Food & Drink in the Algarve, Portugal

what to drink during your stay in the Algarve

The Wines of Portugal - Portuguese Wine & Food Pairings

Bom Dia Algarve Retreaters.

Welcome to the wine article for August and the continued summer home and away!

I hope that the ongoing glorious weather and heat has allowed you much (shaded) alfresco dining, whether you have been here, the UK, or there, Portugal.  Having said that many restaurants on my island-life base have been deserted outside over the past couple of weeks as the temperature hit 39^oC and the area was officially granted `heatwave' status.

This has given us a great opportunity to experiment with Portuguese wine & food matching and one such recent occasion was the hosting of a dinner, for the Institute of Directors, staged in a marquee in the grounds of a beautiful country house hotel.  The full menu with wines is reprinted below for your reference should you wish to replicate this at home or with friends.

The delegates, around 30 in number, were able to experience a genuine Portuguese meal and first class wines thanks to the ingenuity of the hotel's chef and the support of a number of wineries around Portugal.  So there was a version, one of the very, very many, of Bacalhao, a Chicken Piri Piri dish, the traditional matching of Quince jelly to the cheese and even a Pudim Flan.  Just to add an authentic final touch, we even had a Portuguese waiter on hand to serve us!

Winewise, we ranged from a Sparkling to a Muscat via several diverse, fine offerings.  The first two wines came from Vinhos Borges, one of which I have mentioned before (Qta. do Simaens - Waitrose) and an excellent `Espumante' - Fita Azul*.  I felt particularly passionate about these two wines as I had tasted them the previous day in the winery with winemaker Helder Cunha.  The 2005 vintage Simaens is due in this country shortly and is even better than the 2004. Don't take my word for it - buy them both and compare.

The evening's red wine, I have also mentioned before - the great Jaen varietal from Bela Fonte; 2000 vintage but still drinking really well.  To accompany the cheeses, we had the real treat of the darkly golden, aged Porto Branco (White Port) from Churchills (Adnams - £13.99).  More than 10 years ageing prior to bottling, the wine is just such a great cheese wine, as well as an aperitif, and remains fresh & appealing.  Remember this is the Portuguese national, anytime drink!

Finally, the dessert wine was the new release (2003) of the Caves Velhas Moscatel de Setubal (Portugalia Wines - Joao Pedro; sales@portugaliawines.co.uk)

(*contact Sonia Gomes for stockists; s.gomes@vinhosborges.pt)

As well as the food and wine pairings, on this occasion we additionally paired each wine with a specific handmade crystal glass (unfortunately not Portuguese but we did have a Polish waitress to represent the glass producing country!).  Again the individual glass pairings are shown on the menu below.  The glasses were also offered for sale with a percentage of the proceeds going to the IoD's charity, The Prince's Trust.

Please do remember, that if you would like to attend one of our regular public events, e.g. our Classic Portuguese Wine Dinner in Norwich in November, or indeed have us organise one for your group or party, home or abroad, just contact us by email or telephone (enquiries@wine-educators.com or 01327 354480).  This again applies if you have any questions you would like us to answer; we are always more than happy to talk wine & all things Portuguese.

Also as I mentioned last month I was recently in Porto for a couple of days visit, and found time to drive up to Lixa (approximately 1 hour or much less if a native is driving!) to refresh myself (metaphorically of course) on the lovely Vinho Verde region by a visit to Borges for a comprehensive tasting of their range and a look at the winery, including a huge Sparkling Wine production plant and storage area, as well as the vineyards.  Lunch here included such `petiscos' as pulvo, a main course of Dorado and more Pudim Flan.

As for the city of Port Wine city itself, I stayed this time in the port suburb of Gaia - Vila Nova da Gaia, so was able to explore that side of the river to some extent.  The Cais de Gaia is a must for any visitor with its bars, restaurants and port lodges.  My discovery his time was the restaurant at Taylors, Baron de Fladgate; the only restaurant in a bodega that overlooks the Douro and therefore across to Porto.  There is a terrace where you can take in the stunning view, including the newly refurbished old bridge (by Gustav Eiffel) whilst you sip a glass of seriously good Porto Branco. Despite its grand location and setting and the luxurious interior and top hotel style service the cost of eating there was surprisingly good value - bearing out Portugal's great overall value in dining.  I think I got to eat what was for me anyway one of the great, traditional dishes - Black Pork Steaks from those very specially fed Iberico animals.

And on the first evening I was fortunate enough to be invited to a `locals' restaurant in the labyrinth that is the old town of the city where we experienced really authentic home-cooked Portuguese `pratos regionais'.  Both meals of course were accompanied by some stunning, and inexpensive wines from Dao and the Douro region itself.

So, until next month, enjoy your holidays and wine drinking. I am off yet again, this time to Lisboa, in just a few days time and will bring you the wine news from there next time.

Martin Ward

Wine Educators International

WINES OF PORTUGAL DINNER

THE INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS SOUTH EAST MIDLANDS

The Falcon Hotel, Castle Ashby Wednesday 28^th June 2006

Presenter - Martin Ward, Wine Educators International Ltd

RECEPTION

Espumante (Traditional Method) Fita Azul Reserva

- Glass: Valsa Concerto Champagne Flute

DINNER:

Baked Cod Rarebit

Borges Quinta do Simaens; Vinho Verde 2004

- Glass: Valsa Concerto White Wine Glass

Breast of Chicken Piri Piri on a Chili Potato & Bacon Rosti

Bela Fonte Jaen; Beiras 2000

- Glass: Valsa Concerto Bordeaux Wine Glass

Cheeses with Quince Paste

Churchills Extra Dry White Port

- Glass: Valsa Suite Flute

Pudim Flam

Moscatel de Setubal, Caves Velhas 2003

- Glass: Valsa Concerto White Wine Glass

If you would like to know more about Portuguese Food and Drink, why don't you dip into our Restaurants in the Algarve section and our series of articles on Portuguese Wines and Ports.  We also feature some Traditional Portuguese Recipes and a glossary of useful Portuguese food & drink words and phrases