A Celebration of Harvest — Portuguese Wine Chick

Every November, to celebrate the harvest and the maturation of that year’s wine production, Portuguese people all over gather for what is called a magusto. This is a feast where communities gather to build a bon fire, roast recently harvested chestnuts, and sample that year’s young wine along with their family and friends.

This feast is also known to as “Dia De Sâo Martinho” (St. Martin’s Day) which takes place on November 11, but people generally enjoy this tradition for as long as there is cool weather, abundant chestnuts, and plenty of wine!

While, unfortunately, not everyone has a barrel of wine aging in their own personal cellars, most people tend to reach for light bodied wines like the reds and rosés from Vinho Verde region, or they might event opt for Porto wine if they wanted to have more of an aperitif.

The next time you find yourself in the market staring at a bag of chestnuts and are not quite sure what to do if you don’t have access to a bon fire, just pop them in the boiler to roast for about 15-20 minutes, or until you start to smell a sweet and nutty aroma. Just be sure to score the chestnuts so they don’t pop, stir them up often, and keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

As they say in Portugal: É dia de São Martinho. Comem-se castanhas; prova-se o vinho! (“It is St. Martin’s Day. We’ll eat chestnuts; we’ll taste the wine.”)