PORTUGAL

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Gastronomy
The Portuguese attitude to food is simple and imaginative, traditional and inventive. Above all, enjoying good food and the social aspects of eating out is an esteemed part of everyday life. From informal cafes to world-class restaurants, all budgets and occasions are catered for. Tiny cafes (ginginhas) and bistrots (tascas), often no more than holes in the wall, abound.

Food
The country’s position in the Atlantic Ocean is reflected in Portuguese cuisine which features a vast assortment of fish dishes including salt dried cod the “Bacalhau” said to be the basis for some 365 recipes, one for each day of the year. Grilled chicken and pork (the roasted piglet ("Ieitão assado"), golden and crunchy as desired) are very popular meat while a wide variety of tantalizing spices are used in dishes, even touches of Indian curry or Brazilian peir-peri coming from the age of discoveries. The highly aromatic peri-peri chicken is often served in specialist restaurants.
At its best, Portuguese food is simple ingredients impeccably prepared. Based on regional produce, emphasising fish, meat, olive oil, tomato, and spices, it features hearty soups, homemade bread and cheeses, as well as unexpected combinations of meat and shellfish.
Soups constitute an integral part of traditional cooking, with all manner of vegetables, fish and meat used to create a variety of soups, stews and chowders. For the more adventurous, caldeirada de lulas à madeirense (squid stew Madeira-style) features a characteristically Portuguese combination of seafood, curry and ginger.
One of Portugal's best-kept culinary secrets is its vast range of desserts, cakes and pastries. The Antiga Confeitaria de Belém, where the legendary pastéis de nata, delicious custard-filled tarts, are baked, is a Lisbon highlight.

Wines
From the North to the South, the country is wealthy in good wines and, apart from the unique Port and Madeira, there are more than one hundred different varieties of wines, ranging from table wines to special ones, all of them reflecting the individual character of their respective soil:
Vinha Verde, bubbling white wine (for seafood).
Alentejo wines are famous (Borba, Regiengos, Monsaraz, Vidigueira) for regional specialties.
Coloares red wines are perfect with game and red meat.
Moscatel grape (smooth, perfumed) is from Setubal region is dessert wine.

Port Wines
With an alcohol content of 19 through 22 percent, this wine is subject to very strict production regulations, and it is classified according to the grape crops, the sugar content, the amount of added alcohol, the age and the type of wood of the barrels used in the aging process: tinto (red young sweet), tinto aloirado (rubis older), aloirado (golden red aged can be first quality). Vintage ports are selected from the best wines of fine years and should not be served before ten years aging.
The Institute of Vine Douro Port IVDP organizes tastes for vistors. The Solar in Lisbon is located on the Rua de S. Pedro de Alcântara, in the Bairro Alto. It can also be tasted at the Tejo Bar at the Lapa Palace.

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