Victor Kattenbelt is our on the ground Portuguese wine devotee. His Wellington based wine company is devoted entirely to importing wines from one of the most far flung wine producing countries in Europe, Portugal. 

This reason for this blog is that Portugal is our wine region of the month for June specials will begin next week from Wednesday 1 June.   

Why buy Portugal?

Style, quality, price... and a noticeably distinctive point of difference because the wines are made from indigenous Portuguese grapes, often blended with better know French grapes, such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, but also frequently bottled as stand alone varietal wines. 

The results are staggeringly interesting and such good value for money that we have grown our Portuguese wine range significantly over the past four years and it's mostly thanks to Kattenbelt's wine range. 

Asked why he chose Portugal for his wine import business, Kattenbelt says he's always seen himself as a bit of a pioneer. 

"After tasting a couple of Portuguese wines on my travels, I was very impressed with their style, quality and the price as well as being blown away by the number of indigenous grapes there."

Kattenbelt was looking for wines with smooth tannins, moderate alcohol levels and interesting flavours with a noticeable point of difference but also wines that were not too left field. "I also wanted wines with a degree of elegance, something that would appeal to a wide range of taste buds."

Meet Victor Kattenbelt, Portuguese importer...

Did you have background in wine before Portugal?

My personal interest in wine started at a young age, with my first wine appreciation course with Penfolds, back in the 1970s. 

I attended many boutique tasting, typically of mostly Australian and New Zealand wines, but I had an interest in European wines, and was exposed to them at an early age by my immigrant parents. I expanded my knowledge and appreciation of wine over the years at these tastings."

Portuguese wines of the month

Explore our specials on Portuguese wines this June in store and online here