restaurant Desarma, awarded one Michelin star, will host a special dinner on 9 March to mark the launch of “No Forno”, a new Madeira wine created through a collaboration between chef Octávio Freitas and winemaker Ricardo Diogo of Vinhos Barbeito.
The event, titled “Desarma o Tempo” (“Disarming Time”), takes place on the eve of the Michelin Guide Portugal gala, which will be held in Funchal for the first time this year. The occasion will bring together around 15 chefs recognised by the guide, invited by Octávio Freitas for an informal gathering of professionals and friends who are on the island for the ceremony.
The evening will begin with a unique tasting of Madeira wines aged around 50 years, led by Ricardo Diogo. The aim is to demonstrate the diversity and complexity of this fortified wine, as well as the role of time in its evolution, a theme that lies at the heart of the dinner.
In the second part of the evening, the Desarma team will take centre stage with a menu created especially for the occasion. The dinner will take place on the 11th floor of the hotel The Views Baía, offering panoramic views over the city of Funchal and the Atlantic Ocean, and aims to highlight Madeiran gastronomic traditions through a contemporary approach.
The launch of the wine “No Forno” will be the highlight of the night. It is a medium-dry Madeira wine with a strong gastronomic character, created from blends of the Verdelho, Sercial and Bastardo grape varieties. The blend was refined over time and emerged from a conversation between the two friends, who decided to explore a new approach to this historic wine of the island. The edition is limited to one thousand half-litre bottles, bottled in October 2025.
According to Octávio Freitas, the dinner represents above all a gesture of hospitality. “It is my way of showing ‘my’ Madeira, not to professional colleagues, but to friends who will carry this experience in their memories,” said the chef in a statement announcing the event, also highlighting the symbolism of launching his first Madeira wine at the moment the region hosts the Michelin gala.
Ricardo Diogo, in turn, describes the project as “a conversation bottled”. The winemaker explains that the wine was born from a shared vision between the two creators, who tasted different blends of Barbeito’s traditional grape varieties until arriving at a combination with a true gastronomic vocation.
The wine pairing for the dinner - a closed event not open to the public - will be led by sommelier João Barbosa. In addition to the new “No Forno”, guests will also have the opportunity to taste still wines from Madeira produced by chef Octávio Freitas himself.
The initiative aims to celebrate the meeting of internationally renowned chefs and to highlight one of Madeira’s most emblematic products: its wine, whose identity is shaped, above all, by time.
