Visiting Portugal - anybody been?

C

Craig Katerberg

Craig Katerberg
Has anybody been wine tasting in Portugal or know of any producers that you'd recommend visiting?

Trip's for one week, and I'm looking to spend several days out trying some interesting wines. Other than Vinho Verde, my experience with Portuguese wines is nil.

Thoughts are much appreciated. Thx,
Craig
 
I've lived in Lowell, Gloucester, and Fall River - and my father was born in Hudson - not sure if that counts - but lots of local Pork-n-Cheese cred...

Given the chance, my top three visits would be Casa Ferreinha, Quinta do Cotto, and Ramos Pinto.

Best,
Joe Perry (Pereira)
 
For a first time visit? Douro has to be on the list - Niepoort, Vale Meao, Vale D Maria, Q de la Rosa, Infantado good to start with, but there are just so, so many good producers there now it's almost impossible to single half a dozen out.

I'd also recommend visiting the Dao - Alvaro Castro is the best there, but more than a handful of really good producers now.

Bairrada is also an interesting region - Bageiras and Luis Pato lead the field

If you are into BD/organics, then Covela and Afros (Minho) both worth checking out

Then there's the south...

To give you a good answer would take a whole morning
 
originally posted by Yixin:
Jamie is a notorious shill for the Portugese wine industry, if you didn't know already.
Click to expand...

I have found it difficult to act as a consultant to a project that I didn't believe in.
 
originally posted by Yixin:
As a consultant I have found it impossible to work on a project that didn't pay me.
Click to expand...

Apropos of that sentiment, a recent email exchange from work. A representative of a publisher approaches me about reviewing a non-standard organic chemistry text. They offer me $250 for my review. I look the book up on Amazon and note that it's 399 pp. I reply back to this offer, noting that it would take me approximately 10 hours to read and comment upon a 399 pp. book, making their offered stipend $25/hr, which I also noted was 1/10 of my standard consulting fee. I then asked if there had been any misunderstanding of what they wanted, but I never heard back (funny thing).

What this told me was that they wanted nothing more than boilerplate commentary for the back cover of the next edition. Pffft.

Mark Lipton
 
I'm not a shill for the Portuguese wine industry, but I second all of Jamie's reccos. Plus two exceedingly interesting, artisanal, tiny wine estates in the upper Douro: Poeira and Pintas.
 
originally posted by MLipton: They offer me $250 for my review. I look the book up on Amazon and note that it's 399 pp...which I also noted was 1/10 of my standard consulting fee.
Click to expand...

Are reviewer fes ever in the thousands of dollars?
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by MLipton: They offer me $250 for my review. I look the book up on Amazon and note that it's 399 pp...which I also noted was 1/10 of my standard consulting fee.
Click to expand...

Are reviewer fes ever in the thousands of dollars?
Click to expand...

No, but back in the day when I used to be in that racket I would review chapters for a fee that was not unreasonable. But that was for business school texts, perhaps a bigger market.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by MLipton: They offer me $250 for my review. I look the book up on Amazon and note that it's 399 pp...which I also noted was 1/10 of my standard consulting fee.
Click to expand...

Are reviewer fes ever in the thousands of dollars?
Click to expand...

Nah, my consulting fees are for selling my services to industry (primarily biotech and big pharma). What I've done for book reviewing is to charge $500-600 for 2-3 chapters. At the rate that I can read/review that works out close to my consulting fee. If a publisher is really interested in improving the text (as opposed to simply adding my name to a list of distinguished reviews on the back cover, they don't object to my arrangement.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton: What I've done for book reviewing is to charge $500-600 for 2-3 chapters. At the rate that I can read/review that works out close to my consulting fee.
Click to expand...

Not bad. I've never reviewed a Political Science book but the sums I hear discussed are a bit less.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top