meet the category winner at the 2023 Bom Gourmet Awards

How do you produce a good wine list? If you want to know how the best one is made, we recommend a visit to Duq Gastronomia. The restaurant was voted best in the category, within Specialties, of the 2023 Bom Gourmet Award.

A jury made up of seven experts selected letters from five establishments in Curitiba. As two nominees received the same number of votes, the Bom Gourmet Award promoted a second round of votes with the judges to break the tie. The letter from partners Felipe Miyake, Alexandre Abage and José Vinícius Chupil then received four votes.

The plurality of labels and the diversity of countries, grapes, styles, production methods and producers, in the view of chef Miyake and sommelier Vinícius, explain the experts’ choice of the house’s menu. But there are also other factors that the partners believe make their menu selected as the best in Curitiba gastronomy.

“The wine list began to be designed two years before the restaurant opened,” explains Miyake, one of the chefs honored in the 13th edition of the Bom Gourmet Award. “Not only the letter, but the construction of the service as well, the process of building the winery”, he adds.

“We tried to make the list clear, with vintage, alcohol content, description of the grapes, producer”, informs Vinícius, best sommelier in Curitiba this year according to the Bom Gourmet Award committee.

The updated letter, which will be available to customers from the beginning of October, brings together 630 labels from 42 different countries. The selection includes traditional, organic, biodynamic, vegan and natural wines, and labels starting at R$150, which proves that Vinícius is right: it doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive to be good. “We cater to all types of palates”, he emphasizes.

Storage, temperature and anatomy of the glasses

The entire structure for storing wines in the Duq cellar is part of the creation of the menu, informs the sommelier. The definition of the air conditioning and humidity of the space, the angle of the bottles, the way they are arranged in the niches, the specific temperatures for the different types of wine, everything was carefully thought out. The wines are arranged behind three glass ‘curtains’. Among them, there is argon gas, which protects the bottles from UVA and UVB rays and also from vibration, which can be caused by external sounds.

For each style of wine, the sommelier chooses specific glass anatomies – including the type of crystal – and decanter. The vintage is also considered when choosing the ideal items to be used in serving the wine.

“The cellar for long-term red and white wines has a capacity for 1800 bottles at a temperature of 15 degrees”, says chef Miyake. There is also a second cellar, within this larger one, with space for 200 bottles at a temperature of six degrees. This smaller location was prepared to accommodate white, rosé and sparkling wines, which should be served cooler.

Dishes prepared for wines

The wine list at Duq is so significant that the restaurant has created some specific dishes for some labels – the normal thing is the opposite: choosing wines to pair with certain already defined dishes. Rãs à Provençal was created for characterful White Bourgognes wines and champagnes. For red Bourgognes based on Pinot Noir that bring strength and elegance, the house created Quail stew in chasseur sauce with creamy polenta. And for Bordeaux and equivalents in strength and structure, Stinco of lamb roasted in its own sauce with fregula sarda.

The menu is the result of a six-man effort, thanks to the interest of the three partners in offering the best to the restaurant’s customers. The new menu will already feature some of the winery’s highlights, which are already available to Duq customers. Vinicius highlights three:

From Spain, the Jerez Amontillado Viejissimo solera blend of vintages started in 1922 and bottled in 2006;

From England, Gusborne Sparkling Wine is made using the traditional method with soil identical to champagne;

And from Cyprus, Commandaria, a wine made using the process of apassimento, or dehydration of grapes after harvest.

Among so many highlights on Duq’s menu, the three wines have in common the fact that they are not necessarily part of the best-known drink routes around the world.

In the presentation of the list, Vinícius writes: “these are wines that express the best of each region, reflecting the terroir with minimal human intervention, in addition to being ecologically correct. We are happy to bring and guide them in choices and harmonizations.” It is a kind of synthesis and an affirmation of the sommelier and Duq Gastronomia’s intentions aimed at wine lovers.

Service:

Where: Duq Gastronomia – Alameda Dr. Carlos de Carvalho, 360 – Centro

Phone/WhatsApp: (41) 98854-4751

Service: Tuesday to Thursday, from 7pm to 11pm; Friday and Saturday, from 7pm to midnight.

@duqgastronomia