quinta de la rosa and my new found love of ruby port
For years I always thought that port wasn’t for me and that I would just taste it to pass exams and move on. Usually when I make bold assumptions like this I always walk it back later in life. And here we are, my slowly entering the wonderful world of pot wines.
Like with anything new, at first it maybe is not your cup of tea, start slow, get your palate into the mood by pairing foods that actually compliment the residual sugar levels and also make some spritzers or cocktails with it. This is a way that you can slowly get your palate ready to be able to appreciate the sweetness of the wines.
It was recommended to me to try ruby port on ice on a hot summer day, the ice will mellow the sweetness level while still ensuring you smell and taste all there is to appreciate from the port. I know there are tons of wine educators and snobs out there who are very judgmental about putting ice in wine. Now, for education purposes, ice should not be in wine, it will interfere with aromas, acidity etc., however, for someone just wanting to enjoy their wine, put the ice in it! For wine to have a stable market in the younger generations, it needs to be inclusive, not this snobbery and exclusivity of days past.
If you are new to port, I think food is key to really figuring out how wonderful this wine is. I did a class recently with my friend Hannah, from Wines with Hannah and she nailed the pairings with this port so I have to share, but I take no credit. I should mention, prior to this class I was super on the fence about port, I had only had it with super sweet desserts after a meal at fancy restaurants when I was already stuffed to the brim, but this class opened up my eyes to these wines. She paired a ruby port on ice with barbecue chicken. The sweet and spice in the barbecue sauce paired incredibly with the sweet and fruity nature of the ruby port and truly brought out flavors of chocolate that were wonderful. Hannah took this amazing pairing to the next level by adding gouda cheese on top of the barbecue chicken. It was absolutely perfect and I am now a firm believer that the only reason I never got into port earlier on in my wine journey was that it was never paired with the proper foods. So now I have a whole new understanding of port wines and how to actually pair them with every day foods I find myself exploring this wonderful world a lot. Keep reading to learn about the ruby reserve port in the photo above and stay till the end for a fun ruby port cocktail recipe, it won’t disappoint.
Photo Credit: Quinta de La Rosa
Quinta de la Rosa has a fantastic history dating back to 1815, I suggest reading all about the years leading up to the 21st century here as I want to focus on the present day. The estate is a single quinta, meaning all the wines are from their own estate. Not only is that a rarity in Douro, but all of their grapes are ‘A’ rated, meaning all grapes for their table wines and ports are the best of Douro.
In 1988, Sophia and Philip Bergqvist with their father, Tim relaunched Quinta de la Rosa. They are the 6th generation to be a part of the port trade in the Douro. Sophia has been overseeing day to day operations for the past three decades while Philip currently oversees redevelopment of the winery and hotel and Sophia’s son, Kit with his uncle Philip, manage the brewery project.
The Bergqvist family realized that sticking to just port would not take them into the future as much as diversifying would. They seem to me like a visionary family who can see things long term, maybe having had this land for well over 100 years has something to do with it. While port is still vital to the Douro area, the Bergqvist family pioneered the production of table wine in 1991. The Douro region traditionally has only produced port wines, but the family saw a future in table wines alongside port in their business and pioneered the way for the other producers in the valley to do the same. Today two thirds of their wine production is for table wine. They also were on of the first to lead tours and sell their wines out of their winery back when the Douro was still not a tourist destination. They seem to be leading the way for the region into a bright and fruitful future and remain pretty humble about it. You can now stay at their hotel, which started 40 years ago as a small bed and breakfast, it has changed course a few times and it now has a 23 room accommodation in their vineyards. They also have a restaurant on premise, since 2017, and they recently even started a brewery. Separately, these individual advancements may not seem like a lot, but the fact they have diversified themselves in such a fantastic way looking towards the future with holding onto traditions of the past, they not only help themselves enter the future, but also help the entire Douro region as others follow in their footsteps.
Now, a little more information about their port wines. The utmost care is put into their port wines, mixing modern and traditional techniques. All of the grapes that go into La Rosa port wines are hand picked ensuring each grape is picked at the peak of ripeness. The stems remain on the grapes that go into the port wine to give more substance and structure. The reserve grapes then undergo a few nights of foot treading in lagares while using the latest in temperature technology. A fun side note about foot treading, it is very labor intensive and requires many people to do the work that now many producers have implemented mechanized versions. Females were not allowed to be foot treaders until the 19070’s and the 2020 vintage port was the first all female foot treaded port made at La Rosa. Throughout each process, La Rosa looks towards sustainability, with recycling, and solar energy. I truly feel lucky to have stumbled across La Rosa in my local wine shop in Indianapolis. America gets very few port producers, so when you find one that you not only love, but respect every aspect of their business, you tell the world (or the few people that read this blog).
