Every time I go to Lisbon, I have to go to the Lisbon Winery. It makes my trip complete. I have learned so much about Portuguese Wine just from going to the Lisbon Winery. This year I went on my birthday and it was a very memorable occasion.
If you are planning to go, please, please make a reservation. The staff turned away several walk-ins during the time that we were there. This is an extremely popular place. We had made a reservation and paid for our tasting even before we left the US. Yes, you can do all of this online. The Lisbon Winery is very unassuming but it focuses on the important thing, Portuguese Wine.
There is a great map of Portugal drawn in chalk in the wall so you can see where your wine came from.
Our incredible sommelier, Adriana was fluent in English. She asked us questions about what kinds of wine that we liked. She really listened to us. Adriana tailors the wine tasting by asking about wine preferences.
I showed her photos of wine that we are able to buy in the US. I also told her that one wine merchant back home had told me a bottle of wine from Galicia was from Portugal. No, it is from Spain. Adriana was proud of me for knowing the difference. She asked us if we remembered what wine we had on our last visit which was just three years ago. I have transferred all my Portugal photos to a hard drive so my memory is gone.
First we sampled three delicious Portuguese Olive Oils. I love bread dipped in good olive oil. We started with my favorite type of wine, Vinho Verde. Yes, I like green wine but this wine is really from a particular region in Portugal. Each flight got better and better. I wonder why. Included in our tasting was an awesome cheese plate. All of the cheeses were artisanal and from Portugal. One came from a very small cheese company that was a mother daughter operation. I’m talking delicious Cheese heaven.
The side wall 
The Cave 
Inside the Cave 
Portuguese Olive Oil 
The Incredible Cheese Plate 
A bottle of Vihno Verde 
A glass of my new favorite Vihno Verde 
Another Cheese Plate of Heaven 
My new favorite red wine 
A Glass of Cabrita Wine 
Ending with a glass of Port
Since we are not into the charcuterie plate (which looked absolutely gorgeous). We were asked which cheeses we liked so they could assemble a custom cheese plate just for us instead of a charcuterie plate. I told you this was an impressive place. More cheese heaven on a plate!
We talked about Portuguese wine with Adriana and finally tasted some incredible Portuguese Port. I can think of no better way to spend my birthday than to discuss wine, drink wine and eat incredible cheese.
Oh, and you can buy wine or port. We bought several bottles of Vinho Verde and 3 bottles of red wine, and of course 2 bottles of port. The Port was some of the best I have ever tasted. Needless to say, we packed some for home.
Thank you, Lisbon Winery for making my birthday such a memorable event. I still can’t believe that Adriana and company remembered us.
I love Portugal and its proud, friendly, knowledgeable people.
Santa Fe City Different Foodie 