Best bars to taste Portuguese wines in Lisbon
As people who love to eat, we couldn’t phantom a good meal without a proper glass of wine to pair with the food. Great cuisine and good wine go hand in hand and, following Portuguese cultural habits, opening a bottle and sharing with friends around the table is one of the ways we normally enjoy spending time with loved ones or even getting acquainted with new folks. Wine is a pleasure in itself and, why not recognize it, it helps people ease into the moment, allowing conversations to flow.
Our passion for wine led us to develop our Winemaker for a Day experience. Just like the appreciation for food tends to increase when you learn how to cook it yourself, we thought the same applies to wine, even if this may seem like a more complex process at a first glance. During this private experience, perfect for groups and corporate team-building sessions, you’ll learn about the many Portuguese wine regions, of course, with a glass in hand. Wine tasting and blending, at our facilities in downtown Lisbon or at a winery nearby (in Cascais, Sintra or, for example, in Setúbal) will make you learn more about the process which transforms the grapes into the liquid we all love so much.
We often talk about the dishes you can’t miss when you travel to Portugal, or recommend the must try restaurant in Lisbon. Today, as we focus on wine instead, we’d love to suggest some of the best wine bars in Lisbon, where you can specifically explore the wide range of Portuguese wines:
Senhor Uva
We begin our list of recommendations with Senhor Uva because, besides being a wine bar with an impressive list, it has a couple of other characteristics which tickle our fancy. Not only does Senhor Uva focus on low intervention natural wines, it has a very pronounced gastronomic side to it, by the magical hands of chef Stéphanie Audet, who specializes in plant forward food.
Stéphanie came over to Portugal with her partner Marc Davidson, and their love for natural wines drove them to open Senhor Uva, which is part wine bar, part restaurant with small but truly impressive dishes, perfect for sharing and tasting as you sample different wines. Good thing that the staff is knowledgeable, friendly and ready to recommend based on your references or how adventurous you may be feeling on the day you visit, as the list of wines is so extensive that it can be borderline overwhelming.
Not all wines at Senhor Uva are Portuguese. On the contrary, we’d say that this is a great place to explore biodynamic wines from abroad, with particular emphasis on French brands. But Portuguese representation is strong nonetheless, including whites, reds, rosés, sparkling wine and even orange wines, which are basically white wines fermented with skin contact of the grapes during the wine making process. Expect Portuguese natural wines from top to bottom of the country, with several options served by the glass, and which keep rotating to give customers the opportunity to try different options without having to order an entire bottle. Even if you visit by yourself, the counter at Senhor Uva is inviting for you to sit at, relax, sip some wine, enjoy some impeccable botanical food and chat a little with the staff whose passion for wine clearly shines through!
📍Rua de Santo Amaro 66A, 1200-804 Lisbon