A sore throat, a stew and a Substack roundup
(Plus a preview of Azorean wines!)
Today's post was supposed to be about terroir and what on earth (pardon the pun) people mean by that. It seemed like the right moment because I'm in the Azores this month, and nothing screams SENSE OF PLACE like a wine from a volcanic rock in the middle of the salty, wind-swept Atlantic. But instead I've had a killer week of sustainability reporting and sabbatical coverage, coupled with a sore throat that keeps threatening to turn into something worse, and frankly I don't have it in me.
I tried not drinking for a few days, but that didn't seem to be helping. So instead I turned to the throat-coating properties of cheese and the tonsil-numbing qualities of wine and, while it hasn't cured anything, it at least made me feel better temporarily. This week's post is therefore a bit of a jumble of what I've been drinking, eating, writing, reading and watching. Which is in part just a way to give props to all the great Substacks that have been helping me get through this week…
Happy Valentine's Day!
What I've been drinking
The very first bottle I bought after we arrived in Ponta Delgada (the biggest – but still very small – city on the Azores archipelago, located on the southern coast of Sao Miguel island) was this white wine from Pico island: a blend of Verdelho and Arinto dos Açores (easily confused with Arinto from mainland Portugal, but in fact not the same thing). Having read
’s article on Arinto dos Açores a few months ago, I knew what I was expecting: mineral salinity, green fruit, herbal notes. But nothing quite prepared me for the hiiiiigh acidity citrus explosion in my mouth: grapefruit, sour oranges, mandarin peel to start, developing into that mineral salinity and greater richness after 15 minutes or so.
Every wine I’ve tasted from Pico island since has had that recognisable tang factor, and I’m interested to experience how they compare with wines from Sao Miguel (and potentially other islands, depending on what I can get my hands on). But I should have much more to say on this in a week or two…
Meanwhile, I’m excited that
is going to be tackling Portuguese wines over the next few months – here’s hoping he’ll hit Alentejo by the time I get there in mid-March!What I've been eating
The weather here has been a whole lot less delightful than I’d hoped, and we have a dog who isn’t allowed inside a lot of places. So I’ve been cooking quite a bit – my favourite meal so far being a comforting bowl of fabada (bean stew laced with all sorts of porky bits, which technically comes from Asturia in Spain but Portugal is land of beans, so it’s easy to make here as well). I would give you a link to a recipe, but I basically just make it up every time.
I did learn a fascinating fact this week, however. According to
from The Sauce, in a Spanish town called A Coruña, every day is assigned a certain dish: and Thursday is fabada day!What I've been watching
In short, a steady diet of Severance season 2 followed by a light snack of Schitt's Creek. But I’ve also been inspired by
’s movie recommendations (subscribe to Brunello Bombshell if you haven’t already). Meanwhile, has been rewatching my favourite movie of all time, Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet, and pairing it with wine and stuff. I don’t think you can do better on Valentine’s Day than reminisce about your biggest celebrity crush (Leo circa 1996 – ok, MY biggest celebrity crush) with a bottle of Umbrian Sagrantino.What I’ve been writing
Other than massive amounts of corporate copy, not a lot. But I wanted to share this poem with you that popped into my head on my way home from the supermarket a couple of weeks ago. I wrote it in two minutes so, wine nerds, please don’t take it too literally (and apologies if you’ve already seen this on Instagram).
Wine Lingo Bingo
Terroir-driven,
Mineral precision,
Racy acidity,
Are a winemaker's vision.
Textured mouthfeel,
Persistent finish,
Grippy tannins,
Which age will diminish.
Jammy fruit,
Tertiary notes,
Toasty oak,
Gets the age-worthy vote.
What (else) I’ve been reading
This month’s “Wine Conversations” series is all about sustainability labelling.
kicks off with some useful info about the differences between sustainable, organic, biodynamic, etc. when it comes to wine labels. I won’t be writing up my two cents this time around (because of the aforementioned corporate reporting commitments) but several of my favourite wine writers will be, so keep an eye out for their contributions!
This week, I also stumbled upon an article by
richardson that resonated hard. It’s a long read, worth every minute, but to give you a taste:“what about the ones who find joy in the mundane—cooking dinner, coming home to a dog who couldn’t be more thrilled to be in your presence after a long day at work, making pancakes on a sunday morning, or starting a garden with your person? a life where your career gives you enough to live comfortably—to live a simple, but significant life offline?”
That’s all for this week. Let’s hope next week will be a little more wine-focused…
Vicky I’m going through a similar quandary. I’ve not been feeling well for the past few weeks and have dramatically cut down on wine. The good thing is though I’ve ruled out it has anything to do with wine though so I’m taking the enjoyment over consequences again. It will be fantastic if we can meet up in Alentejo. Loved reading your experience of the Azores taste bud blaster - I’ve tried a few from there and had an equally as explosive one.
Somehow I missed this article! Ha! Racing acidity is for sure a thing. I probably should have mentioned it- but my pairings were so creamy it definitely dulled that acid down!