Wines of Portugal Pair Beautifully at Victor Restaurant

Last week was a really boozy week… From wine tastings to rum tastings to my boyfriend leaving me for five weeks, I was drinking everyday! It all started with the Monday lunch when we were invited to a wine tasting hosted by the Wines of Portugal at Victor Restaurant in Hotel Le Germain. Portugese wines? Hmm… I’m a Bordeaux lover so wasn’t convinced. But Victor being one of my favourite places to eat, Adam and I decided we had to check it out.

We walked into the Victor Restaurant, which was transformed into an educational wine haven with tables lined up with far too many wine glasses for a lunchtime event. That said, we jumped right in and sat in the front row like the eager beavers that we are. Sara D’Amato (wine writer, critic, sommelier and wine consultant) was hosting the tasting and got us all educated and interested in the revolution of Portuguese wine-making. While I’m very interested in how wine is made, the soil, the temperature etc., I am more interested in tasting wines and learning about new grapes and flavours. So I have to say that my interest definitely perked up when we started tasting some of their fantastic wine varietals – which honestly downright surprised me. Out of the nine wine varietals we tried, the white Planalto Reserva Vinho Branco Seco was my favourite; a very complex wine, dry, and had a great earthy after taste. In the reds, my favourite was the Esporao Reserva Red, which was also fantastic with an earthy but well-balanced flavour that was juicy and also intense. Don’t I sound like I know what I’m talking about? I thank Ms. D’Amato for that.

After the tasting we were privy to a lovely lunch created by Chef David Christian and the team at Victor Restaurant. We enjoyed a beet and goat cheese salad paired with the nice light white Quinta Da Garrida Reserva 2010, very reasonably priced at $14.95. Then they served a Piri Piri style chicken drumstick with a lean beef sausage paired with a fantastic red that is only $11.95 called Bacalhoa Tinto Da Anfora – both of these are available at the LCBO and I plan on buying both very soon. The last part of the meal was the best… Cheese and chocolate paired with a very rich red called Quinta do Portal Grande Reserva. This was also a delicious wine with smooth yet earthy flavours that paired really well with the cheese and chocolate.

After all that, I was educated, full, a little tipsy and very satisfied. And now I will be buying Portuguese wine to boot – which being a Frenchie, kinda surprises me. (Winks.)

Find out more about the Wines of Portugal here.