WTN: Escanção Dão Reserva 2001

Made from the same grapes as port, this Portuguese red wine opens with lots of the fruit flavors you get from a ruby port. But instead of turning sweet and alcoholic on the finish, it's fully dry, with a great acid backbone, making it a great food wine. The first night we had it with the pork chops with smoked paprika and sherry vinegar, and it matched those big flavors blow for blow. It was just as good the second night with ratatouille and lamb. And at $10 a bottle from my favorite local wineseller, it's an absolute bargain! I'll definitely be buying a few bottles to have on hand.