This Portugal red wine offers a bang for your buck
After tasting Herdade Do Rocim’s touriga nacional, I was seriously thinking of changing the name of my winecelebrating holiday, the Feast of the 7 Delicious, to the Elite 8.
Whatever the occasion, there’s always room for one more great bottle of wine.
This is $19.99 of deliciousness in your glass from Portugal, where the quality-to-price ratio is the name of the game.
Touriga nacional is the name of Portugal’s most important grape, as it is also used to make their prized fortified port wines.
This wine is made from 100% touriga nacional grapes, giving it abundant blueberry pie and elderberry flavors to go along with the enticing raspberry aromas.
Food isn’t really a requirement to enjoy this bottle; however, I loved how it paired with homemade chorizostuffed dates, Carmona olive mix from Krieger’s Market and Prairie Breeze cheese, which I discovered at Western Reserve Wines in Solon.
On a side note, Heinen’s in Brecksville also carries this tasty Iowa cheese from Milton Creamery, which is quickly becoming my new favorite. It enhances many of the red wines that I sample for this column.
I also thought this was the perfect bottle to try with a carry-out order from Alejandro’s Amigos Taqueria in Stow. The grilled chicken bowl with black beans, rice, lettuce, avocado, cilantro, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and sour cream was filling and tasty. It was fabulous with this Portuguese wine. The guacamole, chips and salsa are also top notch.
Buy this wine at Beau’s Market in Copley, Krieger’s Market in Cuyahoga Falls, Cornerstone Market in Munroe Falls, HomeBuys in North Canton, Western Reserve Wines in Solon, Heinen’s in Rocky River and Flight Wine Bar in Cleveland.
Cheers to 2024!
Papa Joe’s annual champagne dinner at 7 p.m. Dec. 29 in Merriman Valley is a great way to celebrate the arrival of 2024. The $150 five-course dinner also includes a welcome pour of Laurent Perrier Brut.
Chef Joe Alvis and his staff always do a masterful job with the food pairings.
“Laurent Perrier and Palmer & Co. are some of my favorite Champagnes,” said co-owner Jeff Bruno. “Both are incredible and reasonably priced. All of the sparkling wines at the dinner are under $100 and drink tremendously.”
For reservations, call 330-9237999.