Port. A stodgy drink that conjures images of old men sitting around reminiscing about the good old days. Except for me, I fell in love with this sweet nectar in graduate school in my early 20s. Admittedly, my primary reason for adding Portugal to our destination list was to learn more about port and the beautiful region where it is produced, and of course, to taste some exquisite samples not easily accessible in the US. Along the way, we also learned more about Portugal’s interesting history and discovered their imaginative, delicious cuisine.
Our port journey started in Porto at the mouth of the Douro river. We hadn’t even explored past our Airbnb’s front doorstep when I noticed on Facebook that one of my friends was cruising the Douro river. What? No way! Before I knew it, we were heading out the door for our first port experience and meeting friends at the same time.
We toured the cellar of Graham’s and learned about the intricacies of ruby ports, tawny ports, and the legendary vintage ports. We tasted six different ports as part of a tasting and then purchased a glass of 1983 vintage port. We have never tried a vintage port before, and we were thoroughly impressed. Sudhir and Lori were our good luck charms though. Not only did we get the fancy couch seats with the best view overlooking the Douro, but our tour guide presented us with a 1972 single harvest tawny port to share. We were blown away and felt so lucky to get to try such an expensive, rare port.
After our tour at Graham’s, we hung out on the Villa de Gaia waterfront with Sudhir and Lori for a few more drinks. We were surprised to find cocktails being made with port. Isn’t that a crime?!?! We learned that cocktails are actually the new fad trying to get the younger generation excited about port. So, I guess even in Portugal the younger generations don’t appreciate port as much and think of it as an “old person” drink. The views of Porto from the Villa de Gaia side of the river were fantastic. What a way to spend the afternoon…drinking port cocktails with friends along the river as the sun sets.
The traditional rabelo boat, as seen in the picture above, transported port in the early days. The grapes for a true port are grown and harvested in a demarcated wine region in the Douro Valley starting about 55 miles from Porto. After harvest and fermentation, the barrels of port were placed in the rabelo and floated downstream to age in the cellars in Villa de Gaia. The climate in Villa de Gaia is perfect for aging, and until recently, was the only location that port wine was allowed to age. Rules have changed in recent years to allow a wine to be considered a true port even if aged in barrels in the Douro Valley.
We enjoyed our stay in Porto, which included a tasting each day at a different cellar and a food tour (discussed in more detail in our Portuguese Cuisine blog); however, the Douro Valley was calling us. We rented a car to be free to explore this beautiful region on our own.
After just spending time in the fjords of Norway, I was not expecting much from the Douro Valley scenery wise. But, holy smokes, we were still blown away. This country does not get enough credit for its cuisine or its beauty.
The Douro Valley winds through towering mountains with grape vines clinging to the sides. The man-made terraces are impressive, and we could not believe that people have been harvesting grapes and making wines in this region for over 2000 years. The river created the steep, twisting canyon, but centuries of farmers sculpted the terrain making terraces for the grape vines and olive trees.
The Douro Valley became a demarcated region back in 1756, becoming the world’s first demarcated wine region. The Douro Valley is now listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We stayed at a family-owned quinta called Quinta de la Rosa along the river that produces its own port and wine. Arriving from the other side of the river, we got a great view of our quinta from across the river and knew we were in for a real treat.
We were blown away by the view from our room alone.
Our room was named Kit, after a grandson of the owner. Not only are rooms named after family members, but every member of the family gets their own barrel of port that has aged since their date of birth. On their 21st birthday, they have a giant party and get to sample their port and decide its fate (i.e. drink it up, bottle it now, or continue to age it in the barrel). Supposedly, Kit’s party was a wild one, but some of the port still appears to be aging in the cellar.
We enjoyed dinner the first night and all our breakfasts on a gorgeous terrace overlooking the river at our quinta.
This was the perfect oasis to relax after a few busy days touring around Porto and Lisbon. We visited a handful of quintas, and one of our favorites was Quinta do Panascal. The quinta and vineyard are perched high above one of the tributaries of the Douro, and we were allowed to wander the property on our own with an audioguide. Some of our favorite views were from this spot.
Of course, we got to taste a few of their ports, and we were really impressed with their flagship, a ruby port called Fonseca Bin No. 27. Prior to this trip, I was primarily a tawny drinker, but ruby ports won us over here. Luckily, their ruby port is popular worldwide and distributed in the US. So, after your next fancy dinner, check out the after dinner drink menu for this one and give it a try.
After our tasting, we weren’t quite ready to leave this beautiful quinta, so we ordered a white port tonic cocktail and enjoyed the view under some orange trees on the terrace.
One of the best activities in the Douro Valley is cruising on the river for a different perspective of the intricate terraces and the vineyards clinging to the mountainsides. Huge thanks to Lori and Sudhir for recommending a local who takes people out on private cruises on a sailboat (vs the big touristy boat we were considering). We thoroughly enjoyed lounging on the stern of the boat, drinking port, and contemplating the impressive feat of producing wines in this rugged terrain.
On our last night in the valley, we got a once-in-a-lifetime chance. With all the wineries we have visited on vacations over the years, our trips have never coincided with the harvest. Lucky for us, the harvest started early this year at our quinta. Not only that, but our quinta still stomps grapes by foot the traditional way instead of with automated equipment. And they let us join them!!
What a crazy experience to feel the grapes squishing under your toes and to watch the pile of grapes slowly turn into a purple, bubbly mush. You can actually witness the fermentation happen as the yeast on the surface of the grape comes in contact with the juices. The first 1.5 hours of a stomping session is performed in a line with rhythmic marching.
Then, the group joins hands in a circle and sings a traditional song that means “free” marching time has begun. Everybody just hangs out and stomps where they feel it is needed the most. What a great summer job, huh?
We easily could have spent a week in the Douro valley, but we hadn’t planned far enough in advance to secure a room for more than two nights. This is a popular place during harvest season. We sadly headed out of the region but had a couple more surprises ahead of us.
A local who poured for one of our tastings told us to head to Salamanca, Spain by going through the mountains and visiting her village with a castle instead of just following the fastest interstate route. We followed her advice and were rewarded with more fantastic views of the Douro Valley as we climbed higher and higher into the mountains.
The village that she grew up in is called Penedono, and one of the most authentic castles we have ever seen is situated on a hill in the center of town. Totally off the normal tourist route, we got to climb around this castle (built in the early 900s AD) all by ourselves.
Doesn’t it totally look like a stereotypical castle? Like one you would have drawn as a child. We loved it. And of course, here, walking around the top of the wall and gazing down at the central courtyard, I felt like the Lady of Winterfell. Sorry for all the Game of Thrones references. Obviously, we love the show and are going through withdrawal, but how can you not think about it when the medieval contraption built by the Lannister cronies to take down the dragons is sitting outside the castle walls?
Oh, Douro Valley…you have totally wowed us! And Portugal…you deserve way more credit for your beauty, affordability, creative cuisine, and sublime port wines. Saúde!
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