It's so hot......

(studio audience): HOW HOT IS IT??????

It's so hot that my wine fridges, programmed to keep my wine at 55 degrees Fahrenheit, can't do it. They are currently sitting at 64 and 65 degrees. Looks like it's going to be this hot for a while, so I guess we'll just have to get used to it.

Today, I thought I'd finally leave BC and discuss one of our favorite non-Canadian reds, from a winery called Quinta Do Crasto, in Portugal.

I have these in my fridges:

These are often referred to as "Douro" wines, which I actually thought was the name of the grape. Turns out I was wrong, Douro is the appellation (or region) in Portugal, centered around the Douro river, where these grapes are grown. If you are interested in a long explanation, here is a link to the Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douro_DOC

The one on the left is their regular wine, which we came across at a special wine tasting at Legacy Liquor Store in False Creek. Definitely a fantastic liquor store if you are around the area. This wine contains the following grapes:

Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional.

None of those mean anything to me, of course, except for Tinta Roriz which I know is the same grape as Spanish Tempranillo, which is an excellent grape.

We've had this wine several times, several different vintages, and they have all been excellent. They are earthy and bold, and pair excellently with red meats. We haven't tried the 2010 version yet, but I expect nothing less from it. It's in my "cellar", to be opened in 2015, which should give it enough time to age into a fabulous wine. This one retails for around $19, and I can't recommend it highly enough at that price point (ESPECIALLY if you can find the 08 or 09 vintages somewhere, they are very ready to drink right now).

The wine on the right is their 2009 "Old Vines Reserva", made from vines averaging 70 years old and is aged 18 months in oak (85% French Oak, 15% American Oak). It contains so many varieties of grapes (up to 30) that the website doesn't even bother to list them all. We've never tried this one, but I'm hoping it's even better than the regular one. It's staying in my "cellar" until 2019, so we won't know for a while, but it's exciting in anticipation if nothing else.

Retail price on the Reserva is around $45.

Now I'm going back to my ice filled bathtub.....assuming the cats will give me some room in there....