“How’s the wine over there Billy?” I’m asked a lot. “Fantastic” I reply but let me tell you about something I enjoy every bit as much – the wine shopping experience. Having spent years under the LCBO regime I now get to encounter wine in a great variety of places – some totally unexpected. You don’t need to look for wine in Portugal – it’s everywhere. Just like Crest or Kleenex.
Of course, in a free enterprise you need to consider the source. Who to trust? At first, I found appearances to be misleading, for example ignoring the Indian grocery stores. Mistake. Or the major supermarkets. An even bigger mistake. My wine shopping is about more than the price – some days I’m looking for the most enjoyable experience – an owner-store where I have a personal connection in a way that didn’t happen in Ontario. Buying from a person who selected every wine in the store not only adds something to the bottle but can form a relationship which is fun, and which over time benefits both of us.
But back to my experiences –having to fight my way past ice cream shoppers to explore a tempting array of Portugal’s finest and most expensive wines. How do you make a living selling fancy wine? Easy! You put in an ice cream counter up front. Clever. Then there’s a somewhat similar experience at the market where a deli hides its wines behind the hams and cheeses. A French cheese shop makes it easier for me – putting its wine up front. But then I have to walk the extra mile to the cheese counter behind! Exploring a church restoration resulted in discovering a locally produced wine gem in the gift shop. Divine guidance!
Speaking of walking, that’s how I make all my purchases. I try to limit my weight to three bottles but have lugged as much as six. Not that it’s difficult, but I fear a trip on the cobblestones and the subsequent embarrassment of lying in a pool of wine, and helped to my feet by a Portuguese who is more saddened by the waste than my well-being. Each town has private wine stores, so it’s one of my ‘must dos’ when we go on an adventure. Kato happily goes exploring her interests, but we find common ground at Apolonia, an amazing food and wine store. It’s hard to limit ourselves to just one cart load of goodies. Apolonia offers French and Italian (and Inniskillin Ice Wine) but the prices are sky high. In Portugal, it’s usually best to buy and drink only Portuguese wine. And why not? It tastes great and costs so little. And you have wonderful experiences. But don’t try juggling several bottles and an ice cream. Now that would result in a very embarrassing mess.
P.S. I’ll tell you about the wines another time. (But maybe you don’t want to hear about my under-three-dollar delights.)
