In the latest in a series of articles going behind the scenes at some of the winners of the 2024 World’s Best Wine Lists Awards, Elisabete Fernandes, Wine Director at The Yeatman, explains how she and her team put together the Best Regional Wine List in Region—Europe.
What does Winning a WBWL award mean to you at The Yeatman?
Winning a World’s Best Wine List Award from The World of Fine Wine (Best Regional Wine List in Region—Europe) is a very important accolade for us, as it signifies the recognition of a very particular vision—the promotion of Portuguese wines—and the proof that our idea is unique and that our gamble on this concept is indeed a winning one, drawing the attention of the international public to the potential of these wines and to wine tourism in this country.
What are you trying to achieve with your list at The Yeatman?
Our aim is to publicize the full potential and quality of Portuguese wines. We want to show how in such a small country, we have so much history, diversity, and style. Our wine list with 97% Portuguese references, when presented in a wine hotel like The Yeatman, visited by the most diverse international audiences, reaches this public and becomes one of the main ambassadors for promoting Portuguese wines, elevating their service and exposure when showcased with our incredible gastronomy and the art of hospitality.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of The Yeatman list?
The greatest strength of this list is the fact that it is eclectic and that we can find wines for the most varied types of customers, through the introduction of different wine styles and regions, with great depth of vintages, typical Portuguese grape varieties, and excellent price diversity. The range of wines on our wine list, together with the work of our team of sommeliers, is really what sets it apart.
What are three wines on your list that you feel best represent what you’re trying to do at The Yeatman?
Taylor’s Single Harvest 1896, Port—this wine represents history, rarity, and quality and is a tribute to the most internationally renowned and acclaimed of all Portuguese wines: Port.
Ilha do Pico Terrantez White 2020—from the second largest island in the archipelago of the Azores, with its rare and charismatic grape variety, this wine represents the rebirth of a Portuguese region and is an acclamation of the dramatic viticulture on this island.
Abandonado Alves de Sousa 2017, Douro Valley—this wine represents the old vines of the Douro Valley region (which are more than 80 years old), their limited production, and a blend that includes more than 25 indigenous grape varieties (all Portuguese), which is the main signature of this region's incredible wines.
What is your favourite wine and food pairing based on a wine and a dish served at The Yeatman?
I have two favorite pairings. One is listed on the menu in our Gastronomic Restaurant, and the other is a classic and an all-time favorite.
The first is our two Michelin star chef Ricardo Costa’s signature dish, suckling pig, paired with an aged red wine from the Bairrada region, for its incredible structure and complexity. Currently in The Yeatman’s Gastronomic Restaurant we are featuring Principal 2009, Bairrada, which represents the quality of this Portuguese terroir, with its blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Touriga Nacional. This is a wine of unique quality, rivaling the great and acclaimed wines of the Old World.
And the classic choice? A very old Vintage Port with blue cheeses.
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