The summer months seem longer in the Alentejo than anywhere else.  Not just because watching grapes grow and ripen is a very slow process if followed day by day. Not just because of the anticipation and anxiety of guessing when the vintage will start, and bustling around the winery to get ready in time.   Not just because Portuguese school kids enjoy more than 3 months of never-ending summer holidays, and their parents enjoy a 1 month annual break.

The long daylight hours bursting with summer heat and sunshine, are followed by the magical summer nights, when the Alentejans emerge from their thick white walled houses to enjoy the fragrant balmy evening breezes until the wee dawn hours, visit the local popular fairs held in each village by turn, or for the true ‘aficionados’- watch a local bullfight.

An escape to the chilling Atlantic seaside is one of the highlights of the summer months for all Alentejans, whether it is to enjoy a prolonged family holiday in a rented Algarve apartment, or just a snatched Sunday drive to the closer and less crowded rugged Alentejan west coast, where the waters stay chilly all year round, and the seafood is divine!

Another one of the great pleasures of the Portuguese summer is the abundance of luscious local fruit.  Strawberries in the start of the summer are followed in quick succession by cherries, peaches, …

(Following our last post about Fruit Set and the Grapes - the ‘Stars’ of the Vintage - we think it is time to give some long overdue recognition to the real workhorse of the vineyard - the shoots and leaves!)

Let’s hear it for all the hard work that the shoots and leaves have been up to! Ever since budbreak in February, more than 3 months ago, they have been on an adrenlin rush to grow - upwards and outwards! On the Smart Dyson high trellis system which is practiced at Cortes de Cima, some shoots are already over 1 meter in length, which means that the leaf canopy is over 2 meter high!  (Overheard shoot conversation: “Ha Ha, Shorty! Beat you!”)

Now with the summerheat upon us, bringing increasing temperatures and falling soil humidity, the breakneck pace of growth of this leafy foilage is finally starting to slow, the perfect time for our ladies to get out there and whip them into shape through shoot positioning.   The vineyard workers must manually position the shoot within the trellis wires in order to expose the fruit hanging beneath,  opening  up the canopy on the east side to the morning sun, and leaving them protected on the west - shading the fruit from the harsh rays of the afternoon sun.  The advantages are manifold, but most important is the need to spray less, …

Following the heady days in early May, when the vines were fully focused during flowering with their ardous lovemaking task of pollination - we can now report that one month later, ‘fruit set’ is complete!  The emerging grape bunches of the 2009 harvest are here!  Meet Vintage ‘09, out there hanging on the vines!

Those sucessfully fertilized berries, the lucky ones with 2 or more fertilized seeds, are in there for the long haul - a growing season typically lasting 110-120 days, while the other unfertilized berries have fallen off.  (Overheard grape conversation: “Ha,Ha! Loosers!”)

Now, it’s up to the fertilized fruit to hang on in there and grow!  They are still in the early stage of grape development - cell division, which will soon come to an end and be followed by cell enlargment, as the grapes swell.  Now and in the period up to veraison, they are busy acquiring both malic and tartaric acid as well as tannins, to protect themselves from the birds. (Overheard bird conversation: “Yuck! These grapes taste terrible! Got to wait for the sugar before we start eatting them!”)

But, it’s not just about fruit, so we will talk about the shoots and leaves in our next post…

Love is in the air in the vineyard! The vines are busy getting it on…in other words - flowering has started! Like humans, vines find it easier to get in the mood for love, if the temperature is warm and the breezes are gentle and caressing. Rain and windy cold weather during flowering turns them off to their lovemaking task, and poor pollination, and a reduced crop can result.

Following budbreak in late February, the vines work hard for 2 long months of photosynthesis and rapid shoot growth, to gather the vigor needed for this sex marathon.  March and April in the Alentejo this year, have been warm and dry with average temperatures of 14ºC/57ºF and accumulated rainfall of 86mm. While the first half of May so far, has been excellent flowering weather, with average temperatures of 18ºC/64ºF and only 10mm rainfall.  Temperatures of 16ºC/59ºF are the starting gun for flowering to begin -  ’Hey you vines out there! - ‘Let’s get it on!’

Vitis Vinifera have a very ‘KINKY’ side to their sex life.  They are hermaphroditic, or self-pollinators, possessing in the same plant the male stamens (which contain the pollen) and the female ovaries.  That surely explains why their flowers are not more exuberant - you have to examine a vine plant closely to even see them! No need for them to attract strange lovers! They would …

Last weekend was a holiday in Portugal,  Revolutionary Day -  25th April, 1974 -  35 years ago!   We flew down to Lagos in Hans’ Cessna 182 to enjoy a day at the seaside, and went to one of our favourite restaurants, O Camilo, perched on the cliff top behind Lagos.  We brought a present for our friends the restaurant owners, Francisco José, Rui Machado and Joaquim  - the first ever bottle of Chaminé tinto in a Magnum bottle  (1.5 liters)!

How lovely to sit on the cliff top admiring the fine views over Lagos bay, dining on freshly caught, grilled local fish and drinking a well chilled Chaminé branco with it’s spicy, delicate fruit flavors of melon and lime, and day-dreaming of the history which has been played out in this large bay below.

Lagos is an ancient marine town first settled more than 2,000 years ago by the Carthaginians, followed by Romans, Visigoths, and Moors, who arrived in the 8th century and stayed until 1241.  Home to Henry the Navigator in the 15th century,  many a Discoverer set sail from here.  It was completely destroyed in 1755 by the big earthquake and tsunami.  Famous naval battles took place in this bay we are gazing upon from our splendid vantage point,  i.e. in …

Last harvest we were honoured to receive a visit by Henrik, His Royal Highness The Prince Consort of Denmark. Following the vineyard and winery tour to observe the busy harvest activities, the Prince Consort and his entourage were treated to a sumptuous lunch prepared by Chef Bjarne Otto, which culminated with a dessert based on our own Cortes de Cima Olive Oil,  and other local ingredients, such as honey, almonds and lemons. Chef Otto promised the royal visitors he would share his recipes.

In Portugal, our Olive Oil is available online from Cortes de Cima or at shops such as El Corte Inglés or  Apolonia and Baptista.  Internationally, it also distributed in Canada, Brazil, Germany, USA,  Holland , Poland and Macau.

CORTES DE CIMA OLIVE OIL CAKE

2 dl Cortes de Cima Olive Oil

Peel and juice of 2 large Lemons

250 g Flour

8 large Eggs, separated into yolk and whites

2 dl Honey

1 dl  Chaminé White Wine

250g chopped Almonds

Sauce:

200 g Strawberries (fresh or frozen)

100 g sugar

1 dl Chaminé Red Wine

Whip the egg yolks with Honey; add the Cortes de Cima Olive Oil, the Chaminé White …

I have just returned to a verdant spring vineyard, following a busy 3 days at Prowein, Dusseldorf. Prowein is the only annual intl. wine trade where we exhibit our wines. Forget the crowds and long weary days of Vinexpo or London Wine Trade Fair! Prowein, is our venue of choice - a compact, no nonsense trade fair - in true German fashion!

For us, it is a great chance to meet and talk to distributors from Northern Europe, like VIF (Germany), Martel (Switzerland), HJHansen (Denmark), VinUnic (Sweden), Partners in Wijn (Holland), and the most recent Fondberg (Norway). Occasionally, we even meet up with importers from further afield, such as TriVin (New York), or make a new contact for E. Europe or Asia.
Prowein this year, was also a good opportunity for us to measure the effect the global economic crisis is having on our export markets. We gauged a mood of cautious optimism, and continued interest in our own well established brands, such as Chaminé and Cortes de Cima, “who can deliver value and punch above their price point. ”
The view emerged that the “crisis might actually be good for the wine trade, as it would sweep away overpriced wines and bargain-basement brands. “Hopefully it will go back to being about …