Text João Barbosa | Translation Jani Dunne

Good evening, welcome to my place. Have a seat; I will serve you some wine in a moment. Tonight, we dine in the living room. I’m feeling groovy.

– We all are!

– In the living room?! Preppy-boy’s gone mad!

– Shut up, Pedro. Let me finish. I feel this groove and…

– We all do!

– Well, seeing as you all answered back in a chorus this time…  I shall sulk and dance my way to the kitchen to bring you some appetisers. I’m glad the good vibes are unanimous.

[Once back in the living room]

– Why has nobody turned music on yet?! Are you trying to upset me? We have three wines for tonight…  and there’s some logic to them. They come in a sequence… Bibbidi! Bobbidi! Boo!

[Everybody is dancing to You Never Can Tell by Chuck Berry… Pulp Fiction].

– Wow, the party has only just begun and the rug is already drizzled with red… hurrah!

– What are we drinking?

– Hot Lips 2012. Let me change the track… Why Don’t You Do Right by Katherine Turner… [Who Framed Roger Rabbit]

– Roger Rabbit! But tell us more about the wine…

– It’s red…

– Yup!

– That’s obvious.

– Come on, tell us!

– Douro.

– Oh, come on!

– Duh!… Didn’t you get it yet? We have to be careful… walls have ears. They could be listening in on us… the grape varieties are secret.

– L-O-L.

– Look, the bottle’s finished. What should I open now?

– That one… that one over there. It says In The Flesh 2012.

– Cool!

– Play Bryan Ferry’s Slave To Love…

– Whoa! From Nine 1/2 Weeks… Wow!

– Just the thought of Kim Basinger…

– And me instead of Mickey Rourke.

– I never got what women see in him…

– Tough luck! Girl stuff. Never mind. Tough!

– What’s up with the wine?

– What do you mean, what’s up?!

– It keeps ending…

– Open that one now… Is everybody ready? Let’s go!

– Wow! It tastes delicious! What is it?

– You don’t want to know…

– Psycho!

– Take that disc out and play this one, please.

– What is it? Good choice.

– What is it? …What?

– Push It To The Limit.

– Paul Engemann?!

– Yup!

– Scarface!…

– Yes!

– Nailed it! Tell me, what are we eating?

– You have to figure it out for yourself. This dinner’s a crime fiction.

Besides “formal” wines, Quinta do Pôpa have a conceptual side and, until now, it has amusingly been called Pôpa Art Projects. The first were Lolita and Milf. For this occasion, we had the second episode; this idea is a toast to the world of seduction, crime and the cinema.

The bottles in this trilogy (Pôpa Fiction) contain one litre, a little tease… or rather, a slight stifling of ideas. Each wine has its own name and label, which feature Mário Belém’s artwork.

Hot Lips 2012 is a greedy wine; relaxed, thus, dangerous. I recommend having it before a dinner date… That’s it – smooth and sexy.

Now the second, In The Flesh 2012, is the most “substantial” on the mouth. It’s meetier. “A bad egg,” say the sibling vintners, Stéphane and Vanessa Ferreira. Exactly… it does slip down easily, but a few appetisers can only do you good. Say hot appetisers like puff-pastry nibbles, smoked sausages and some cheeses.

The third wine in the gang is The Grape Escape 2012. It’s a sort of Al Capone. It demands respect and must be taken with strong and powerful food. It’s a little more rustic and food friendly.

To drink them all in one occasion is funny and logical, because there’s an evident evolution in the style of the wines, from the easiest one to drink to the one that shakes up the table.

All you have to do is fantasise a little and you’ll see a detective plot being “written” in front of you – orally – as every person at the table adds a bit. Then, and if there’s any strength left, play Cluedo – one of the most amusing games to play when you’re inebriated.

Contacts
Quinta do Pôpa, Lda.
E.N. 222 – Adorigo
5120-011 Tabuaço
Portugal
Email: geral@quintadopopa.com
Mobile: (+351) 915 678 498
Site: www.quintadopopa.com