Conclusions (14,75/20) - good quality wine, shows Douro character, fairly structured, with rustic, leafy notes well mingled in the ripe but fresh black fruits. Right now it shows an evident alcohol unbalance that should integrate further down the road and the tannins also need to mellow down, so pair it with grilled red meats, preferably seasoned with dried herbs to drink right now or wait a few months for a more harmonious wine. This is clearly a wine to have a conversation at the table. Read more... (including a suggested pairing recipe)

Approximate retail price - €5,50

There are still spaces like this, off the beaten track, which catch us totally off guard! We start conferring with fellow foodies & winelovers and the hint pops out, in this case without first hand knowledge just hear say, but trust your sources and this risky game sometimes is immensely rewarding!

I am talking about the restaurant Quinta de São Luiz, located in Pereira and housed in a multi-purpose space that shares the name and team. Read more...

I usually don't like to write a lot about wines I've tasted in a festive, social environment, but these showed to be no ordinary wines and the event was especially relaxed and full of opportunities to discuss what we tasted with fellow winelovers.

The event took place at Kiss the Cook, a fantastic and brave project led by Sandra Ribeiro and Nuno Luís providing true cooking experiences workshops in a privileged environment, promising to "find the cook inside each of us", for which I'm proudly collaborating in terms of wine consulting. It was a Masterclass with a menu thought and taught by chef Paulo Morais from UMAI, with dishes created specifically to match a wine line-up from Quinta de Sant'Ana .

We had the pleasure to have James and Ann Frost present, the mentors and current owners of Quinta de Sant'Ana, presenting the wines, and happily participating in the cooking workshop, accompanied by their eldest son. Read more...

When arriving home from any kind of trip, being it a weekend or a month, there's an overall feeling of withdrawal that I just can't seem to describe quite acurately.

Some people have the blues derived from long periods away from home, I guess I feel blue whenever I spend too much time at home.

Travelling always seems such a fleeting moment after so much planning and anticipation that I just can't help developing a massive hangover state upon my return. But this could just be from my over eating and drinking...

With this said I have to stop stalling and report about my recent visits to Coimbra and Évora!

Finally Lisbon gets European, regarding food at least!

We were invited to have dinner at the Green Caterpillar supper club, the newest venture from the brilliant chef Vítor Claro. If I had to rate this project I would give it 5 stars for originality, for being genuine, for personal enrichment and last but certainly lot least FANTASTIC food!

I'm waiting for the photos, taken by the lovely host, so I can show the delicacies in more detail at the website, in the meantime check out the official project blog at greencaterpillarsupperclub.

Frankly, I could have this kind of dinners all week long...