INSIDER'S PICK: 2018 LUIS SEABRA VINHOS DOURO BRANCO 'XISTO ILIMITADO' $26.99

At a time like this, it's pretty much impossible to be 'normal'. But it is important to try and keep what you can as close to normal as you can while you can. Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

As much as we like to fantasize and fetishize about history in the wine world, an important component in wine and winemaking is adaptation, improving on the past by introducing something new. Fads will come and go, but those things that make the system better also makes it healthier. For centuries the Douro has been known the world over as the greatest source of fortified wine, shipped to every corner of the globe and consumed by by both royalty and common folk alike. Towards the end of the 1900s that demand started to wane, and the smarter more forward thinking wine professionals started to look at ways to diversify their production. It has been easier to convert the red grapes used for Port into more conventional 'table wines', but white wines have taken more time in converting old vineyards or creating new ones in suitable areas. Luis Seabra, onetime winemaker at Port house Nieeport, has been a part of this movement for many years, and this wine features vineyards planted at the earlier end of this renaissance, resulting in a white few would expect from this region. Though it's built from native Portuguese grapes Rabigato, Codega, Gouveio (Godello in Spain) and Viosinho, the inspiration and execution is definitely Burgundian. Vibrant lemon curd and deep white fruit aromas pop when open and grow more complex as it opens up, a bit wilder and more exotic than Chardonnay (in a good way). The palate is rich like a Burgundy; the barrels are largely multi-use, so there isn't a toast character to get in the way of the natural flavors, purely to add the wanted unctuous coating mouthfeel. Some may want a stronger buttery note or less of a minerality on the finish if they want to really compare this to their more familiar Bourgogne, but those that enjoy the new trail every now and again will find plenty to enjoy.  Put this in with any cuisine you'd want a Chardonnay for, and even better with spicier items where you would want to avoid stronger oak flavors.

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