I jut love everything about this post, from start to bottom.
(I just had another idea - because urban people in Portugal - or maybe just Lisbon? - are very ignorant of nature in general, bird names have very quaint and vintage-y sounding names. Abelharuco for example is impossibly cute. So it's not just the nature element buit the "return to the roots element", with words that sound old, from another life)
So I'm pretty convinced that your last point is the most spot on. Birds in the vineyard are great - they eat flies, which can morph into nasty plagues for the grapes (leafhopper, or cicadella in Portuguese, is horrendous). Some of these are proving increasingly difficult to fight with chemicals, so natural remedies may be the only way to go. I often find bird's nests on the vines and I always leave them be. There could also be a natural link with birds and vineyards in Portugal because a lot of them are located near or on the banks of rivers and major estuaries (Douro, Tagus, Minho, Sado), where big bird flocks gather. Cranes and storks hang out on the Setubal peninsula, while apparently the biggest European population of flamengos is in the Tagus and Sado. Both Herdade de Gambia and Herdade de Comporta use birds on their labéls. Gambia's wines, which coincidentally are really good, has an all bird line-up on its bottles, and makes a big deal about it in its marketing: 'com uma imagem criativa e inovadora diretamente relacionada com a beleza da avifauna da região.' https://www.herdadegambia.com/vinhos
Thanks Axel, I remember I came across Herdade de Gâmbia page and their links to birdwatching after posting this. And I found a couple of other producers that offer a birdwatching and wine tasting combo- which frankly sounds like a dream holiday (well, 2nd to reading and swimming combo).
Luis Pato being a Pato himself, though I don't eat duck, so I don't really care what pairs well with it....On a vaguely related note, at a recent wine tasting in Lisbon, a young woman sommelier in the audience told me her favourite ever white wine was a Luis Pato Bairrada from 1990. Apparently it is exquisite and has aged exceptionally well for a white wine.
Loved this post! Never thought about it but it actually checks: there are lot of Portuguese wine labels with birds. Now I need to do a collection of photos of all the Portuguese wine labels with birds on it, ups
I'll just respond to your question under the first photo/bird label - defo a bird and my favourite one from the ones you posted! I still don't get the connection between bird and wine but the graphic design of the label will have a major impact on my choice to purchase or not - especially when exploring/looking for something new.
I jut love everything about this post, from start to bottom.
(I just had another idea - because urban people in Portugal - or maybe just Lisbon? - are very ignorant of nature in general, bird names have very quaint and vintage-y sounding names. Abelharuco for example is impossibly cute. So it's not just the nature element buit the "return to the roots element", with words that sound old, from another life)
Ah, yes, the nostalgia for a place/time we’ve actually never inhabited! Thank you for reading, Rita!
So I'm pretty convinced that your last point is the most spot on. Birds in the vineyard are great - they eat flies, which can morph into nasty plagues for the grapes (leafhopper, or cicadella in Portuguese, is horrendous). Some of these are proving increasingly difficult to fight with chemicals, so natural remedies may be the only way to go. I often find bird's nests on the vines and I always leave them be. There could also be a natural link with birds and vineyards in Portugal because a lot of them are located near or on the banks of rivers and major estuaries (Douro, Tagus, Minho, Sado), where big bird flocks gather. Cranes and storks hang out on the Setubal peninsula, while apparently the biggest European population of flamengos is in the Tagus and Sado. Both Herdade de Gambia and Herdade de Comporta use birds on their labéls. Gambia's wines, which coincidentally are really good, has an all bird line-up on its bottles, and makes a big deal about it in its marketing: 'com uma imagem criativa e inovadora diretamente relacionada com a beleza da avifauna da região.' https://www.herdadegambia.com/vinhos
Thanks Axel, I remember I came across Herdade de Gâmbia page and their links to birdwatching after posting this. And I found a couple of other producers that offer a birdwatching and wine tasting combo- which frankly sounds like a dream holiday (well, 2nd to reading and swimming combo).
But I also think the birds on red wines could be a subtle pairing suggestion. I.e. duck goes really well with Luis Pato wines....
Luis Pato being a Pato himself, though I don't eat duck, so I don't really care what pairs well with it....On a vaguely related note, at a recent wine tasting in Lisbon, a young woman sommelier in the audience told me her favourite ever white wine was a Luis Pato Bairrada from 1990. Apparently it is exquisite and has aged exceptionally well for a white wine.
A good white that old is very rare, certainly in Portugal. Wow.
Loved this post! Never thought about it but it actually checks: there are lot of Portuguese wine labels with birds. Now I need to do a collection of photos of all the Portuguese wine labels with birds on it, ups
I'll just respond to your question under the first photo/bird label - defo a bird and my favourite one from the ones you posted! I still don't get the connection between bird and wine but the graphic design of the label will have a major impact on my choice to purchase or not - especially when exploring/looking for something new.
“Unexpected Obsessions” — what a delightful title!
So interesting. I also wonder if there's some kind of archetypal symbolism going on here that appeals for reasons we can't quite explain.