Whilst in Portugal what should a wine lover like me do, go to Porto to do a bit of wine tasting, wrong, that is what everyone does. Not really something that I would say is appropriate for me as it is too safe, so I decided to visit the Alentejo D.O.C instead. I am reliably informed that all D.O.C’s ( Denominação de Origem Controlada) in Portugal are very good, so I was not risking much.

The Tour

As my Portuguese is as good as my Mandarin and I did not want to taste and drive a wine tour was in order. My tour of choice was Cooltour Lisbon‘s Alentejo Wine Tour from Lisbon Including Lunch, the problem was that I was the only one who was booked to go on my tour, luckily for me I was able to convince (well all I had to say was wine) and two friends (who I met for the first time in person after 7 years of remote abuse and banter) Kelly and Tony Summers to join me.

The plan for the day was about a 2 hour drive to the Ervideira Winery in the Alentejo region from Lisbon followed by a winery tour and tasting in the morning, lunch. then another winery tour and tasting followed by a 90 minute drive back to Lisbon.

I would recommend Cooltour Lisbon and especially this Tour, good value for money, about the right length of time and the itinerary is spot on.

Ervideira Winery

Ervideira Winery was our first stop and a very informative and interesting place to start our Alentejo Portuguese Wine education.

From Ervideira Winery’s website

The estates of Herdade da Monte da Ribeira and Herdadeinha belong to the Leal da Costa family, a direct descendant of Count D’Ervideira, a successful farmer from the 16th century.

With 160 ha of vineyards divided by Vidigueira (110 ha) and Reguengos de Monsaraz (50 ha), the administration of Ervideira is ensured by Maria Isabel Leal da Costa, the matriarch of the family, and her six children, Duarte Leal da The Executive Director. The oenological direction is the responsibility of Nelson Rolo.

From the Wonderful.Land website

The estates of Monte da Ribeira and Herdadinha both belong to the Leal da Costa family, which can be traced back to the Count of Ervideira, a successful farmer who lived between 19th and 20th centuries. The Count, who received his nobel title from King Carlos 1 in recognition for his social work in the region, began producing wine in 1880, as one can see in the bottles the company proudly exhibits in its wine tasting room.

The Winery

We started our tour with a walk around the winery where we learnt about their history and the process. The winery produces 800,000 bottles of per year, but I am not sure if they can bottle that many onsite.

Ervideria Wines export 40% of their wine overseas to Brazil, Canada, United States and Mexico; Germany, Belgium, Slovenia, Spain, France, Netherlands, Luxemburg, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland; Cabo Verde, Angola and Mozambique; and Macau/ China. Unfortunately not to Singapore!!

Their Wines

• Conde D’Evideira Private Selection Tinto
• Conde D’Evideira Private Selection Blanco
• Conde D’Evideira Reserva Tinto
• Conde D’Evideira Reserva Blanco
• Evideira Espumante Reserva Bruto (Rosé Sparkling)
• Invisível (Invisible)
• Vinha D’Evideira Branco – Colheita Seleccionada
• Vinha D’Evideira Rosé – Colheita Seleccionada
• Vinha D’Evideira Tinto – Colheita Seleccionada
• Vinha D’Evideira Edição Especial Tinto
• Vinha D’Evideira Vindima Tardia Blanco
• Evideira Espumante Reserva Bruto (White Sparkling)
• Lusitano Reserva Tinto
• Lusitano Selecção Tinto
• Lusitano Selecção Rosé
• Lusitano Selecção Branco
• Terras D’Evideira Tinto
• Terras D’Evideira Branco
• S De Sol Tinto
• S De Sol Branco

Oz’s Ratings

Icon	Rating	Description
	1	1 out of 5	Bug spray, good for cleaning or powering vehicles
	2	2 out of 5	Acceptable at a pinch (must be extremely desperate)
	3	2.5 out of 5	Drinkable, might improve with age or decanting, good for the last bottle of the night when there is nothing else available
	4	3 out of 5	A good wine, may improve with time, a quaffer
	5	3.5 out of 5	A very good wine, worth a try and probably a bit of patience if it is a young wine
	6	4 out of 5	A great wine! Recommended by Oz
	7	4.5 out of 5	A great wine, definitely one that Oz recommends!!
	11	5 out of 5	Amazing, WoW. Highly recommended, please give me more!

Oz’s Wine Reviews

Now for the important stuff, the wine tasting.

My favourites from our Ervideira Winery tasting were the two Private Selection wines, especially the Branco, I also liked the Rosé.

• 2016 Vinha D’Ervideira Private Selection Vinho Branco
• 2016 Vinha D’Ervideira Colheita Seleccionada Rosé
• 2015 Vinha D’Ervideira Private Selection Vinho Tinto

The Tasting Line Up

Rating	Photo	Wine
1			> Name: Vinha D'Ervideira Colheita Seleccionada Branco Year: 2017 Region: Alentejo Portugal Varietal: Antão Vaz, Arinto, Verdelho, Alvarinho Oz's Rating: 3 out 5 Bright light straw in colour with a floral perfumed mix of cut grass and passionfruit. On the palate it is crisp and balanced with a medium finish. Would be a good pairing with seafood <
2			> Name: Vinha D'Ervideira Private Selection Vinho Branco Year: 2016 Region: Alentejo Portugal Varietal: Antão Vaz, Arinto Oz's Rating: 4 out 5 Has a bright light straw hue, on the nose it has a restrained combination of vanilla and green tea aromas. The palate is elegant and euphonious (not sure that there is taste version of this word, but I like it) with an enjoyable medium finish. Really enjoyed this wine, it was the pick of the wines from Ervideira <
3			> Name: Vinha D'Ervideira Colheita Seleccionada Rosé Year: 2016 Region: Alentejo Portugal Varietal: Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Tinta Caiada Oz's Rating: 3.5 out 5 Has a bright light pink hue with a very pleasant combo of apricot and strawberry jam aromas. The slightly tart palate is understated with subtle tannins and a hint of sweetness on the medium finish. Not bad, a good wine to drink on a warm afternoon or every day in Singapore <
4			> Name: Vinha D'Ervideira Colheita Seleccionada Tinto Year: 2015 Region: Alentejo Portugal Varietal: Trincadeira, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon Oz's Rating: 2.5 out 5 The wine has a bright, youthful garnet colour with a medium-bodied mix of prune, vanilla and white pepper aromas. The palate is also medium-bodied and a bit tart with firm, savoury tannins and a medium finish. I found this was a bit bland, not my sort of wine <
5			> > Name: Conde D'Ervideira Reserva Tinto Year: 2016 Region: Alentejo Portugal Varietal: Aragonez, Touriga Nacional, Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon Oz's Rating: 3 out 5 Has a vivid medium deep crimson hue with a restrained nose of dark fruit, vanilla and white pepper aromas. The palate is subtle and a bit tart with evolving, firm tannins and a medium-long finish. A nice wine, but definitely needs food and a bit of age <
6			> Name: Vinha D'Ervideira Private Selection Vinho Tinto Year: 2015 Region: Alentejo Portugal Varietal: Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet Oz's Rating: 3.5 out 5 This wine has a youthful, medium deep crimson appearance with an enjoyable medium-bodied nose with a combo of mocha and spice aromas. Its medium-bodied palate is a bit imature with lithe, evolving tannins and a medium-long finish. This has all the elements of becoming a good, maybe even a great, wine with a bit of patience. <
7

Oz’s Wine Reviews

Oz’s Winery Reviews

Ervideira Winery Cellar Door Tasting

I really enjoyed the Wine Tasting, the addition of local cheeses and cured meats added to it. A good selection of wines try from three different quality points, the Private Selection wines are the ones to look for, the Tinto with a few years of age will only get better.

The tour of the facility was pretty interesting, but I think we would have learnt more if we could speak Portuguese. The commentary provided in Portuguese took longer, so guessing a bit more information was being provided, but if we were in another country the local language version would more than likely be more detailed as well.

If you are in the region I would recommend a visit to the Ervideira Winery and also taking the tour.

Cheers!