Portugal is a wonderful place to visit, as millions of travelers have discovered. Every bit as sunny and welcoming as Spain, Portugal has a distinct culture and approach to the passionate enjoyment of life.Five Iconic Portuguese Drinks that you need to try whenever you visit this European Country.Find info about Iconic Portuguese Drinks.
That can be seen in how Portuguese people appreciate and savor the drinks they enjoy with meals or all on their own. As those who check out alcoholprofessor.com will see, Portugal is a world-class destination for anyone who likes to sample, delicious alcoholic beverages.
A Country With a Long History of Beverage-Related Excellence
Despite some unfortunate weather putting a damper on recent harvests, Portugal is a country that takes fermented beverages very seriously. People have been making alcoholic beverages like wine in Portugal for thousands of years, and most of these efforts have traditionally aimed at satisfying the country’s domestic demand.
While some other countries with enviable climates have focused mostly on trading the beverages they produce, Portugal has remained somewhat more insular. Far from limiting the quality or variety of the country’s output, that has helped endow Portugal with one of the most distinctive national beverage cultures of all.
Five Iconic Portuguese Drinks for Visitors to Try
As a result, no trip to Portugal should be considered complete without a sampling of the country’s best-known beverages when appropriate. Five of the drinks that best represent what Portugal has to offer are:
- Vinho Verde
As an especially light, refreshing wine, Vinho Verde is well-suited to the northern parts of Portugal where it is traditionally produced. A bit of effervescence helps keep Vinho Verde tasting lively and light, although the best bottlings also have a bit of backbone. Vinho Verde is likely the best-known Portuguese wine, and for good reason. Although it does not have the panache of something like champagne, Vinho Verde is an everyday beverage that just about anyone can appreciate.
- Vinho do Douro
If vinho verde is approachable and unprepossessing, wines made in Portugal’s fabled Douro region tend to be quite a bit more assertive and even domineering. At one time, Vinho does the Douro was regarded as so stout and aggressive that people from other parts of Portugal and overseas tended to water it down. Modern vinho do the Douro, though, tends to be quite a bit tamer and more manageable, much to the delight of many drinkers. Some of Portugal’s most esteemed vineyards regularly produce vinho do Douro vintages that attract buyers and collectors from all over the world.
- Ginjinha
The Portuguese sour cherry is a tart little fruit with an oversized personality. When its juice gets distilled into the liqueur called “ginjinha,” all that character shines through in concentrated form. Generally enjoyed as an aperitif that is served with a piece of the fresh fruit, ginjinha is not well-known outside of Portugal but deserves to be.
- Madeira
Fortified wines are made in most places that regularly produce the raw ingredients. Portugal’s distinctive take on the genre is one of the most famous of all. Madeira gets aged in cellars that tend to be warmer than the caves were fortified wines from elsewhere are left to mature. That makes it more lively, as might be seen as befitting of its Portuguese provenance.
- Aguardente de Medronho
Many parts of Portugal make their own distinctive sorts of high-proof “firewater.” Aguardente de Medronho is a lush brandy made from a strawberry-like fruit that grows wild in certain stretches of the country.
A Paradise for Beverage Fans
There are so many reasons to visit Portugal that any list will inevitably omit plenty of good ones. Just about any visitor who enjoys alcoholic beverages should appreciate at least a few of those described above.
