Why Macau is one of the best places to find Portuguese wines
Step aside Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Napa Valley, aficionados have singled out Portugal’s Douro Valley as the next great wine region, and Macau’s colonial heritage make it an ideal spot to find out why the Old Country’s products are suddenly so trendy.
If you’re struggling to pick a wine while dining out, chances are the choice is between one of the big brands from France, Italy or Spain. The world’s largest wine producers dominate the international scene. However, Portugal’s wines are fast becoming trendy, even beating out French wines for some top awards - and Macau is one of the best places to find them.
“With the push of the Macau government together with the wine people here, Portuguese wines are becoming more popular,” says Paul Lo, director of food and beverage at Hotel Lisboa. “As prices are more competitive, sales and reputation have increased dramatically. But it’s mostly thanks to some of the exquisite wines made by those hard-working winemakers.”
David Higgins, president of MacauSoul, a cosy wine bar yards away from the Ruins of St. Paul’s in the historic centre, shares that sentiment.
“Sadly, Portuguese wines around the world are not fully appreciated for their complexity, their diversity and their tremendous value,” he says. “But, here at MacauSoul, our wine list is exclusively Portuguese.”
When Higgins and his wife, Jacky, opened in 2008 they wanted to give customers a sense of being in a Portuguese place, but their focus on an exclusively Portuguese wine list comes from their own passion.
“With Portuguese wine you can have a tremendous variety of experience – full flavours, delicate flavours, fruity, dry – they’re tremendous wines, much heavier than French wines,” David says.
“My wife and I have been drinking Portuguese wines exclusively now for more than 10 years and if we drink French wines after drinking Portuguese wines, the French wines are very light, very watery and no character – even the good ones.”
Portuguese wines around the world are not fully appreciated for their complexity, their diversity and their tremendous value
The Portuguese like to blend their wines heavily, sometimes using as many as 40 different grape varieties in one bottle. This gives the wine tremendous complexity.
“In France, there are several distinct areas famous for producing wine,” David says, “but in Portugal every area is a major wine producer - the whole country is covered with them - it’s a massive industry.”