Antao Vaz

Let's go to Portugal today. We're going to fly into Lisbon and head south. Specifically, we are going to the Alentejo region of Portugal, literally meaning below or south of the Tagus River. Alentejo covers about a third of the country and is essentially the part south of Lisbon, but north of the Algarve -- the Portuguese "riviera."

In the wine-producing parts of Alentejo, it is hot. Not just warm, but hot with wet and mild winters. Summer temperatures often exceed 40C/104F and the summers are quite dry. Not every grape can grow in a climate like that, but several are indigenous to the area.

One such grape is Antão Vaz, a white grape that has been found to be the offspring of a white grape that I have never heard of and a red grape that has been extinct for generations. But, we don't care about them today because we are drinking wine made from 100% Antão Vaz.

It is a particularly thick-skinned grape, disease-resistant, grows in loosely formed bunches, and loves heat. Depending on where you find it, the wines can be wildly different from each other.

The key lies with the winemaker and vineyard master. Antão Vaz can be harvested anywhere from late August until mid-October. When harvested early, it produces a highly acidic wine while when given more hang time, the acidity dissipates, but we tend to see among the highest alcohol content white wines that we are likely to experience.

In either case, the wines that are produced are full of ripe citrus fruit as well as tropical flavors like mango, pineapple, and papaya. The later harvested wines tend to have a much fuller body to them.

In either case, but you will need to adjust a bit, pair your  Antão Vaz with meaty, steaky fish or with grilled vegetables and creamy cheeses. The local favorite is to serve it with bacalhau (we would call it cod) and local sunchokes.