ABOUT: Gota is an interesting Portuguese wine project conceived by Natalia Jessa, who was once a wine buyer for Tesco, one of England’s largest grocery store chains. The concept is to source the very best organic grapes from all the major winemaking areas of Portugal and make great region-specific wine which sell at fair prices. Then dominate the world with it. World domination has yet to take hold, but since their first vintage in 2008 the wines they’ve produced have been excellent. Beautiful labels as well, which we really value. Portugal is a dream, interesting grape varieties, perfect climates, and talented winemakers. Portuguese wine is generally undervalued, for the moment anyway, so get it while the prices are what they are. TASTE: Azahar (meaning citrus flower in Arabic) is from the north Atlantic coast of Portugal where Vinho Verde is the main attraction. The grape varieties that make this richly-styled Vinho Verde are Loureiro and Pederna, also known as Arinto, and hail from organic vineyards on granite slabs near the ocean. The aromas and flavors embody grapefruit, lavender, lemon, lime, almond and salt. The body is medium and the acid is high. The Azahar is 11.5% alcohol which is on the higher end of the Vinho Verde spectrum and lends itself to more complexity than the average VV. This profile also leads to longer ageing than the average VV, so drink this for 10 years from the vintage. PAIR: Spicy kung pao tofu, vinaigrette, almonds, lemon pasta with walnuts and parmesan, bibimbap, Jian Bing, Sopa Juliana, fried rice and tofu phad pak rum mit.
