Wine importer to stage traditional Portuguese festival
A Bristol wine importer is hosting a traditional Portuguese festival to celebrate 40 years of the city twinning with Porto and the sail cargo trade routes that have been re-established between the two cities.
Festa de São João do Porto, which is on Sunday June 23rd, has been organised by Xisto Wines through its Port O’Bristol project, which imports artisan wines from the Douro region by sail cargo.
The Festa, known for bringing the entire community together, is being hosted on the quayside by The Pump House and Port O’Bristol’s Wine by Sailship Bar will be joined by The Pump House’s street food stall.
It will include a special on-the-day live painting by legendary Bristol graffiti artist Inkie and performances from Bristol’s own Total Clusterfunk alongside DJs John Stapleton and James Barnett, as well as a range of other entertainment.
The Bristol version of the event was first held by Xisto Wines at Underfall Yard in 2019 and has been brought back in honour of 40 years of the special ‘twin’ connection between the two cities, which was officially forged in April 1984.
Anton Mann, founder and director of Xisto Wines, said: “The Port O’Bristol project was started to reconnect with European port cities without using the standard industry, fossil fuelled supply chain.
“And chiefly, we wanted to use this to bring the best of Porto here to Bristol and return to them the best of Bristol. Our Festa de São João do Porto is a real celebration of this cultural and trading exchange, and in Porto they know how to throw a party!”
Philip Channack, one of the founding members of the Bristol-Oporto Association when the twin city relationship was created, said: “We have enjoyed a wonderful, bountiful relationship with Porto since the Association was formed in 1984.
“It has been inspiring to see Xisto Wines sail the boats in from Porto through their special project Port O’Bristol, and it’s a great idea to bring this traditional celebration alive this anniversary year.
“Anything honouring 650 years of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, the oldest of its kind in the world, is fine by us.”
Toby Gritten, chef proprietor of The Pump House, said: “The Pump House sits at the neck of the harbour, with its still fully operational swing bridge. And, as it also bathes in the silhouette of the Suspension Bridge, it is the perfect venue to celebrate the trading and cultural relationship between Bristol and Porto.
“We have stocked the Port O’Bristol wines for some time and are one of our most popular choices. Anton and Lela always bring a huge passion and energy for the connection to Portugal and fossil fuel free transport. We are really looking forward to this celebration and cooking up a storm for our Festa de São Joã revellers.”
Maria Luisa Cardoso Duarte, a dual resident of Porto and Bristol, grew up with the Festa as a major part of her family’s annual celebrations.
She said: “This is a Festa that everyone takes part in. It starts at its peak really in the night going from the 23rd-24th of June, where all generations go out and walk and usually have lots of food – traditional grilled sardines.
“There are also farturas – similar to churros – and stalls and bands all over the city at night, people singing and dancing. It’s very special to the people of Porto and so we are hugely looking forward to seeing it come back to life even just a little in Bristol.”
In Porto, the party, which has its roots in pagan courtship, usually lasts until the morning of 24 June. Traditional attractions of the night also include releasing illuminated flame-propelled balloons into Porto’s summer sky.
Anton said: “They also used to hit each other over the head with onions and onion flowers, which then turned into plastic hammers – a tradition that we probably won’t be bringing to Bristol but won’t turn anyone away for trying.”
