Garrafeira

July 17, 2019

Used in reference to Portuguese still wines, the word garrafeira indicates a wine of especially high quality. But the word also means wine cellar or bottle cellar (from the Portuguese garrafa—bottle). In addition garrafeira is a style of Port, albeit a rare one. Rich and supple, garrafeira Ports are usually from a single outstanding year and are aged briefly in wood and then a long time—as many as twenty to forty years—in large glass bottles. After aging, the garrafeira is decanted and transferred into standard 750 milliliter bottles and sold.

Neatnik

“On one particular occasion, André [Tchelistcheff] and I were visiting Sancerre [in France’s Loire Valley], specifically Didier Dagueneau. But before we arrived at the winery, André told us to stop by the road. He got out and walked over to the vineyard, bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt in his hands, rubbed it and then told me to do the same. Then he said, ‘Smell it because that is what you will smell in the wine.’ And he was right. When we tasted Didier’s ‘Silex,’ I was overwhelmed by the aroma and unique mineral character in the wine.”

—Rob Davis, winemaker at Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley, California, talking about his mentor, the late André Tchelistcheff, who is considered the father of California winemaking

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