Monday, February 18, 2008

PORTUGUESE WINE DINNER


Calling all foodies!

Our upcoming Portuguese Wine Dinner features some great labels from the once overlooked corner of the Iberian Peninsula. Typecast for its phenomenal dessert wines, Portugal also makes some great table wines that have only recently landed on our shores. A few of them have popped up on Julian’s wine list in the last year and have consistently won kudos from wine cognoscenti. We are lucky to be featuring the wines of Portugal, imported by Augusto Gabriel of Signature Imports, on Wednesday, February 27th.

Since we are targeting a food-rich region of the world for this dinner, and following the adage that the best wine pairings are those that feature foods and wines from the same region, I have decided to utilize Portuguese ingredients, techniques and recipes to help uncover some of the less heralded dishes.

We have all heard of, and probably enjoyed, Portuguese sweet bread (anadama), fisherman’s stew, and even kale and bean soup. But most American palates aren’t as aware of Portugal’s unique obsession with salt cod, or its deep appreciation for pork and lamb. Or its literary contribution to the world via Nobel-winning author Jose Saramago. But I digress.

Although not a particularly large country, Portugal has tremendous geographic diversity, making for a colorful palette of wine varietals. Also, such varietals as Tinto Roriz and Touriga Nacional cannot be found in any other wine growing region of the world.

So go to Portugal for a night! Join us on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Obrigado,

Evan