Quinta da Pacheca Winery & Restaurant

Portugal should be on everyone’s must-visit list, not only because of the beautiful beaches, fabulous people, but for the excellent food and wine. As a recently certified sommelier and through my work at Bella Vita, my curiosity for wines outside of Italy has grown tremendously. Portugal in particular is the wines were so foreign to me and to many. Sure, we’ve all heard of Port wine, but most of us haven’t had the chance to delve into the world of Portuguese wine. The main reason is, the Portuguese drink most of it! I decided it was time to find our for myself just what many of us having been missing out on.

I had the wonderful opportunity last fall to visit Quinta da Pacheca, a family-own vineyard (and charming hotel) for wine tasting and lunch. The Quinta da Pacheca is set in the hills of the striking Douro Valley, which is the heartland of port wine production. The sunning fall colors and mist only added to this magical experience. The vineyards dates back to 1738 and has around 75 hectares planted in an area of the Humanity World Heritage, classified by UNESCO in 2001. Quinta da Pacheca has always been focused on the production of quality Douro DOC and Port wines and was one of the first in the region to bottle DOC wines under its own brand.

After tasting their fabulous wine, we were really looking forward to lunch and we were not disappointed. The dining room overlooks the dramatic hills of the Douro Valley and is the perfect backdrop for a special lunch. My favorite dish was the octopus with polenta. It was perfectly grilled – crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. But a close second would be the crispy pork shank. Hearty, delicious and the quintessential fall meal!

If you find yourself in the Douro valley of Portugal, which we all at Bella Vita highly recommend, do not miss a chance to visit Quinta da Pacheca, and enjoy an unforgettable meal with which you can accompany their incredible selection of wines.

Bom apetite!