company, Quevedo is already making a name for itself for producing ports as good as any of the “big names,” and were included in the Wine Enthusiasts March 2010 issue on port producers. They have also been very well received by  Roy Hersh of “For The Love of Port” (FTLOP) and the Quevedo Vintage 2007 was included in his amazing review of the 2007 vintage. Whether you are a port expert, novice, or just looking to learn more about port, I highly recommend you visit the FTLOP website as there is an amazing wealth of information available, and subscribers to the FTLOP newsletter always have the most up-to-date info there is on port in the US.

Our hats are off to Oscar for staying determined and not giving up on the US market, especially in the tough ongoing economic conditions!

–Michael

It seems Portuguese producer Quinta de Gomariz isn’t finished yet! After being recognized as one of the “Top Portuguese Value Brands” in the June issue of Wine and Spirits for their 2008 vintage, the 2009 vintage looks to be just as impressive. As reported by Decanter, Quinta de Gomariz swept the board at this years Vinho Verde awards, bringing home the “Best Of” awards for their Avesso and Branco wines, as well as six gold medals and two silver medals for their various other wines. Equally impressive is the fact that Quinta de Gomariz released their first wines in 2005, so this comes as a huge accomplishment for such a young producer. We’re very excited and extremely happy for the team at Quinta de Gomariz and can’t wait to see what the future holds for this amazing producer- Congratulations!!!

Cheers,

Michael

It has been a year this month since we first started importing the amazing wines from Quinta de Gomariz, and they are already making a name for themselves! In the recently released June issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine, both the 2008 Alvarinho and 2008 Loureiro were recognized as “Top 100 Values of the Year” and the winery itself was recognized as one of two “Top Portuguese Value Brands.”

This is quite an honor for such a young winery- the first vines were planted in 1999 and their first harvest was in 2004. We’re very excited to be working with such an up and coming producer, especially as the Vinho Verde region gains more attention in the media and the competition stiffens. We’ve been fortunate enough to be working with Vitor Mendes from Vinixa, who has been instrumental in helping to make these wines available in the US.

I will be in New York City next week for an event hosted by the Vinho Verde Commission and will be pouring these fantastic wines, so if you live or work in New York please register for the event and make sure to stop by and try the new 2009 vintage!

Cheers,

Michael

World renowned wine figure Jancis Robinson recently tasted several wines from one of our Spanish producers, Coto de Gomariz. She tasted both the 2008 Blanco and the 2008 “X” Albariño and seemed to enjoy them enough to feature them as her “wine of the week” picks on her website, www.jancisrobinson.com. While the region of Rias Baixas is still gaining popularity for it’s Albariño’s, Coto de Gomariz is located in nearby D.O. Ribeiro where treixadura is the grape of choice for producing crisp and complex white burgundy-esque wines. Wonderful acidity and mineralty due to the granite and schist soils make these wines a fantastic summer wine, especially when pairing alongside seafood and shellfish. I recently had a glass of the Blanco with the Bonito del Norte Salad from the Garces Trading Co. in Philadelphia and it was incredible. (Sorry Chef Garces, Cat Cora is still my favorite Iron Chef!)

While Jancis’ recent post mentioned that the Coto de Gomariz wines aren’t available in the US, I assure you they are, albeit in small quantities. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board carries both the 2008 Blanco and “X” Albariño, along with another one of their white wines, the 2007 Colleita Seleccionada.  They also carry three fascinating red wines from the same producer using other native varieties such as Mencia, Brancellao, Ferrol, Sousón and Caiño. The 2008 Coto de Gomariz Blanco will also be available very soon for order through Flickingerwines.com who is set up to ship to any state where direct shipping of alcohol is allowed. So, if you live in Pennsylvania or nearby bordering states, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding these amazing wines at your nearest PLCB wine store. If you’re not located near to any of these stores, I encourage you to visit Flickingerwines.com and see their entire listing of amazing wines from all over the world.

Cheers,

Michael