DISQUS

Ivan, really interesting article, I didn't even realize that Spain hardly used the word almuerzo to refer to lunch! Growing up around all Latin Americans and then living in Miami, that's what everyone calls lunch and it's a big meal. In Portugal it's practically the same word used, "almoçoª but interestingly enough is that they have a period much like elevenese but in the afternoon as a snack called "lanche" which is pronounced the same way as lunch! That was a bit confusing for me at first hahaha, but they do also have that mid-morning meal as well, consisting of coffee, a sandwich or pastry, though from my observation, people vary their morning meals at the pastelerias from as early as 7am to as late as 11am with no alcohol as well usually. Anyhow, maybe I didn't catch it but what DO they actually call lunch in Spain? :p

Thank you for the wonderful feedback guys! Well you know Ivan, the Portuguese will of course claim that their food is better than Spain hahaha :p But I believe there may be some truth in that after having lived in both Spain and Portugal though it's more like it's better in certain categories and not in others. I think it really all depends what you're looking for in your tastes and style, would love to hear other opinions on this as well :)

Thanks! I know, I thought the place was so lovely, especially the Pousada. We hope to book a stay there in the near future and I would also like to do a future article on pousadas in general :)

Haha I know isn't it?? I couldn't believe how fast and easy it was to make perfectly roasted sausage with hardly any cleanup!! Never heard of them before I came here but maybe you can find them at a specialty store if you live near a Portuguese immigrant area like NY, NJ or Boston, otherwise I bet you could even order one online. Check it out and hope you can get one!

Oscar,
Great post, I would have loved to have grown up the area where you're from, which I have still yet to visit since moving here! Now I have even more of a reason to go there soon other than the amazing wine, my love of mushrooms and I have been craving to cook a wonderful mushroom risotto with some wild Portuguese mushrooms and do an article for Catavino about my whole experience :D
If you could point me in the right direction of exactly where to go in Douro to hunt for mushrooms and where I can find a guide of specifics so we don't pick poisonous ones that would be great! Also, where would be an inexpensive place to stay for the weekend and of course, how to find Quevedo and some of your other favorite wineries to explore :)

Andrea

God I love mushrooms mmmmm, since I can't be there to harvest some of my own, I'm going to try to find some info on mushroom hunting in Portugal. If you have any links for that let me know and maybe I'll do a sister article on Portuguese mushrooms :p

I also visited Maladinha Nova in 2006 in which we booked lunch on their estate along with the tour. The variety of tapas-style appetizers and roasted black pork was incredible with their white and reds, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and it's one of the most vibrant memories I have of a winery here :)

I like Cork and I like screwcaps for the same reasons; surprisingly the wines I've had with plastic cork were not hard to open at all and we're quite pretty in their marbled coloring, maybe it happened to be that they were all from a high quality Italian producer, who knows. But what I HATE more than anything else actually is the cheap, formed corks- little bits of cork all pressed together then squeezed into inexpensive bottles of wine that still end up being pulled out in little bits! And most fall into the wine or the cork breaks in half and then it's a real struggle to get the rest out at all and just makes for a real frustrating mess! This is the time when screwcaps would be sooo much better for these inexpensive wines as this cheap cork pretty much ruins a simple but decent everyday wine. Can anyone relate to this? Let me know

I actually ended up trying the white Sexy at Sala Ogival the first time I was there and I have to agree with you that I definitely didn't find the wine "sexy", in fact I wasn't too excited about it at all but the rosé sounds like it would be tastier. You have to admit though, labeling the wines that way will definitely attract people's attention at least!

Hey Gabriella,
When I saw goat cheese gazpacho with Manzanilla sherry, I had a feeling they would just all overpower or conflict with each other because of all the strong flavors and acidity so it's no surprise you ended with that result, regardless of the fact you didn't puree the bread enough. My first thought for a Manzanilla alternative is a white Port actually. When I toured some of the Port houses in Gaia last summer, I came across a basic white Port from Vasconcelos Oporto & C. that my friends and I fell in love with; it's not as dry and strong in flavor as the Manzanilla but very light and smooth with hints of tropical fruit and honeysuckle. Maybe a Portuguese version of gazpacho (gaspacho) with some soft, fresh goat or sheep's milk cheese from here would be good the second time around!

Andrea

The mushroom risotto recipe sounds sounds really good, I make a mean risotto myself so I might have to try that sometime. I have heard of Quinta do Pacos wine before but have not had the chance to try it yet, maybe I'll include that vineyard on my next trip up north :)

That's frickin awesome :D I bet it felt a little like the Twilight Zone! hahaha I want your doctor....now. :p

Andrea

The 1st and 6th songs sound like great pairings, as those are 2 of my favorite artists and 2 of my favorite wines to casually drink, so I'll have to put them together! As for the others, I have not heard of the songs/artists by name but I've probably listened to them before and the wines I definitely know and love so I'll have to explore those combos as well. Great ideas to ponder on a Sunday afternoon, thanks! :)

Andrea