Single Quinta

Single Quinta means ‘single farm’ in Portuguese. It is used to refer to a specific vineyard and to a wine estate. Single Quinta Ports come from grapes grown on a single estate in a single year in the Douro Valley of Portugal.

What is Portugal’s national dish?

A. Smoked sausage

B. Salted cod fish

C. Shrimp ceviche-style

D. Grilled octopus

Bacalhau, or dried salted cod, is Portugal’s national dish. By the time Columbus journeyed to America, the Portuguese were fishing for cod as far away as Newfoundland. The best bacalhau was salted at sea with sea salt from Setúbal, an area north of Lisbon, after which the salted cod would be dried onshore. The large, white, almost mummified fish can be seen hanging in bacalerias, shops that specialize in the fish dish.

“A grade on an exam or relating to a student’s performance in a subject isn’t everything; it is just part of the story. A test grade tells you nothing of the student’s personality, style, or if you will even like them. Why? Because a score cannot begin to relate all those other qualities of a person or wine that are immeasurable. A score tells the reader nothing about the style and the character or personality of a wine. It doesn’t convey if the wine is light-bodied, perfumed and elegant or full-bodied, rich and generous. It doesn’t tell the reader if the wine is savory, fruity, spicy, herbaceous or toasty in character. It doesn’t convey if the wine is too young to drink, within its drinking window or over the hill.… This is why a well-written, accurate tasting note is as equally important as the score. Tasting notes should contain all the style, character and maturity information necessary to tell a potential buyer something about the experience she/he can expect from the wine and therefore—regardless of quality—whether they will like it. How can you know if you will like a wine if you do not know what it’s like?”

—Lisa Perrotti-Brown, editor-in-chief of The Wine Advocate, January 7, 2019

Single Quinta

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