Glassware

Choosing a glass for Setúbal first means choosing between two very different wines. Golden Moscatel de Setúbal and the powerful, tannic Castelão from Palmela demand almost opposite things. Drink both from the same glass and you'll taste neither one properly.

For Moscatel, a small glass will do. A small, tapered copita, the kind used for Sherry, concentrates the aromas of orange blossom, raisin, and honey instead of scattering them into the room. With a wine running sixteen to twenty-two percent alcohol by volume, a large glass would just be wasted air over too little liquid. Pour four to five centiliters, no more.

Older vintages still need a bit more room than young ones. A twenty-year-old Moscatel has developed roasted and caramel notes that only open up after some swirling in the glass. Pour it too tightly and it comes across flat rather than layered. A young five-year Moscatel, by contrast, shows its fruit immediately, even without much room to breathe.

Castelão wants the opposite. It needs a wide-bowled goblet, the kind used for full-bodied reds, so tannin and fruit have room to breathe at all. Serve it at sixteen to eighteen degrees Celsius, noticeably cooler than most people drink red wine. At room temperature its alcohol turns brash, and the ripe fruit from Palmela's sandy soils gets lost.

With Moscatel, though, cooler isn't automatically better. Ten to twelve degrees Celsius suits young vintages. But an old Moscatel with forty years in the barrel needs a few degrees more, or it closes off exactly what you opened it for: the aged, nutty aromas known as rancio.