Port Wine 101
Trip Start
Nov 11, 2007
1
8
31
Trip End
Dec 23, 2007
Porto,
Portugal
Sunday, November 18, 2007
We took a nice high-speed train from Lisbon to Porto - the trip took just over 2 hours traveling at a top speed of 220 km/hr for most of the journey. We then checked into the very posh Sheraton Porto Hotel & Spa - a very modern building with very nice accommodations. We especially liked the bathroom features - all glass with an encased louvered blind system - which you will see in the photos
Porto 01
.We needed to use a taxi to get us to the riverfront where our journey was to begin. We began on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the Douro and from there we had wonderful views of the city of Porto and the Ribeira do Porto. We have yet to find a flat city on this trip - we are getting very good at walking up and down steep hills and our calves are beginning to reveal the benefits - although it seems to also make us hungrier too. We visited some of the Port Lodges. Sandeman, which most people would be familiar with, seems to have a premier spot right on the riverfront. The logo features a University student sporting a cloak and a horse riding hat of this region - and looking very mysterious. Next we went to the Calem Lodge where we had a very nice tour and tasting. This Lodge has produced within the last 8 years a record number 4 Vintage Wines and they are hoping for a 5th in the next year - closing the decade out with 5 would be a very prestigious claim. A Vintage is the best quality Port and this is only achieved after a two year process and many different quality tests and submissions of samples. It is a selection of the very best wine from a single exceptional year and represents only a very small proportion of a crop. It is not determined by a year - but by these specific variables and while one vineyard may achieve it, another may not. Vintage Port is aged for ONLY two years in wood and then it is bottled - then the aging process begins
Porto 02
. Years will turn to decades before this wine will be ready for drinking. The Vintage Port is to be stored on its side in constant contact with the cork. After proper decanting this must be drunk on the day it was opened. As for the other Port wines - the process is different. They will spend more time in the oak barrels or stainless steel, they must be stored upright and they can be enjoyed for months after opening. We enjoyed a White port, 10 year Tawny (which is the average years of ageing before bottling) and a Ruby in the tasting. They were all very good. Then there is the Late Bottled Vintage, which comes only from years of the best harvests and then is bottled at 6 years from that harvestThe grapes are picked only by hand and they pay a very high wage to the workers because the work is so hard. They mostly will employ family members to the keep the costs down and then they also have some migrant workers from the Ukraine, Albania and other Eastern European countries. The first grapes are still crushed in a large vat by men with bare feet - after that - they will use machines for the remaining crop. Instead of bringing the wine down the river, they now use trucks and what was once a 3-4 day process takes about that many hours. The vats are filled and the process begins. There is a little Port 101 for you, hope it wasn't too much. **
After drinking a little Port wine we were ready to start exploring the Porto side of the Douro River. We walked across the Ponte Dom Luis I bridge - constructed by a student of Gustav Eiffel to the Riverfront/Ribeira. We walked down to the Praca de Ribeira and saw the house that Prince Henry the Navigator was born in. Then we began our uphill meandering through narrow streets and seedy areas enroute to the Rua Catarina
Porto 03
. In the distance we could see many church steeples poking up here and there...Jim was a little worried. "Are we going to see all of those churches?!?!" I think he was even afraid to say that, I really wasn't in the mood for churches after the Port wine tasting and then all of the walking - so I set his mind at ease. We walked right by the Cathedral - I just took a photo as we were walking by. We came to the Praca da Batalha (Battle Square) and saw the very interesting Church of Santo Ildefonso, (ok, maybe just one church) covered in blue tiles. Then it was off to the Rua Catarina and the Majestic Café - time for a reward of coffee and cake after our travels. We then walked up and down the street with about 2,000 or so other Portuguese - everyone was out celebrating the start of the holiday season. This was the night that the largest Christmas tree in Europe was to be lit. You will see a photo of it - taken from a distance. It was quite impressive. We drove past it in our taxi on the way back to our hotel - it was gigantic. They had some small ice rinks set up and people were sliding around with their shoes on - but having a great time. Chestnuts are roasting on just about every street corner - not only here in Porto but also in Lisbon. We checked out some shops and then stopped in a market and picked up a couple sandwiches, drinks and yogurt and took that back to our hotel and had our own 'room service' and called it a night. We were quite tired - also it was a chance to catch a little English TV - and that was kind of nice too.Sunday morning - we checked our luggage with the bellman and headed back down to Ribeira and then walked back across the river and explored more Port Lodges and the hills on the Vila Nova de Gaia side. We had lunch along the river and a liter of Sangria - it was excellent - very reminiscent of the great Sangria we had in Barcelona
Porto 04
. I'm not sure if it helped or hurt our climbing - but we seemed to have survived. We then caught a taxi and had him take us first back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and then to the train station for our 4:45 train back to Lisbon. I think the average age of the taxi drivers is 70 and they drive like maniacs on those narrow, steep, windy streets. We had our seatbelts on and would have doubled up if possible. A speedy trip back to Lisbon and we unloaded our things at our flat and were off to our favorite Ginjinha joint. I guess he thinks he deserves a night off and tonight must be it - he was closed - too bad - he works hard though pouring shots for drunks and tourists all day and night. We did grab a quick bite to eat and now we are back preparing for tomorrow - which will be a day dedicated to looking for that 'perfect' tile painting for our new house in Costa Rica as well as some door hinges, door knobs and other hardware adornments. (Jim can hardly wait!!) Need to get these photos updated and then pack our bags for our trip on Tuesday to Munich. We will be spending 9 days there before returning back to Lisbon again. **Don't hold me to 100% accuracy on the Port lecture as we did not take notes during the tour and this was mostly by memory.
Comments
Porto
Another interesting and informative entry. I am glad I'm not walking those streets. Thanks Stephanie for all the work you put into providing us with your travel adventures.
Mom
Great Pics
I really enjoy the adventures and awesome pictures. Have a great Thanksgiving.
Chris Kautz