Esporão Reserva 2019

To be a successful student of wine one must have more than a passing interest in geography. Whether the grapes were sourced from vineyards throughout the entire country, or from within the boundaries of a single village, the wine’s geographic origin is always on the label. Afterall, no factor contributes more to the wine quality than the terroir. Even wine store aisles are most often organized by winemaking regions.

So for many wine connoisseurs, simply reading ‘Alentejo’ on a label is enough to send them into a state where, between sips, they are searching maps or imagining scenes of idyllic vineyards in Southern Portugal. The more serious they become about their wine studies, the less satisfied they are merely invisioning vineyards in their minds. They want to experience those vineyards themselves. Before long, they find themselves booking flights to Lisbon.

The wineries of Alentejo understand the joy wine people get from touring wineries and vineyards. The eno-tourism industry in their corner of the world is thriving. Just southeast of Lisbon and north of the resort-laden coastal region of the Algarve, Alentejo is an easy side trip to a Portuguese vacation, or a destination in itself.

Esporão, one of the founding members of the Alentejo wine route, has been exporting their wines worldwide since 1989. So, while you should absolutely visit the winery to best experience this wine, you don’t have to. The Esporão Reserva, a powerful red made from a blend of local grapes, is often available both at the SAQ and LCBO and other wine retailers throughout Canada.