Portuguese wine has been likened to a slowly emerging iceberg. Long invisible and largely standing in the shadows of Europe’s other wine making regions, the United States market is now warming up to and taking note of the substance that lies below the surface of Portuguese table wines. While Portugal has been justifiably famous for its Port, wine lovers are finally growing to appreciate the many dimensions of Portuguese wine. Several factors have accounted for the slow acceptance of Portuguese wines stateside. For one thing, the wines for which Portugal has come to be best known, the famous Port wines and to a lesser extent the fortified Madeira wines, have been somewhat of a barrier for increasing awareness and demand for Portuguese wines. Why, you ask? Largely because they are not accessible, everyday table wines like, say, the approachable Malbecs of Argentina.  Challenge number two is the wines themselves. They don’t use French grapes. Most Americans know wines by French grapes. In Portugal, they grow Portuguese grapes. There are something like 200 different indigenous varieties. Toriga Nacional, Baga, Alverinho, Loureiro – these grapes are not top of mind with the average American winedrinker. So when you buy a Portuguese wine, you’re not going to easily be drawn to or gravitate naturally to a certain grape variety. So what’s to account for the proliferation of Portuguese wines over the past few years? 

Enter the picture, ViniPortugal, a trade association formed to promote Portuguese wines around the world. ViniPortugal has joined forces with Ryan and Gabriella Opaz, the husband and wife team behind CataVino, a website covering Spanish and Portuguese wine, food, culture and travel.  Ryan and Gabriella also advise wineries on how to market wine brands on the Internet using social media and web 2.0 technology. With their help, ViniPortugal has quickly dicovered the importance of tapping into and harnessing the power of social networking. ViniPortugal and CataVino are teaching a lesson not only in the understanding and appreciation of Portuguese wines, but also a broader lesson in how the wine trade can leverage social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs and Internet databases to increase awareness of their wines, and ultimately sales.

A Packed House at City Winery for ViniPortugal's Wines of Portugal Tasting

Combined with some smart and forward-thinking PR, ViniPortugal’s multi-pronged grassroots, social media approach is starting to pay huge dividends. This year alone, ViniPortugal has organized large-scale Portuguese wine tasting events here in New York at City Winery, At Vermilion and Aldea. In the last three years, Portuguese red wine sales here in the US have increased 125 percent, and overall, Portuguese wine sales are up 40 percent over that time.

Ever the busy couple, Ryan and Gabriella are also the organizers of the European Wine Bloggers’ Conference, which will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, from October 30 – November 1, 2009 and will bring together wine bloggers of all backgrounds. Fittingly, this year’s conference will address “The Future of the Social Wine Brand”.

In fact, I am creating this very piece in connection with a contest designed to encourage wine bloggers to publish entries on the upcoming European Wine Bloggers’ Conference, Portuguese wines or the amazing kick-off tasting dinner that ViniPortugal and CataVino hosted last month at Aldea. I must diverge for a moment and mention that Chef George Mendes is doing great things at Aldea, and I still think about the rich flavors of the duck rice with duck confit, duck cracklings and chorizo that we tasted that night. I paired it with the Esporão Reserva 2006, which had nice hints of red berries and spice and a tad of oakiness. Oh, and if you want to see what other people think of the Esporão Reserva, then click here on Adegga, a social tasting notes website that was started up in Portugal.

Americans are finally awakening to the reality that Portugal is producing wines of remarkable quality and tremendous value. Restaurant wine lists appear to be ranging farther afield than in previous years, with more wines from emerging regions like Portugal and more and more wine shops are stocking Portuguese wines on their shelves. Here’s a taste of where you can find some affordable Portuguese table wines around New York:

Artisanal: Syrah/Touriga Nacional Domingos (Douro Portugal ’05) by the glass for $10, by the bottle for $40; Touriga Franca/Touriga Nacional Domini Plus (Douro Portugal ’05) by the bottle for $75.

August: Poeira, Jorge Nobre Moreira 2003 Douro by the bottle for $88.

Aureole: Alvarinho Superior, Quinta do Feital, Dorado ’06 by the bottle for $63.

Blue Smoke: Syrah/Viognio, Quinta Do Monte D’Oiro Reserva 2003 by the bottle for $83.

Blue Water Grill: Alvarinho, Poema, Vinho Verde ’05 by the bottle for $63.

Craft: 2008 Alvarinho/Trajadura, Auratus, Minho by the bottle for $38.

Lelabar: Aragonês/Trincadeira, Paulo Laureano, Singularis, Alentejano ’05 for $40 for the bottle and $11 by the glass.

Kellari Parea: Quinta do Alqueve ’05 by the bottle for $53.

Kellari Taverna: Quintado Do Alqueve, Rubitejo ’03 by the bottle for $45.

Pera Mediterranean Brasserie: Quinta da Aveleda, Grinalda Rsv, Vinho Verde ’07 by the bottle for $46; Domini, Nacional/Franca/Roriz (Douro) ’05 by the bottle for $46; Quinta do Carmo ’02 by the bottle for $54; Vale do Bomfim Reserva ’05 Douro bythe bottle for $45.