Secrets of Portugal

You could pay a fortune to see one of Mark Oldman’s famous, “five-star” (Food & Wine) “wildly popular” (Aspen magazine) live seminars at the nation’s top food festivals or you can take a Bevinars virtual wine class for a fraction of the cost and from the comfort of your own living room. In his trademark style that Bon Appétit calls “winespeak without the geek,” award-winning author and renowned speaker Mark Oldman transports you to four of the world’s iconic wine regions: Spain, Portugal, the Loire, and Champagne.

SECRETS OF PORTUGAL CLASS

Portugal is so much more than Port, the delicious dessert wine for which the country is world famous. Portugal’s dry wines – both white and red – offer some of the best quality for your money in the entire world of wine.

We will consider a range of key subjects, including how a flood of new investment and talent are rejuvenating many of Portugal’s growing zones, which wines best reflect their region’s terroir, which indigenous grape varieties are the most important to know, and how and why Portugal’s ancient winemaking techniques have persisted.

We will start with the perfect aperitif, Vinho Verde, which is priced for overindulgence and about as far from an oaky Chardonnay as you can get. We then move to the Douro and Alentejo, where the dry reds benefit from prime volcanic soils, hot days with markedly cooler nights, and vertiginous hillsides. We then shift gears to explore the many manifestations of Port, which will enrapture you with its lush aromas and taste.

In additional to the featured wines being presented, Mark will clue you other tempting Portuguese wines, including Madeira and red wine from the region of Dão.

And we will cover tasting techniques, decoding the label, and food pairings — including regional favorites such as roast suckling pig, sopa da pedra (hearty bean soup), and a variety of tempting cheeses.

Moreover, if you’ve ever been to one of Mark’s presentations, you know it is brimming with humor and his trademark “nuggets” of useful insider information that you won’t find anywhere else.

The cost of the class is $55 per household, and if you want to taste along with Mark, an optional Bevinars wine kit is now available to purchase at Wine.com. 

You are encouraged — but not required — to taste along with Mark. If you wish to buy the accompanying Wine.com wine kit, please do so here as soon as possible after you register below. 

The featured wines are:

• Vinho Verde
• Dry Portuguese Red – Douro
• Dry Portuguese Red – Alentejo
• Port wine

The specific selection of wine, and its vintage, can vary depending on your location, but all bottles have been personally approved by Mark for their deliciousness and typicity.

If you do not purchase the wines online, you are free to ask a trusted local merchant for their recommendations for the wine types listed above.

Registrants will be emailed the Zoom link and reminders prior to the class. The class fee is non-refundable.

FOUR-WEEK COURSE: The Secrets of Portugal class is part of the four-week Secrets of Iconic Regions 4 (Sept-Oct) course. Register below for the full course (4 classes) and receive a 20% discount on the course. The cost for four classes is $176 per household.

MISS A CLASS, NO PROBLEM: Full course participants may access video recordings of the entire course for two months after the course ends, ideal for those who miss a class or want to watch again. Individual class registrants may request a link to the recording of the relevant class.

FREE GIFT WITH FULL 4-WEEK COURSE: Purchasers of the full course will be mailed a complementary, limited-edition Bevinars wine glass polishing cloth. Custom-made for Bevinars, the cloth is extra large and made of plush microfiber, perfect for polishing your stemware to a fine sparkle.