Held since 1996, “The Bests of the Year” is considered by the sector as the “Oscars of wine and gastronomy” in Portugal.
Revista de Vinhos, the leading wine magazine in Portugal, has announced the big winners of the year 2022 awards, on the 3rd of February in a ceremony in Porto.
And now, let me introduce you to the winners of 2022!
The president of Real Companhia Velha, Pedro Silva Reis, who completed 40 years of career, was considered “Personality of the Year in Wine” in recognition of the work carried out in the recovery and contemporary projection of the company founded along with the Demarcation and Regulation of the Wine Region of Douro, in 1756.
Rui Sanches, entrepreneur and mentor of the Plateform restaurant group, which today has 149 restaurants and employs around 2,400 employees, was awarded “Personality of the Year in Gastronomy”, underlining the entrepreneurial vision and qualitative diversity of concept proposals such as Alma, Rocco restaurants or the Vitaminas brand.
Rubens Menin, a Brazilian multimillionaire with diversified investments in sectors such as construction, banking and the Media, was considered “Personality of the Year in Brazil”, highlighting the 35 million euros already invested in the Douro, in the Menin Wine Company.
Vinha Negrosa 2019, red from Dão, made in the foothills of Serra da Estrela by producer Marcelo Villela Araújo, mentor of Texture Wines, with oenology by Luis Seabra and Mariana Salvador, obtained from the Jaen (50%) and Alfrocheiro (50%) grape varieties from a vineyard with more than 30 years, it obtained the “Wine of the Year” distinction.
Susana Esteban, a Galician winemaker who has been based in Portugal for several years and who for more than a decade has undertaken a personal project in the north of Alentejo, won the title “Producer of the Year”.
Blandy´s, a symbol of the Madeira Wine Company universe, renowned for the elaboration of deeply balanced Madeira Wines, was elected in the category “Producer of Fortified Wines of the Year”.
From Colares, Sintra, Lisbon’s wine region, Quinta de San Michel, designed by Joaquim Camilo and which focuses on grape varieties such as Malvasia de Colares, Galego Dourado or Ramisco, won the distinction “Revelation Producer of the Year“.
Quinta da Lixa, the fourth largest producer in the Vinho Verde region, producing 7.4 million bottles annually, is “Company of the Year”.
And the title of “Brand of the Year” was awarded to Graham’s, a reference in Port Wine and which recently marked the bicentennial.
Rui Cunha, a winemaker who celebrates 25 years of career and collaborates with several producers in the Douro, Trás-os-Montes and Vinhos Verdes regions, was considered “Winemaker of the Year”.
And Luís Pedro Cândido da Silva, working at Niepoort and on the project of the Quinta da Carolina family, received the distinction “Revelation Winemaker of the Year”.
Carlos Monteiro, who coordinates the wine service at Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, two Michelin-starred restaurant owned by chef Rui Paula, in Leça da Palmeira, was considered “Sommelier of the Year”.
Garcias Wines & Spirits Boutique Comporta won the “Store/Garrafeira do Ano” award.
“Wine Tourism of the Year” was awarded to The Vine House, the new wine tourism company from Quinta de S. Luiz in the Douro region.
And the city of Guarda was considered the “Gastronomic Destination of the Year”.
The “Innovation/Research of the Year” award underlined the work of the collaborative laboratory Smart Farm Colab, based in Torres Vedras and which has been developing technology to support the agricultural industry, the result of a partnership between the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, the Instituto Polytechnic of Leiria and the University Institute of Lisbon.
The “Distributor of the Year” distinction elected Viborel, which in 2022 sold 16 million bottles and recorded a turnover of 56 million euros.
The Vicentine coast is highlighted in the gastronomic chapter. Näperõn, in Odeceixe, by chef Hugo Nascimento, won the “Restaurant of the Year” award.
And chef Ana Moura, from the Lamelas restaurant, in Porto Côvo, won the promising category “Revelation Chef of the Year”.
From Vila Real de Santo António, Algarve, Sociedade Pescas Pelagicas was awarded the “Handmade Producer of the Year” award for being the guardian of the traditional tuna muxama.
(There is a vast menu in Vila Real de Santo António of tuna recipes, but one of the most characteristics is the muxama. It is a product made with the same recipe that Phoenicians and Romans made two thousand years ago already using the “best salt in the world”, that of Castro Marim. The term comes from the Arabic musama, which means “dry.” It results from an old way of processing the fish, using the loins of tuna, which are passed through coarse salt and then washed to remove excess salt. It consists then of the salting and subsequent drying of the noble parts of the tuna in a controlled environment and temperature. It is said to be a kind of sea ham …)
Paulo Morais, the most experienced Portuguese sushi chef, was elected “Chef of the Year” for the excellence, creativity and precision of his work at the Kanazawa restaurant, in Lisbon, and Kabuki.
Also from Lisbon, at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz, where the sommelier Felipe Wang, won the distinction of “Best Wine Service”.
Revista de Vinhos also awarded the Homage prize to two great names in wine – producer Domingos Alves de Sousa and oenologist Peter Bright.
In addition, he handed out diplomas to the 30 “Excellence Wines” chosen by the publication’s tasters and distinguished Soalheiro Alvarinho 2021 as “Buy of the Year”.
Source and photo: Revista de Vinhos
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