Portuguese wine

I don't usually write about wine, but a few days ago I went to a wine tasting at a slightly unusual venue - a library. I haven't been to many Lambeth Heritage Festival events, but they cover an impressive range of topics. (There's one coming up very soon, on the evening of September 23, on London in the First World War with Professor Jerry White, an award-winning social historian).

I have to admit I previously knew very little about Portuguese wine, but this event certainly opened my eyes.

There are hundreds of Portuguese grape varieties, and 28 DOCs, or wine-making regions. These vary hugely in climate, from cool Dao in the north to the sun-baked Algarve. Then there are the wines from the Azores and Madeira, home of the eponymous fortified wine (a complex wine to make, requiring high fermentation temperatures). The result is large variations in styles of wine.

Incidentally, Portugal is the biggest cork-producing nation. Apparently cork sales are extremely healthy, according to the Portuguese ambassador, who was at the event. This is because despite the rise in screw-top wine, the more expensive end of the market still uses cork and sales in this sector are holding up well.

There was Portuguese cheese too, including a delicious soft sheep's cheese whose name I failed to discover.

The event was free, so there wasn't large amounts of wine or cheese. So I crossed the road afterwards for some more of both in Grelha D'Ouro, one of the many Portuguese restaurants that line this section of the South Lambeth Road (it turned out to have an impressive selection of Portuguese wines). As far as I'm concerned, you can't have too much of a good thing.