Orange Wine in the Algarve
The Algarve is looking more like the UK these days with grey skies,
bucket-loads of rain, and temperatures nowhere near where they should
be. But yesterday I went out to have a look at an interesting project.
Back where I used to live (in fact you can see my old house from their
garden) live a couple who are making wine from oranges. I didn't know
what to expect. There are all kinds of home-made wines which can taste
like anything from syrup to petrol, and often sink to the pit of your
stomach after one glass and give you a pain.
But the sun was out briefly, and the dog was keen to welcome me, and so
were Nick and Stella, so I was feeling optimistic. First we toured the
chai. For those of you who dont know the word, that's where it all
happens. Okay, it's only an out-house, but it had a crusher and an
impressive row of oak barrels. Gosh, wine maturing in oak! Things were
looking up.
Nick has apparently had quite a lot of experience in making wine as he
has been making it from apples in Devon for several years. I was
surprised to hear of someone in Devon using apples for making wine
instead of cider. But it meant that when he moved to Portugal he looked
around for something else to keep his hobby on track. Oranges were the
obvious choice.
So here we are in the centre of the orange growing business, and there
are these neat barrels containing orange wine. The crucial question is;
what does it taste like?
We adjourned to the kitchen, and a bottle came out of the fridge.
Apparently the wine is rather strong, so it can be diluted to make
table wine. This looked as though it should be taken seriously.
It was at this point that I decided that any comparison with your
average home made wine was not relevant. It pours from the bottle with
a clarity and brightness that will make any wine expert sit up and take
notice. And it hasn't been filtered.
I spun it round in the glass. The clarity was impressive and the colour
had a gentle tint, but there was nothing about its looks to indicate
that it wasn't wine from the grape.
The wine had a very clean nose, with just that hint of an orange tang.
It had all the makings of a class product.
So; time to taste. So often wine tasting notes make references to
citrus flavours, but the odd thing about this wine is that there
doesn't seem to be a citrus flavour, at least, not one with what you
might call bite. It is dry-ish, but gently so. I can imagine
practically anybody enjoying the wine, whatever their predilection. So
with my lunch I had a re-fill, and another. It goes down rather easily,
and it is certainly more-ish.
Pudding was rich, so I suggested we try the full bodied version, which
I understand is about 17% proof. It has a glorious honey colour, a full
body, and fruity taste. It is sweet, but not cloying. It went superbly
with the chocolate crepes and cream.
This is a winner. I'm a fussy bugger, and I reject rather a lot of
bottles. In fact, I'm not much of a fan of Portuguese wine. So many of
the reds are too lush for me, and the whites can be dull and flat. In
fact I have a set of German pudding wines in my cellar, but this
Odelouca wine is decidedly classier.
I shall be delivering Nick a large box of my oranges in the near future
with instructions to make me that pudding wine. I want a couple of
cases at the least. The finishing touch, I think, will be a nice
personalised label so I can show off a pudding wine from my own
vineyard and vinified by my own personal wine-maker. Nice!
It can rain again tomorrow, I dont care. I'm dreaming of my very own
orange wine with in-built sunshine glowing in the glass.
john