2022 Wine Dinner

Focused on offering unique and differentiating experiences to those who visit, Cais da Villa received, on October 20th, a wine dinner that combined in a surprising way, with a full capacity, the autumn creations of Chef Daniel Gomes and the wines from 3 producers: Monte Cascas, MENIN Douro Estates and Quinta da Rede.

With a privileged view and refined atmosphere, this event’s main goal was not only to make the producers known, but also to spread a little bit of the companies’ names for those interested, who had the opportunity to accompany the wines with magnificent dishes.
Chef Daniel Gomes and sommelier Guilherme Osório invited those present for a gastronomic experience of excellence, with a vertical tasting followed by dinner.
Prepared by Chef Daniel Gomes, the menu was composed of four moments, with the harmonization being the responsibility of the customers themselves.
To start the meal, Chef Daniel Gomes suggested a starter that is very focused on the traditional recipe: Brandade of Codfish with onion velvet cream, presented in a different way. The second course was Braised Shrimp with Pumpkin and Fennel Risotto. “An excellent connection with the pumpkin and the aniseed from the fennel. Here more and more we see different contrasts of the sweet, meaty pumpkin and the fennel, with an anise flavor, which is not difficult to harmonize, but there are notes that will not connect so well with certain wines.”
As a second moment, it was served Presa de Porco Bísaro, mushroom ragoût, chestnuts, and pomegranate in which “the goal was not to stir too much and just focus on the taste of the product itself, without changing the flavor too much.”
To end the gastronomic experience in the best way, the chef proposed a Ganache of white chocolate, vanilla, walnut, and fig. “Already an excellent pairing but I wanted to interpret it once again with different textures and that it didn’t stand out over the wine chosen to harmonize this dessert.”
Daniel Gomes aims to present more gastronomic menus in the coming months, having the client find its harmonization.

The line-up included a short presentation by the producers, who were able to tell all the participants in this dinner about their history and how their respective companies were formed. Conversations about the combination of gastronomy and wine were developed, whose explanations pleased those present, an almost cultural character provided by these moments.

José Perry Vidal, representative of MENIN Wine Company, mentioned the importance of promoting the brand at Cais da Villa, “which is an embassy throughout the country, in social networks and newspapers. The producer presented the brand H.O. and its wines, including the Moscatel Galego, from a monocaste, the Sousão. Red and white reserves were also part of the presentation, brands that identify Portugal and portugality, but also the region of Sta Marta de Penaguião and Vila Real.
“We have the largest contiguous area of old vines and we are taking full advantage of these qualities that the terroir of this area allows us. For us it is a pride to represent these brands, obviously with immense pleasure and pleasure that we are here at the Cais da Villa presenting these brands and we are sure that not only today, but for the future we will be a success. The atmosphere is fantastic, people are asking, they are tasting. They are getting to know the brands. The space is fantastic, I got to know Cais da Villa better and they are to be congratulated.”

Hugo Costa, representative of the Casca Wines brand mentions that he is always a fan of this kind of events, because there is the promotion of the product and the support to those who organize it and those who promote it daily.
“It is obvious that it also interests us to divulge our brand, to be present with people who are the final consumer and who will make our business grow, and at the same time to make our project known, because it is a unique project. We produce all over the country, without owning a single vineyard, we buy the grapes from the winemaker, we usually work with those more traditional winemakers, we try to get the best from each region.”

José Alves, producer of Quinta da Rede mentions the importance of this type of dinners for the dissemination of wines that are not very well known, but that have gained great notoriety nationally as well as internationally.
“We tasted the fabulous dishes that the chef prepared for us, with the perfect pairing of Quinta da Rede wines and other wines from other producers that are present here. They are very good wines, no doubt. Portugal sees itself in the quality of its wines, which are increasingly fabulous, and it is for our consumers that we continue to make wines of excellent quality.”

“At Cais da Villa, the wine dinner is a way to energize the space and energize the producers, however, this dinner is different from the others. It’s not every dish having a specific pairing.” – Guilherme Osório, Sommelier Cais da Villa

Throughout the Dinner, conversations were developed about the combination between food and wine, whose explanations were to the satisfaction of those present who left very satisfied with this unique experience, of almost cultural character provided by these moments.