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04/26/2001 Archived Entry: "Wine Buy: Falua from Portugal"

This is a tiny bit confusing. Falua is the name of the wine and the name of the type of sail boat that is depicted on the elegant, minimalist label. The word is printed small but still in larger (capitol) letters than the words Duas Castas, which are in tiny (upper and lower case) script and mean that the wine is made from two grape varieties: Periquito and Trincadeira.

The language and grape varieties are Portuguese and the wine is from the Ribatejano region of Portugal, a deeply colored, lush red wine, vintage 1999. There are hints of “spice, and berries, and tobacco,” as Food Talk sommelier Carol Berman is wont to say, but taste for yourself. Because, like wines made from Merlot, it is not particularly tannic, it is a very easy-to-drink, totally dry wine. And, at only about $6.99 a bottle, a better buy for barbecue season will be hard to find. Drink it with hamburgers, steaks, grilled or roasted chicken ... anything but fish (okay, it would be good with salmon and or tuna), hotdogs, or stuff with barbecue sauce.

If you want to ask your retailer to order it for you, tell him or her it is imported by Whitehall Company, Ltd., Norwood, Massachusetts (www.eWhitehall.com).