And the day arrived. A group of wine lovers, four Portuguese great quality wines and the delicious dishes made by Mafalda at her catering and take-away premises.
Y el día llegó. Un grupo de amantes del vino, cuatro vinos portugueses de gran calidad y los deliciosos platos elaborados por Mafalda en su local de catering y take-away.
Mafalda hosted us very kindly at her small but cosy property. We could also taste the Portuguese atmosphere all around: wine bottles, craft pottery -she told us the pottery had belonged to her grandmother-, old Portuguese tools...
Mafalda nos acogió muy bien en su pequeño pero coqueto local. Pudimos también respirar el ambiente portugués por todos lados: botellas de vino, cerámica artesanal -nos dijo que la cerámica había pertenecido a su abuela-, viejos utensilios portugueses...
María, no matter the tasting takes place, always explains the wines and the wineries using a powerpoint presentation. This time the country of the tasting is both a neighbour and a not so well known territory. Thus, her explanation was followed with great interest.
María, no importa donde sea la cata, siempre explica los vinos y las bodegas mediante una presentación en powerpint. Esta vez el país de la cata es a la vez un vecino y un territorio no muy bien conocido. De esta forma, su explicación fue seguida con mucho interés.
The wines. Our guests and María herself were pleasingly surprised by the outstanding quality of the selected wines. They were very representative of the different regions of Portugal: Vinho Verde, Dao, Tejo and Alentejo.
Los vinos: nuestros invitados y la misma María se vieron gratamente sorprendidos por la sobresaliente calidad de los vinos escogidos. Eran muy representativos de las diferentes regiones de Portugal Vinho Verde, Dao, Tejo y Alentejo.
One white made with young grapes, so its name: vinho verde. Quinta da Aveleda. Fresh and flowery, less complex than its neighbours from Galicia in Spain. And three reds: the first one with a bit of barrel: Marqués de Borba, a real classic from Alentejo, from Joao Portugal Ramos, the owner and winemaker and a representative figure of Portuguese wine world.
The anecdote was that Mafalda, the cook and the owner, knew both families: Aveleda and Joao Portugal. The secret: her father was dedicated to the wine in Portugal. Nice stories!!
La anécdota fue que Mafalda, la chef y la propietaria, conocía a ambas familias: Aveleda y Joao Portugal. El secreto: su padre se dedicó al vino en Portugal. Bonitas historias!!
Cabriz was the following red from Dao. Well scored, soft and well balanced. One can drink it easily pairing with many different dishes. And we finish with Tyto Alba, an organic wine from Tejo, more mineral and a bit strong due to its aging (12 months in barrel).
We paired the wines with four specialities from Portugal exquisitely made by Mafalda: boiled mussels, sweet and sour turkey, canapé of pâté, quince jelly and goat cheese, traditional cod soufflé. Delicious!!
Armonizamos los vinos con cuatro especialidades de Portugal exquisitamente elaboradas por Mafalda: mejillones al vapor, pavo agridulce, canapé de foie, carne de membrillo y queso de cabra y crujiente de suflé de bacalao. Delicioso!!
And the evening went on chatting about the wines and Portugal. Several of our friends had just visited the Algarve and they could talk with Mafalda about their trip. Nice end for such an interesting tasting.
Y la velada transcurrió charlando sobre los vinos y sobre Portugal. Varios de nuestos amigos acababan de visitar el Algarve y pudieron conversar con Mafalda sobre su viaje. Bonito final para tan interesante cata.
María chatting with Emilio, Mafalda's husband and a lovely guy
María charlando con Emilio, el marido de Mafalda y un tipo encantador
