It is curious how investigating one interest can lead you to another. I have always been interested in music, of many types ranging from Baroque to Rock, via Folk, Soul, Blues and many other variants along the way.
I seem to be drawn to subjects where the more I learn, the more I realise I know almost nothing. Like wine.
The Loureiro I was looking for is a white wine grape, cultivated mostly in Northern Portugal and the Spanish region of Galicia, but the one I found first was Kiko Loureiro a Brazilian heavy metal guitarist who has since the early 1990s played with Angra. I still know almost nothing about him except that he has some undeniable talent (that you can watch by clicking on his name, above) and that he started playing at the age of 11.
I'm sure there is much more to learn about him and his music but, like some wines, my first taste wasn't sufficiently compelling for me to abandon my search for other examples that may be more suited to my palate.
Having dealt with the brazilian I continued my search and found the real object of this week's interest, the Loureiro grape, and I selected for week L (2013) Solar Das Boucas,Vinho Verde DOC 2012. Laithwaites at Vinopolis £8.99
Vinho Verde is the northern Portuguese region whose name translates to 'green wine'. This is not because of the colour of the region's wines, but because traditionally they are made to be drunk young, or 'green'. The style, therefore unsurprisingly, is fresh, light and acidic. Also characteristic is some slight fizziness to the wine, which shows itself in the glass as small bubbles clinging to the sides, and in the mouth as, well, a slight fizziness.
Loureiro means 'Laurel' or 'Bay' and the wine is said to smell of Laurel flowers. It may well do so, but I don't know what Laurel flowers smell like. If they smell like crisp green apples with a hint of orangey citrus and a lesser hint of peach, then I will agree. Because that's what this wine smells like to me.
It is light and almost colourless; the shades it does have are in the pale lemon with a very subtle something-like-green end of the spectrum. It is also light in alcohol, at 11% abv.
I enjoyed it, but a chilly November evening is probably not when this shows its best side. I can imagine it being just what is required at the start of one of what I hope will be a great many barbeques and other al fresco dining experiences next summer.
As for Kiko, I think if I was wanting to hear something like his style of guitar I would go for Joe Satriani.
I seem to be drawn to subjects where the more I learn, the more I realise I know almost nothing. Like wine.
The Loureiro I was looking for is a white wine grape, cultivated mostly in Northern Portugal and the Spanish region of Galicia, but the one I found first was Kiko Loureiro a Brazilian heavy metal guitarist who has since the early 1990s played with Angra. I still know almost nothing about him except that he has some undeniable talent (that you can watch by clicking on his name, above) and that he started playing at the age of 11.
I'm sure there is much more to learn about him and his music but, like some wines, my first taste wasn't sufficiently compelling for me to abandon my search for other examples that may be more suited to my palate.
Having dealt with the brazilian I continued my search and found the real object of this week's interest, the Loureiro grape, and I selected for week L (2013) Solar Das Boucas,Vinho Verde DOC 2012. Laithwaites at Vinopolis £8.99Vinho Verde is the northern Portuguese region whose name translates to 'green wine'. This is not because of the colour of the region's wines, but because traditionally they are made to be drunk young, or 'green'. The style, therefore unsurprisingly, is fresh, light and acidic. Also characteristic is some slight fizziness to the wine, which shows itself in the glass as small bubbles clinging to the sides, and in the mouth as, well, a slight fizziness.
Loureiro means 'Laurel' or 'Bay' and the wine is said to smell of Laurel flowers. It may well do so, but I don't know what Laurel flowers smell like. If they smell like crisp green apples with a hint of orangey citrus and a lesser hint of peach, then I will agree. Because that's what this wine smells like to me.
It is light and almost colourless; the shades it does have are in the pale lemon with a very subtle something-like-green end of the spectrum. It is also light in alcohol, at 11% abv.
I enjoyed it, but a chilly November evening is probably not when this shows its best side. I can imagine it being just what is required at the start of one of what I hope will be a great many barbeques and other al fresco dining experiences next summer.
As for Kiko, I think if I was wanting to hear something like his style of guitar I would go for Joe Satriani.
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