The food and wine lover’s guide to Portugal

Highly illustrated and beautifully designed, this is a 446-page hardback guide to Portugal for independent travellers who love good wine and food. Book in hand, head straight for the gastronomic hotspots of Lisbon and Porto, the Algarve and Madeira, but also the places to eat and drink well in the stunning countryside of undiscovered inland and island Portugal.

Few people in Britain have any idea how delicious Portuguese wines have become. Why the change? Modern winemakers, revamped wineries, spruced-up vineyards, and numerous unique, fine, flavoursome grapes that can stand up proudly against any in the world. Internationally-renowned wine critic Charles Metcalfe has tasted every wine in this book. Visit the best wineries, from small family producers to major multi-media tours.

The Wine and Food Lover’s Guide to Portugal highlights Portugal’s new-wave restaurants, chefs who are creating dishes with modern flair from fine local ingredients, flirting with traditional culinary themes; it also pinpoints the best of traditional restaurants, and details the local produce and cuisines of each of Portugal’s regions.

Whilst not aiming to be a comprehensive general tourist guide, the book takes a quick touristic run through each region or city. It also suggests characterful places to stay at a range of price levels, from luxury hotel to farmhouse bed and breakfast, conveniently placed for winery visits or restaurants.

As well as 1600 colour photos there are nineteen maps, with digital terrain modelling to show the lie of the land, provide the most detailed mapping of the Portuguese vineyards to date, locating visitable wineries and places to eat and stay.

Charles Metcalfe and Kathryn McWhirter wrote their first book on Portuguese wines over 20 years ago. Charles is one of the most spontaneous and amusing wine critics in Britain, and a well-known face on British television, having been part of the ITV This Morning team for 12 years. He was a co-founder of WINE International magazine, and is co-chairman of the International WINE Challenge, the world’s biggest wine competition. Before turning to wine, he was a professional singer.

Kathryn was drinks correspondent for the Independent on Sunday for nine years, sometimes also writing about food. She wrote and edited the Which? Wine Guide and Good Wine Bar Guide for the Consumers’ Association, as well as wine list reviews for the Good Food Guide, and was editor of Wine & Spirit magazine. Together Charles and Kathryn have written wine and wine-with-food books for Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, as well as other publishers.

Available direct from Inn House Publishing or from all good book shops.

The Food & Wine Lover’s Guide To Portugal
By Charles Metcalfe And Kathryn Mcwhirter
Designed By Sarah Moysey
Inn House Publishing, Rrp £16.95 (Harrods, Amazon Etc)