Quinta das Carvalhas

This beautiful wine and the food to pair it with

Quinta das Carvalhas is known for their port wines. But little did I know how incredibly special their still white wines were. There are documented references about their vineyard dating back to 1759. The property sits on the left bank of the Douro River in a town that is prized for high quality wines, Pinhão. Pinhão is located in the central sub-region of the Douro Valley called the Cima Corgo. The Quinta is located on the left bank of the Douro river, but it also has some land on the slopes of the right bank off of the River Torto.

Map by Kate

Sadly, a horrible louse called phylloxera destroyed most of the European vines in the late 1800’s and the Douro Valley was no exception. Most vineyards in the area were burned or ripped up. It wasn’t until the 1881 that the vineyards of Quinta das Carvalhas were purchased and brought back to life. The vineyards were replanted by the prominent Port bottler of the 1880’s, Sousa Guedes. Today the property is one of the largest estates in the Douro Valley.

It is a special place in which many microclimates exist. The locations where the vines are grown make a big difference in the characteristics of the wines. Their vineyards range from 80-500 meters above sea level. Some vines are facing the north and some the south. The Quinta has 134.5 hectares of vines, 74.5 hectares are planted with a northern sun exposure and 60 hectares are planted with a southern sun exposure. The grapes for this wine were grown at the highest altitudes of their vineyards.

Carvalhas Branco

Branco refers to the wine being white. This wine was first created back in 2010. The winemakers wanted to made a Douro white wine that would lead the pact. They used traditional white varieties, Viosinho and Gouveio. I will be impressed if you had heard of these varieties before or had them. I had not and I study and focus on Portuguese wines.

I mentioned before, these grapes are grown at the highest altitudes, (400m) in small areas of their vineyard. These white grapes benefit from cool breezes which help with the ripening process. The Douro Valley can get very hot and dry in the summer, so altitude really matters with these varieties as do cool breezes. The altitude and breezes can help slow down ripening which otherwise may be too quick for these grapes.

Viosinho adds structure to the blend, it also interacts well with oak. Gouveio brings acidity, freshness and minerality to the wine. These grapes work in harmony to bring a delicious wine that can be aged up to 15 years. This is a fuller bodied white wine that has a complex and delicious aroma and flavor profile.

Visual tasting note by Kate

What to pair with this gorgeous Douro Branco

I love this wine with fish. It is such a food friendly wine, you can almost not go wrong. I drank this bottle over the span of two nights. I made two very different fish dishes and each one complimented the wine in unique and exciting ways. When I make these dishes I don’t measure, I do it by taste. So below are recipe ingredients and how I prepared them for the dishes, but go by your taste when finalizing the flavors. I paired both fish dishes with farro cooked in chicken stock. I added in spinach, broccoli and onions I had sautéed in butter at the end to the farro. It makes an easy side dish, but even rice works well. The fish and wine are the stars here.

Sable fish

For the sable fish, salt and pepper the fillet, slice lemons or oranges place on the fish and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your fish and your oven temperature.

While the fish bakes, put sesame oil, good olive oil, and salted butter in a pan. Let it melt at a medium - low heat. Grate in about 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger and 2 teaspoons of turmeric. This is rough, go by taste later on, you cannot mess a sauce up, just add other ingredients to balance it. I added two peppers, I had serrano peppers, but jalapeño peppers work also and a clove of chopped garlic. I sautéed them for a couple of minutes then added in soy sauce, approximately a 1/2 cup, then maple syrup, approximately 1 tablespoon and the juice of half an orange. This is where taste comes in, dip a finger or spoon in, is it too sweet, spicy, salty? Add more of the ingredients to counter this. If you feel like it is missing something, try adding a splash of white wine vinegar. Then I always add freshly ground pepper towards the end. Once the fish is out of the oven, I plate it and pour a generous amount of sauce over the fish. It melts in your mouth and pairs incredibly with this wine. I know you will enjoy it.

Sockeye salmon

This dish is our go-to salmon dish. I make this at least once a week. Salt and pepper the fish. I take a spoonful (or two) of dijon mustard, depending on how big your fillets are, coat the entire fish. I then take fresh parmesan cheese and with fresh parsley I pulse them in my spice grinder. I use quite a bit, so start with a handful of fresh parsley and about a cup of parmesan. You want to coat the entire fish with this mixture on top of the mustard. I bake the fish at 400 for 15 minutes. Then I broil the top to get it a little browned. The photo above was taken right before I broiled it. If you want to dive in and not broil, go for it. Either way this dish is incredible and when paired with this Douro Branco your mouth will sing with delight.

I hope this inspires you to try this wine or one of the fish dishes, if you do please let me know in my comments!