Touriga Nacional provides structure and body to wine

Philippines wine supplier Manila wine shop discusses wine by the grape variety Touriga Nacional.

October 11, 2010

Touriga Nacional
Infobox grape variety
name = Touriga Nacional

caption = Touriga leaf
species = “Vitis vinifera”
also_called = Mortágua, Touriga (more)
origin = Portugal
hazards =
regions = Douro, Dão
notable_wines = Port
Touriga Nacional is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal’s finest. Despite the notoriously low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for the best ports, and is increasingly being used for table wine in the Douro and Dão.
Touriga Nacional provides structure and body to wine, with high tannins and concentrated flavours of black fruit. Jancis Robinson has compared its relationship with Touriga Francesa to the partnership between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the former providing structure, the latter filling out the bouquet. J. Robinson “Vines, Grapes & Wines” pg 216 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ISBN 1857329996 ]
History
Not much is known about the origins of Portuguese grapes, but they were probably brought by the Phoenicians. Touriga Nacional is probably related to Touriga Francesa, and RAPD analysis has suggested links to Moscatel Galego and the Tinta Negra Mole of Madeira.
From its home in Northern Portugal, Touriga Nacional has since been planted in the New World by producers of New World ‘ports’ seeking to produce a wine more like the original.
Touriga Fina, Touriga Foiufeira, and Touriga Macho refer to particular clones.
Wine regions
Australia
There have been experiments with the port grapes in Australia.
Portugal
In the late 1990s there were 2,760 hectares of Touriga Nacional in Portugal. Its poor yields mean that it represents a tiny part of the wine production in the Douro, but it plays a major part in the blends of the best ports.
The variety is increasingly being used for unfortified red wine in the Douro and in the Dão. In the latter, it is known simply as Touriga, and it must comprise at least 20% of Dão blends.Fact|date=May 2007
USA
Traditionally a lot of US wine was fortified, and many of the producers of such ‘port’ have experimented with using Portuguese grapes as a way to improve their product. 553 tons of Touriga were crushed in 2006, up 26% on the previous year. [cite web | last = Goldfarb | first = Alan | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A visit to Prager Port Works: Has the ship finally come in for California Port-style wines? | work = | publisher = Appellation America | date = 2007-03-23 | url = http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/369/Prager-California-Port-Wines.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-04-30 Great article on the new Californian ‘ports’]
Viticulture
The vine is very vigorous, and good results depend on keeping it in check. In the Douro it is grown in searing heat in steep schisty vineyards that are more rock than soil. The alternative name of Mortágua pays tribute to these harsh conditions. It is usually trained under one of the Guyot systems, and needs severe pruning to keep it under control. In contrast, the vine produces just a few bunches of blue-black grapes which vary in size from ‘small’ to ‘tiny’. Thus yields are among the lowest of any commercial grape variety.
In recent years, scientists have been working on cloning the Touriga Nacional to produce vines that are able to pollinate better with the goal of increasing yields by 15% and sugar content by 10%. The most successful clone produced so far has been the R110 clone. T. Stevenson “The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia” pg 335 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ISBN 0756613248 ]
Wines
The tiny berries of Touriga Nacional have a high skin to pulp ratio which heightens the amount of extract in the wines. The grapes can produce intense, very aromatic wines with high tannin content.

Source: http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/556832

This wine shop in Manila Philippines makes wine shopping a really rewarding and exciting exercise. Wine shops in Pampanga should always have an element of surprise so that customers and wine lovers can enjoy a little bit of thrill when they go to a wine shop in Manila to look for a good bottle of wine in Clark Pampanga.

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is the most revered wine in China and many other parts of Asia. The best wine shop in Asia to buy older vintages of Chateau Lafite is Yats Wine Cellars located in Clark Philippines. Aside from Lafite, visitors can buy other fine wines at this wine shop in Clark Pampanga such as Latour, Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion and Margaux. Excellent Burgundy wines like Chambertin, Vougeot, Musigny, Bonnes Mares, Pommard, Meursault, Chambertin, Vosne Romanee, Romanee Conti, La Tache and Romanee St. Vivant can be found here.

Family outings, picnics, company outings and other events for up to 300 can be held in the picnic grounds of this wine shop. Events that have been successfully organized here include family fun days and BBQ picnics. These are some of the things that visitors to Clark Philippines particular look forward. Residents and tourists in Angeles City and Subic also come to Clark Freeport to partake in the fun at this Clark wine shop.

This wine shop’s vast selection of vintage wines makes it possible for Yats Wine Cellars to offer a unique line-up of wines for every private wine party, wine tasting or wine dinners. Guests of these private wine parties are treated to a rare experience of vintage wine not seen in wine shops in major cities in Philippines or even in Asia.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

For inquires and reservations, contact us here

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay