{"id":1142,"date":"2020-06-17T16:25:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T16:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tasteporto.com\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2024-11-28T18:18:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T18:18:11","slug":"the-food-and-wine-of-christmas-in-the-north-of-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tasteporto.com\/zh\/the-food-and-wine-of-christmas-in-the-north-of-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"The food and wine of Christmas in Porto and the North of Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our favorite time of the year is coming – Christmas in Porto<\/a>! This wonderful season brings family and friends together and includes an endless array of parties. The whole holiday season offers us countless reasons to open a good bottle of wine and make a toast!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portugal, being a country where nature and skill blend beautifully together, has an impressive gastronomy that truly shines during Christmas in Porto. This is most evident on a traditional Portuguese Christmas table. We now invite you to join us on a short tour of our favorite Portuguese wines and delicacies for this special season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pssst… If you happen to be in Porto for Christmas, join our Food & Drink Tours and discover a side of Porto that most tourists rarely see \u00bb<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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Christmas in Porto<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The holiday season in Portugal often involves visits to friends and family members’ homes. Sometimes, these visits are spontaneous or unplanned – but fear not! Portuguese sausages and cheeses are the perfect ready-to-go meal for unexpected, yet cherished, guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing a charcuterie board for Christmas is simple<\/a> with a delicious selection of thin slices of salpic\u00e3o<\/em>, chouri\u00e7o<\/em>, ham, and my favorite, alheira<\/em>– a smoked sausage made with pork (or game, boar, poultry), bread, olive oil, salt, garlic, and paprika, usually grilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally easy to prepare for your Christmas in Porto is a delicious cheese board<\/a>. Select an exquisite Terrincho<\/em> sheep cheese and a Serrana<\/em> hard goat cheese, both from Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes, a melting cheese from Serra da Estrela, and a spicy S\u00e3o Jorge from the Azores for the perfect combination. With their strong aromas, these Portuguese cheeses pair wonderfully with rye bread.

These intense flavors must be paired with a nice wine. A Quinta de Arcoss\u00f3<\/em>\u00a0Colheita<\/em> Red from the amazing region of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes is one of the options. This wine is austere, robust, and full-bodied, with beautiful spicy notes that enhance the flavors of the smoked foods. The Quinta de Arcoss\u00f3<\/em>\u00a0Colheita<\/em> White is round yet crisp, making it an excellent match for the cheeses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Portugal, we take Christmas Eve dinner seriously. The table is carefully dressed for a celebration, and it\u2019s filled with traditional dishes like octopus and codfish, accompanied by all the trimmings: potatoes, carrots, radishes, kale, and eggs. These are simply boiled but always generously drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

By the way, we invite you to join our Vintage & Port Wine Food Tour to help you catch the Christmas spirit while staying in Porto<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And what is the perfect wine pairing for this special Christmas in Porto dinner?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago we would have said that the answer is obvious! And we would have recommended a full-bodied red wine, soft and tannic to combine with the salt and butter flavors of the dish. But Portugal has begun producing exquisite white wines and these are certainly a beautiful pairing option. One can try a mouth-filling white wine, slightly oaky and unctuous, like the Aneto\u00a0Reserva<\/em>\u00a0White\u00a0from\u00a0Douro.\u00a0Or\u00a0a\u00a0Vinho Verde<\/em>, Quinta de Carape\u00e7os Alvarinho Reserva<\/em>, which is rich and\u00a0complex with hints of sweet wood, citrus, and tropical fruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also\u00a0at the top of our list\u00a0is\u00a0Caminhos\u00a0Cruzados<\/em>\u00a0from\u00a0D\u00e3o, our favorite Portuguese white variety. However, this one is reserved for Christmas lunch, to match a delicious farrapo\u00a0velho<\/em>,\u00a0made from\u00a0the leftovers of\u00a0Christmas Eve dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are just a few of our options, which we know our family will love. But we have one more secret: Quinta de Arcoss\u00f3<\/em>\u00a0Bago a Bago<\/em>\u00a02009. We would probably reserve it to pair with a succulent turkey, which we normally prepare on December 26th.

Pssst, if you are on the search for a last-minute gift, these are some of the best Portuguese wines for gift-giving \u00bb<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And what would Christmas be without desserts and sweet wines to match?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some family members often enjoy savory foods more than sweet ones, but there is a special place in every Portuguese heart for two of the many desserts that adorn our Christmas table: Bolo Rei<\/em> and Rabanadas<\/em> (french toast with cinnamon and sugar), freshly made just before dinner and still hot when they come to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Taste Porto – Food Tours (@portofoodtours)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n