The wine uses 100% Baga grape variety, one of the “most difficult in Portugal”, which is produced in Anadia, the “region most similar to French Burgundy”, Nuno Pires explained to Lusa.

The Algarve restaurant Ocean, at Vila Vita Parc, in Porches, with two Michelin stars under chef Hans Neuner, won the “Restaurant of the Year 2024” award.

“It started in 2020 with a menu that set out to discover Portugal, then another with links to the islands [of Madeira and the Azores], another with the route to India, memories of Brazil and the last year was an expedition through Asia. He has done an incredible job and I am sure he is well positioned to probably have a third Michelin star at Ocean”, said Nuno Pires.

Still, in the restaurant section, Chef Aurora Goy, 34, of French origin with a Portuguese mother from the Minho region and who works at the Porto Alegre restaurant Apego, won in the “Revelation Chef of the Year” category.

Tasquinha da Linda, in Viana do Castelo, was awarded the “Wine Service of the Year” prize and the Granja dos Moinhos cheese, the Chèvre da Maçussa, made by Adolfo Henriques, allowed him to obtain the “Artisanal Producer of the Year” prize.

In the Wine Personality of the Year category, the award was given to winemaker João Nicolau de Almeida, who spent 40 years working for Casa Ramos Pinto Porto & Douro until starting the family project at Quinta do Monte Xisto, also in the Douro.

In the category Gastronomy Personality of the Year 2024, the title went to Manuel Pinheiro, owner of the restaurant and seafood restaurant O Gaveto, for 40 years in the fishing town of Matosinhos. Manuel Pinheiro has been a “student of traditional cuisine”, specifically “Porto-style tripe and lamprey”, recalled the director of Revista Vinhos.

Australian winemaker David Baverstock, currently the Winestone group's oenology coordinator, was considered the “Winemaker of the Year” and the “Newcomer Winemaker” was Jorge Mata, with Ramilo wines, in Sintra.

In this 28th edition, Revista Vinhos decided to pay tribute to the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, because “he ends his municipal career this year” – a position he has held since 2013 – and because “20 years ago he opened the doors of Palácio da Bolsa for the Essência do Vinho event”, explained Nuno Pires.

According to the director of Revista Vinhos, the mayor of Porto has had a “very unique dynamic in promoting wine and gastronomy” in recent years, with projects launched and strategies that have been implemented, such as at Mercado do Bolhão, in events such as Global Kitchen or the “Best Emerging Gastronomy Destination” award.

“All of this led us to this year like to pay tribute to the current mayor [of Porto]”, he concluded.

Held since 1996, “The Best of the Year” are considered by the sector as the “Oscars of wine and gastronomy” in Portugal. The 2024 “Best of the Year” will be featured in the February edition of Revista de Vinhos.