CORKAGE

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Portuguese wine and port tasting at The Harvard Club of Boston . Arranged by Harron and Associates , the event featured more than 33 different vineyards and wineries from all around Portugal.

While the country is undoubtedly known more for its ports and heavy reds, I chose the road less traveled and focused exclusively on whites. When many decide to zig, I choose to zag.

Among the many wines I enjoyed are:

• DOC Douro Adriano by Ramos Pinto
• Coroa d'Ouro DOC by Pocas
• Apegadas VQPRD by Quinta das Apegadas
• Paco de Teixeiro Regional by Montez Champalimaud
• Herdade Grande Vinho Regional
• Loios Regional by J. Portugal Ramos
• Fado Regional by Terras de Alter
• Cerejeiras Regional by Companhia Agricola o Sanguinhal
• Dona Maria Amantis Regional by Dona Maria Vinhos
• Gatao DOC by Sociedade dos Vinhos Borges

All were tasty in their own way, but two stood out for me:

• Gazela DOC by Sogrape Vinhos - This light, green-smelling Vino Verde is super fun to drink. It has a very refreshing, zesty finish that immediately reminded me of lemon/lime soda. Think about a light 7Up with a touch of alcohol. Buy this in the summer and you'll be a superstar!
• Arinto DOC by Manuel do Santos Campolargo - This is a fascinating, acidic white that flat out smells like poop! Not the typical "barnyard" smells you associate with some Rhone reds, but stinky diapers! Luckily its tastes much better than it smells! This one is NOT for the faint hearted among you.

Drinks are on me!