On October 16th and 17th we held a small in-house exhibition. Under the title "Festa Portuguesa" we invited 3 of the most exciting young winemakers from Portugal to Berlin: Rita Marques Ferreira, Luis Louro and Antonio Madeira. We wanted to offer our customers the opportunity to get to know the wines of the three in a relaxed atmosphere. The weather was on our side, the shop was full and the atmosphere was great, the customers were enthusiastic, the winegrowers were satisfied and of course we were too! But instead of wasting too many words, let's let the pictures do the talking...

As a prelude to "Cheese" in Markthalle Neun next Sunday, we are offering you the opportunity to taste a selection of our favorite Portuguese wines with us and to discover cheese from Portugal, which one of Portugal's leading cheese experts, Manuel Maia, brought . This Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

My fourth trip to Portugal this year took me and my wife to the Douro Valley again, but this time also to the Dão, the growing region a little further inland to the south, which some are cautiously calling "Portugal's Tuscany". We met four promising established and new winemakers and brought back a nice crop of fantastic wines that we're sure you'll love!

Word has gotten as far away as Germany that a new generation of winegrowers has taken over the reins in Portugal a few years ago. As part of our Festa Portuguesa - an open wine tasting - we would like to introduce you to our favorite Portuguese wines. But it's not us, but the winemakers themselves who are visiting us for the occasion: Rita Marques Ferreira (Conceito, Alto Douro), Louis Vegas Louro (Adega do Monte Branco, Alentejo) and Antonio Madeira (Dão). There are 10 wines on the tasting sheet. And Anabela Campos-Neves from anabela's Kitchen will take care of your physical well-being with delicious petiscos!

All experts agree: good wines from Portugal have long been among the best in the world. Part of the reason for this is that Portugal is home to around 200 autochthonous (if not more!) grape varieties – very lucky! A lot is happening, especially in the Douro Valley! There is now talk of a real "revolution on the Douro" because unlike a little while ago, when only grapes were grown there for the production of port wines, the new winegrowers are now concentrating on increasing the quality of their own, local wines . One of them is Rita Marques Ferreira from the Conceito winery. Their fine and elegant wines with a lot of freshness and minerality have recently enriched our wine range.

After a visit to our "fish department" it should be clear to everyone: we have a passion for sardines! Some may call it a little spleen, but the worship of this fish takes on completely different proportions in other countries! For example in Lisbon: the Festa de Santo António is celebrated there every year on June 12th. This is a holiday in honor of Saint Antonio, the patron saint of Lisbon, when the whole city comes out and sardines are grilled and eaten 24 hours a day in the colorfully decorated streets. A true paradise for us... and it goes without saying that we really wanted to be there this year!

We are always looking for exciting new products that win our hearts and that we can offer our customers. Of course, our focus is on French delicacies, but if there are interesting products to discover and taste elsewhere, we are curious and take a closer look... Portugal seems to be a real treasure trove in this respect! This time we went on a little wine journey to the famous Douro Valley...

Everything was better before! It's a good thing that this statement isn't always true... especially when it comes to Vinho Verde. It used to be known as a lemonade-like wine with barely 10% alcohol and a lot of carbonation. Fortunately, things are different today, because the new generation of winegrowers aspires to measure themselves with their product against the “crème de la crème” of the globalized wine world... and: they succeed!

Who would have thought? Asparagus pairs wonderfully with Vinho Verde from northern Portugal! Come by and see for yourself. We cordially invite you to an uncomplicated spring aperitif where you can sample this luscious combination . When: Friday, May 8 / 5 - 7 pm Where: as always at Emser Straße 42, 10719 Berlin-Wilmersdorf

This weekend we would like to invite you to our place! Spontaneously and for the sheer pleasure of the new Portuguese products that are arriving on pallets these days. Philippe caught fire on his vacation trips to the region and so our product range has expanded a little in the meantime. In order to offer you the opportunity to get to know and discover everything for yourself, we have decided to organize a small culinary festival where you can taste wines and olive oil of the new harvest.

Sometimes it is worth discovering new horizons - often amazing (culinary) pearls can be discovered behind them ...! This is exactly what happened when Maître Philippe and his wife Evelyne headed to Portugal for the winter holidays to soak up some sun. There they immediately fell in love with the Alentejo region and its wines. No wonder, since the Alentejo has the highest proportion of winegrowers in the country, is considered one of the most promising wine regions in the country and was voted one of the top 10 "World Wine Regions to visit" by USA Today magazine in 2014. They were particularly impressed by the wines from the "Alento" line from the young, passionate winemaker Luis Louro. Since 2006 he has been running the Adega do Monte Branco - the "wine cellar from the white mountain" - in the heart of the Alentejo. In a way, he was born with his profession, because his father Miguel is also a winegrower and runs the Quinta do Mouro. Both wineries are located in Estremoz, a town of 10,000 inhabitants in the Evora district. Luis' career began in the classic way with a degree in agricultural engineering, after which he worked for 6 years on his father's winery and laid the foundation for his experience. In order to further expand his knowledge of modern viticulture, he then moved to California, where he completed an internship of several months at a local winery. Back in his homeland, he gathered a young team of enthusiastic professionals to make his dream come true: the production of modern, easily accessible quality wines from predominantly indigenous Portuguese grape varieties. The Adega do Monte Branco, a modern winery with lots of wood, white walls and picture windows that allow a view of the beautiful valley, was built in 2006 on a hill near Estremoz, from which the town and the castle can be seen well. The estate produces wines from its own vines and those growing on leased land: vines of the Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet and Touriga National (for red wine) and Roupeiro, Arinto and Antão Vaz (for white wine) varieties grow on 25 hectares of slate and clay soils. The "Alento" wines are the first and most important line of the house. They carry the typical character of the Alentejo wines: they are modern, full of character and convince with an excellent price-performance ratio. Despite the very short time since the company was founded, word has already gotten around. Robert Parker has awarded previous vintages 86, 87 and 88 points and over 50% of the wine is already exported internationally. We at Maître Philippe et filles have recently become one of the lucky buyers and we are very happy about this addition! New in the range are the "Alento Tinto" 2012 (red) and the "Alento Branco" 2014 (white). They are refreshing, great everyday wines made exclusively from autochthonous grape varieties, which go well with any meal and should be drunk young. Here you can go directly to the wines: red , white and red-white tasting box . By the way, Luis is expecting his second child in June this year - we are happy for him and his wife Joana! More impressions of the Adega: Photos by: Adega do Monte Branco

During our short trip to Lisbon, we visited the Conserveira de Lisboa, ate at the legendary canned restaurant Sol e Pesca and met up with Tiago from the design-loving start-up Miss Can. We ate a lot of fish, but also a lot of pasteis de nata and of course we looked at the beautiful city, which is always worth a visit!