Questions

Please send in your questions for Alex McGill to answer next month. Email them to: alex.mcgill@venners.co.uk

Beer filtering

' have just read one of your recent articles which states: 'It is also worth pointing out that it is illegal to put any wasted beer back into kegs for selling. I am aware of the obvious nervousness of the breweries when dealing with such a hygiene risk but I have used this practice in the past in the managed estate of one of our large pubcos with the full knowledge of all my superiors. When you say kegs do you mean casks, and when you say wasted beer, does this cover the beer pulled through at the time of cleaning?

MA|25/08/2005|33|Picking your way through the Douro|I went to a tasting of wines from the Douro region of Portugal recently, at the White Horse in Parson's Green, which got me thinking, why don't I see more Portuguese wines in pubs? Supermarkets are increasing their listings from Portugal so why not the on-trade?

OK, so Portuguese grape varieties are a little hard to get your head (and tongue) around, especially when they are known as one thing in one region and something completely different somewhere else Aragonez is a classic example, also known as Tinta Roriz, while over the border in Spain it is the much more familiar Tempranillo.

And there are many other fascinating grapes indigenous to Portugal. Grapes such as Fernao Pires and Trincadeira, Baga and Castelao Francês even one called Borrado das Moscas, which translates as fly droppings.

And what flavours. Star grape Touriga Nacional has, at its best, gorgeous violet and spice aromas, bursting with red plummy fruit. Though it's a difficult variety, treated well, it produces wines with fine tannins and attractive fruit.

Cooperative wines used to rule the roost in Portugal. Now Portugal is rediscovering its terroir, as a younger generation turns to the family estates. And Portugal provides an escape route from international varieties (though Syrah is doing rather well in the Alentejo), not to mention offering some great value drinking.

But where to start? When it comes to Portuguese table wines, the Douro Valley in the north of the country dominates on the gold medal front. Douro wines and we're talking reds here held the top spot at a tasting earlier this year of 50 great Portuguese red wines, with 20 of the 50 chosen wines. Why reds? Because it would have been a struggle to get even a quarter as many great Portuguese whites.

Though other regions are catching up fast such as Dao, Estremadura and the Ribatejo it's in the Douro where the potential for making world-class table wines is being most fully realised but then it had a head start because of Port.

The Douro is actually the world's oldest regulated wine region (since 1756). The vineyards are located in deep valleys protected by surrounding mountain ranges with bitterly cold winters and baking summers. The poor soils result in vines with deep root systems and low vigour (a good thing) producing intensely fruit grapes.

And it was this intense fruit that I was after at the tasting at the White Horse but with a bargain price tag (thinking of you lot, of course). The Douro's flagship reds can carry hefty price tags, though, considering these wines are Portugal's finest, are peanuts compared with Bordeaux.

Barca Velha, for example, is Portugal's most famous red wine (first made in 1952), and only released when the winemakers think it's ready (1995 is the current release). Cost? About £45.

Other classy Portuguese reds include Quinta do Crasto Vinha do Ponte (£35 for the 2000), and Chryseia, a joint venture between port royalty the Symington Family and top Bordeaux producer Bruno Prats (about £25).

But I was looking for friendly, fruity Portuguese reds for well under a tenner such as the snappily-labelled Zimbro 2003 from Manuel Pinto Hespanhol (Atlantico 0208 649 7444), coming in at under £6; and Charamba 2001, at just under a fiver, from established Vinho Verde producer Quinta da Aveleda (Portugalia 0208 965 8970).

Sogrape is always a good source of dependable Portuguese reds, and its Vila Regia Douro Tinto 2002 at around £4 fits the bill (Stevens Garnier 01865 263300). Lavradores de Feitoria was founded in 1999 and its Douro Feitoria Tinto 2003 shows classic Douro fruit, while still remaining approachable (around a fiver from Raymond Reynolds 01663 742230).

Vale de Clara Tinto 2002 from Quinta de la Rosa (Fields, Morris and Verdin 0207 912 5300) is about the same price, with equally soft, juicy fruit. I also liked the organic Quinta do Caa 2003 (also from Raymond Reynolds) at just under £7 a bottle nice label, too.

I'm only going to mention one Douro white Redoma Branco 2003 from top Port producer Dirk Niepoort. It's one of the most interesting whites I've tasted recently, even though I know this will blow most of your budgets (at £12.95). But if you're ever looking for the perfect partner to salt cod this is your girl.