Food & Occasion

Mealhada in Bairrada is known throughout the country for a single dish: Leitão à Bairrada, wood-oven roasted suckling pig. The skin turns crisp and glossy while the meat beneath stays tender. For decades, it has been the feast-day dish for families and day-trippers at the inns along the road.

That Espumante belongs alongside it has a practical reason. The acidity and fine bubbles cut through the fat of the skin, leaving the mouth feeling fresh again after every bite. Red Brut sparkling wines with light tannin pair especially well with the meat. A Baga Blanc de Noirs works just as well through its structure.

Alongside the suckling pig, Bairrada is also known for Rojões, pan-fried pieces of pork, which likewise pair well with a dry Espumante. Oysters and sushi, too, turn up next to these classics at the region's sparkling wine events. This shows just how versatile an Espumante with taut acidity can be at the table: it carries hearty dishes as well as salty fare from the nearby Atlantic coast, and it refreshes the palate between courses.

To finish, sweets come to the table: Ovos moles, an egg-yolk cream, along with Amores da Curia and Morgadinhos. A half-dry Espumante suits these best, one bringing more sweetness than the dish itself. A Bruto Natural would taste sharp next to them, since the sweetness of the dish makes the wine's acidity stand out more harshly. Anyone wanting to try both at the table should pair the dry style with the main course and the milder sparkling wine with dessert.

For sparkling wine itself, there's a date on the calendar in Curia, a spa town in the municipality of Anadia: the Millésime festival gathers several dozen producers from across Portugal for tastings and food pairings. Around New Year's, too, Espumante often graces Portuguese tables, from Bairrada as well as from other regions.