Rosé-cheeked after a night out with Portuguese

WINESDAY is a great break in my week, the worst is behind me and with the weekend looming I reward myself with a bottle of vino to give me a surge for the finishing line. Thanks to our Portuguese friends this week your diarist even earned some brownie points with the indomitable Mrs M.

VisitPortugal set up a Portuguese Village at the Irish Travel Industry Trade Show at the RDS on Wednesday and kept us lubricated with the Rosé slipping down too easily.

Discovering the local vino on holiday has always been a particular pleasure and our first summer holiday as a couple to Portugal saw us develop a taste for their grapes which has never left us. In truth, I knew the taste already, having been treated to half-glass samples as a child as a summer treat.

So, obrigado amigos for the bottle of Segredos De Sao Miguel, a cheeky red they sent me home with and which we will be quaffing tonight and thinking of our future trip to Portugal in September.

VisitPortugal gathered 16 suppliers to the RDS including regional tourist boards, hoteliers and agents. Like your favourite wine you won’t know which you like until you’ve tried all the destinations, but I suggest the Hotel Tryp Lisboa Caparica Mar, 20 minutes from Lisbon from where you can indulge in surf, golf, equestrian activities and enjoy the pool.

And if you book 15 days in advance, you can save up to 10% (valid for stays from June 7 to 21).

I found a week in a lateral ocean view double room from €618.20 B&B for the sample dates of June 19-26. That’s down from an average €98.12 to €88.31. Visit hotihoteis. com. Aer Lingus and Ryanair both fly to Lisbon.

So break out the wine and as they say in Portugal, ‘Saúde’.