Baga strikes back

'This could be a turning point', said Dirk Niepoort at the Baga Friends tasting in London. 'For Baga?', I asked. 'For Baga, for Bairrada and for Portugal.' A quiet voice but a visionary statement. Will he be proved right? I would like to think so but I am not totally convinced. However, I am convinced that this tasting put down a marker for the quality and diversity of Bairrada wines made from the region's characteristic Baga grape variety. The white wines, mostly blends of the local varieties Encruzado, Bical and Maria Gomes (aka Fernão Pires), occasionally Sercial, confirmed my strongly...