A Look at Portugal - 3/26/14

By Al Spoler,

Published March 26, 2014 at 5:30 AM EDT

Price key: $=less than $20 $$= $20-40 $$$=$40-60 $$$$=above $60
Quality key: * = good decent wine ** = very good wine *** = superb wine

Chão das Rolas Peninsula de Setubal 2010 * 1/2 $
(Rustic, lively with zingy flavors, perfect for suckling pig)

Crasto Douro 2011 **1/2 $
(Fabulous value in a serious, sophisticated red, same grapes as Port)

Alente, Alentejo DO Non-Vintage ** $
(Full-flavored, spicy, informal, perfect café wine)

Alente Premium, Alentejo DO 2009 ** $
(A more intense version of the regular Alente, great dinner wine)

Many of these fine wines can be purchased at Wine World. See sponsor tab.

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Al Spoler

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.

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Hugh Sisson

As General Partner of Clipper City Brewing Company, L.P., Hugh J. Sisson is among Baltimore's premier authorities on craft brewing and a former manager of the state's first pub brewery, Sissons, located in Federal Hill. A fifth generation Baltimorean, Hugh has been involved in all aspects of craft brewing.

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