Review: Porta da Ravessa Special Edition White

Inflation. It’s everywhere you look these days. Recently, the price of eggs seems to be the item I hear people talking about the most. But inflation is impacting prices across the board. As a result, shoppers are changing how they shop, whether that’s buying less, using more coupons, only buying things when they’re on sale or buying more private label products. Consumers are trading down in order to stretch their budget.

When I trade down, I only want to trade down in price, not in quality. Fortunately, I have a few years of experience when it comes to finding ways to stretch my wine budget. One of the tricks is to know which regions offer the best value. By “value” I mean, which regions offer the best tasting wines at the most affordable prices. And when it comes to value, it’s hard to beat Portugal.

Pick up any wine magazine and flip through the reviews. Look at the lower-priced wines in those listings. You will notice a pattern — affordably-priced, Portuguese wines show up a lot! So much, that it likely seems disproportionate to the number of Portuguese wines you see on the shelves of your local wine shop. It’s been this way for years too. Portuguese wines offer great value, but can be difficult to find.

If you’re looking to trade down in price, but not in quality, I’d suggest finding a wine shop with a good selection of Portuguese wines, like the wine I’m highlighting today.

Porta da Ravessa

Porta da Ravessa wines are produced by Adega de Redondo in the Alentejo (ah-len-TAY-zhoo) region of Portugal. Alentejo is fairly large, making it hard to generalize the characteristics of the region, but there are 8 sub-regions within Alentejo, one of which is Redondo. This sub-region is known for having a Mediterranean climate, with hot summers and cool, dry winters — excellent conditions for growing wine sustainably.

Adega de Redondo isn’t a single producer, but rather is a cooperative with around 200 producers, representing approximately 75% of the production from the Redondo sub-region. Porta da Ravessa is the flagship brand managed by the cooperative.

Most of the grapes grown by Redondo producers are native, Portuguese grapes, like the ones in this Porta da Ravessa, Special Edition White: Verdelho, Arinto and Antão Vaz. Think of Arinto as the foundation for a wine like this, providing good acidity and apple-like flavors. The Verdelho and Antão Vaz are then more aromatic varieties, bringing more complexity and character to the wine.

Tasting Notes

If I were trying to guess what this wine is from the aromas alone, Riesling would have likely been my first guess. It has an aromatic profile very similar to a good Riesling — honeysuckle, lime, wet stones and some tropical fruit. On the palate it offers very vibrant acidity and rich flavors, such as pineapple, peach, grapefruit and lime. The mouthfeel is creamy, almost oily, likely from the Verdelho. It finishes long, with lingering citrus and peach flavors, along with a slight touch of tea-like tannins.

Overall, this is a delicious wine and an outstanding bargain. This is how you trade down on price, without sacrificing on flavor.

Wine: Porta da Ravessa, Special Edition White
Varieties: 40% Verdelho, 30% Arinto and 30% Antão Vaz
Vintage: 2020
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 88
Average price: $15.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.