Where there’s smoke, there’s something more

On April 7th, we hosted a first experience at the table, where Douro shad, smoked in Port wine casks, was reinterpreted by Chef Pedro Braga of the restaurant Mito, recently recognised by the Michelin Guide.

Shad, which migrates from the sea to the river to spawn, is a rich and bony fish. These characteristics make it both delicious and demanding: perfect for culinary creativity, yet requiring a certain finesse at the table. It is also a rare catch, fished only at the end of winter, despite spending most of its life in freshwater. Fortunate were those who had the chance to taste it in early April, at the Poças Visitor Centre.

At Poças, this connection to shad runs deeper. Across generations, it has been traditionally smoked in Port wine casks — a practice rooted in time, craft, and memory. It also brings to mind a wine that explores this very same idea from a different angle: the Poças Fora de Série Cold Smoked.

Part of the Poças Fora de Série range, it embodies these notes of smoke in a more subtle, refined way — not as something overt, but as something suggested. A whisper rather than a statement, adding depth, texture and quiet complexity.

Because those who know, know.
And some things are simply never “shad” enough.