This was only the third time that the Avista restaurant hosted a wine dinner. This particular event, showcasing wines from Quinta dos Abibes in Portugal’s Bairrada region, took place at a celebratory moment for the team. That same week, Avista had been added to the list of recommended restaurants in the Repsol guide, after having been listed for several years as recommended in the Michelin Guide.
“These are different kinds of recognition!”, is how João Luz, the restaurant’s executive chef, is quick to clarify. Michelin is seen as a global benchmark, while the Repsol guide is more Iberian in scope. Guests “understand the difference”, yet that does not make it any less important. “It strengthens our impact, it reinforces our commitment,” says João Luz, who adds, “It’s a good thing there are more guides, giving restaurants more opportunities.” This is because Repsol’s selections are not the same as Michelin’s, although there are overlaps, as is the case with Avista.
The chef works behind the pass in the open kitchen, where dozens of dinners are prepared each evening, ranging from tasting menus to à la carte orders, handled in high volume yet served with the same attention to detail found in many smaller restaurants. There are also vegetarian options, representing “around ten per cent of guests.”
On the evening of the wine dinner, alongside all of this, there was also a dedicated menu designed to pair with Quinta dos Abibes wines. It began with an amuse-bouche accompanied by Quinta dos Abibes Reserva Arinto & Baga sparkling wine. This was followed by cured Atlantic fish, served with mango, leche de tigre, kaffir lime, peanut and ginger, paired with Quinta dos Abibes Sauvignon Blanc.
The main course featured cured Black Angus short rib, with sweet potato chutney, onion compote and bay butter, accompanied by Quinta dos Abibes Syrah. For dessert, textures of wild strawberry, rhubarb and basil were served with Quinta dos Abibes Baga rosé sparkling wine. The meal concluded with coffee and petit fours.
It was a working evening, but both front-of-house and kitchen teams ensured that the experience did not lose any quality. As such, the restaurant’s director, Márcio Pereira, admits the experience is one to be repeated.
Quinta dos Abibes spans 10 hectares and has been present in the market for several generations. This region holds a distinctive place within Portuguese wine classification. It is known as the land of sparkling wine, produced using the traditional Champagne method, but with Portuguese grape varieties such as Baga and Arinto.
Among the labels presented at the dinner, all distributed in Madeira by Loja do Vinho, were two sparkling wines: one white, made from Arinto and Baga, and one rosé, also made from the Baga grape, which accompanied the dessert.
The service also included a Sauvignon Blanc white wine — an international variety that is rare in Bairrada — as well as another white made from Arinto and bottled only in years of particularly high quality. The red wine selection fell on a Syrah.
