Cristof, the chef, is pouring petrol (OK, brandy) onto the fire, the flames from the pan hissing upwards like a cobra half-threatening to singe his beard.
“Has it ever caught fire before?” I ask, signalling to his facial hair.
“Mmm, not yet,” replies a grinning Cristof.
As the vineyards of the Douro Valley roll in the distance, visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows of this kitchen-restaurant, Cristof is demonstrating the art of petiscos. Portugal’s answer to tapas, petiscos are designed to share with family and friends, usually with wine or beer, and I’ll soon be enjoying a batch with my fellow travellers, some of whom have donned aprons and sous-chef hats to assist Cristof with all the peeling, chopping and cooking.
The rest of us are sitting, idling, watching, listening and sipping some of the red and white wine that Cristof’s colleagues have poured into the glasses on our tables — all of it produced at Quinta da Pacheca, winemakers since 1738. The estate has been modernised in recent decades, with the addition of a hotel, rooms in giant wine barrels, restaurants and a spa. It’s the base for our two-night stay in the Douro Valley, at the halfway point of our Collette tour of Portugal and Spain.
Having had a wine-tasting session and wine-paired dinner the evening before, this lunchtime we’re tucking into the likes of salada de polvo (boiled octopus salad), and pica pau, the petisco flambeed by Cristof. Translated to mean “woodpecker” — it’s typically eaten with wooden toothpicks — it comprises cubes of meat (veal in this case) swimming in a sauce of brandy, wine, beer and tabasco.
Talking of swimming, there is an outdoor pool (open in the warmer months) at this estate, while the cosy communal lounges entice with their coffee table tomes and books about the Douro Valley and other leading wine regions.
First of all, though, I’ll take a post-lunch walk through the vineyards, the views much clearer now than when I woke up and flung open the shutters of my bedroom window to see fog shrouding all and sundry. That’s not uncommon in the valley, especially in February, the Portuguese winter, but visibility levels and temperatures usually climb after breakfast time. With birdsong in the air and resident peacocks strutting about, Quinta da Pacheca is a lovely place for us to eat, drink, relax and recuperate.
+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Collette. They have not influenced or seen this story.
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+ A two-night stay in the Douro Valley, including wine, food and a river cruise, is included on Collette’s 15-day small-group Flavours of Portugal and Spain tour. It’s available throughout the year, starting with three nights in Lisbon, and finishing in San Sebastian, also visiting the Rioja wine region. Tours from $6299 per person. See gocollette.com/en-AU
+ If travelling independently, rooms at Quinta da Pacheca are priced from around $330 a night. See quintadapacheca.com
+ For more information on visiting Portugal, see visitportugal.com
