Two weeks ago, my boyfriend and I decided to take a weekend holiday up North to Guimarães, though each of us seemed to have different intentions for going. I wanted to visit all the wineries of Minho and enjoy a series of tastings, while he just wanted to relax and take it easy. In the end, he won since all of the wineries were closed for the August holiday; but the very Friday night we drove up, I was able savor as dish that I have been waiting a year to taste and ended up enjoying one of the best meals I’ve ever had!

If you do decide to drive up north from Lisbon, mostly likely, you’ll be taking the Estrada National, or National highway, which is about the only major highway in the area. The highway goes right through the town of Mealhada in the region of Bairrada, a small town but popular throughout the country for its Leitão Assado da Bairrada. What is this? Well, its the most succulent suckling pig that you’ll find anywhere! Actually, it’s not quite a suckling pig; the piglets used are between a month and a month and a half old and have been weaned, weighing an average of 6 to 10 kilos. Originally from towns of Covões and Cantanhede, about 10km east, Leitão Assado has been regarded as the richest gastronomic traditions of the region and Mealhada takes pride in roasting their acorn fed piglets in brick ovens fueled by the aromatic eucalyptus bark. The result is a soft and intensely flavorful meat that flakes right off the bone, accompanied by very crispy, golden-orange skin. Additionally, they drizzle a very …

Gabriella and Ryan would like to welcome all of you who read the recently published article in the Star Tribune, our hometown paper from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bill Ward, the Star Tribune’s wine and food writer, was kind enough to meet with Ryan, while sending some additional questions to Gabriella, in order to profile our entertaining and unexpected journey.

Having just read the article, we feel that Bill did a great job overall, and despite some left out content and a few errors (such as the word el enchufe being misspelled as el enfouche), we’re ecstatic to have all of you join us from the Twin Cities. That said, we’d like to personally introduce ourselves and direct you to some of our favorite links, sites, and stories! Oh, and for those of you who only caught the article in the paper, continue on to Bill Ward’s blog to read some quotes from our lunch!

So welcome, one and all, and we hope that a few of you stick around and continue to follow us. If you know what RSS is, you can subscribe to Catavino here, and if you want to just sign up for our monthly newsletter (completely independent content) you can do so in the side bar to the right of this post.

About Catavino - General links to info about who we are

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The Story of Catavino (more or less) - A short recap of why and how we started blogging.
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Not a great deal has been written on what is admittedly the relatively new area of pairing international wines with Chinese cuisine. Or should that be Chinese cuisines? This vast country, now in the grips of the Olympics at last, boasts an incredible array of provincial and regional dishes, embracing just about every cooking technique under the sun – many of which, of course, were either ‘invented’ or developed in China itself.

So, if you want to explore Chinese cooking and try your hand at matching your favorite wines with different dishes, how can you get started? And what dishes might partner well with Iberian wines, an equally diverse world of flavors and textures?

China’s rich culinary heritage is hugely complex. But, put simply, four overall groups dominate: Lu (Shandong), Yue (Cantonese), Chuan (Sichuan) and Huaiyang (Jiangsu). What wines match with these groups? Given the innate diversity of these cuisines, Chinese gourmets will find this question bizarre: a bit like saying, ‘What wines can pair with French, Spanish, Norwegian or Austrian food’? The answers can seem endless, but we have to start somewhere.

Below are some specific examples from each school of cooking matched with one or more Spanish or Portuguese wines. There are certainly enough wine-styles and types of wine-making in the Iberian Peninsula to offer some great matches with Chinese dishes from different traditions.

And, if some of these cuisines are not all that available outside China, the great Cantonese Diaspora has at least meant that what passes for Chinese …

Gabriella and I are adventurous. When out with clients, or even friends, in a new city, we inevitably suggest that they choose something typical from the region that is important to the understanding of the wine or culture of the region. We, for the most part, have been fortunate and rarely end up regretting our choice. Granted, when I was in Toro two years ago, the idea of pig snout was not exactly what I had in mind, but in the end, it turned out to be decent. In fact, I loved it, though I’m not sure Gabriella would have felt the same way had she been with me.

Last week, while visiting a few wineries in the Douro, we were presented with a meal that both surprised and fascinated us. We found our way to a small restaurant in the town of Pinhao, on top of a fire station of all things. Familiar in the sense that everyone seemed to know everyone else, this was the type of place that you might find vineyard workers in, downing jars of young wine while talking of the days events.

As is our typical custom, when the group suggests a traditional dish from the menu, such as the Cozido à Portuguesa, we eagerly accept. In this case. Sipping on our wines, which conversely acted on our empty bellies, leaving us in a bit of a euphoric in mood. To counter the deep, echoing growl, we nibbled on some traditional ham and spreads that come before any Portuguese meal, hoping to ease discomfort.

With a slight rustle behind me signaling an approaching waitress, I realized the food was here. Busily moving the dishes on the table to make room for the large …

Editor’s Note: Andrea Smith is one of our newest additions to the Catavino crew. A 25 year old budding wine enthusiast, chef and linguist, Andrea is no stranger to seeking out great food and wine combinations. Having grown up in Northern Virginia, 10 minutes outside of the capital Washington, DC and in a highly diverse international setting, she was taught the basics of food and wine appreciation from her Italian background, where she inherited a deep love for culinary exploration. Now, living in Campo de Ourique, Lisbon, she will draw upon her CIA and sommelier studies, as well as her intimate knowledge of the Portuguese culture to bring us her favorite Portuguese food and wine combinations. We’d like to warmly welcome Andrea and hope that you will provide her with feedback as to what Portuguese cuisine you would like Andrea to seek out.

It’s another beautiful weekend in Lisbon, and I’m off to lunch to with my boyfriend - something I have been looking forward to all week. In a wealthy, historical part of the city called, Belem, near the outer rim of the city and down by the river lies Cais de Belem. Cais de Belem is an outdoor restaurant with a splendid view of the park, which serves not only some wonderful Portuguese wines, but also my favorite grilled fish - Dourada Grelhadaa.

What makes this area so special is the amount of restaurants lining the streets grilling freshly caught fish. This is Portuguese for grilled Dourade, a light, white fish found on every menu. The fish is simply grilled whole, rubbed with coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper and usually served with melted butter, boiled potatoes, vegetables or salad. Now, many people might be turned off by seeing an entire …