Vindima 2016 Thursday 6th October

Here we are at the airport in Porto with more than an hour to go before check in even opens. I best take advantage of the free wifi and get up to date.

Last Saturday we had a quiet meal with just the two of us. We were expecting left over feijoada from the wine tasters' lunch but they must have eaten it all as were

given pork steaks with mushrooms. It was delicious and all washed down with a choice of wines left over from the tasting. Dot pigged out on a huge bowl of crême brulée while I attached the most delicious cheese board accompanied by a selection of ports. We finished our meal in time to visit the lagars to find out that the grapes had come in later than expected. The treaders were very dilligent in working on to make sure the new grapes were properly crushed before singing the liberdade. I was impressed by their unenforced discipline.

 On Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast before Dywatt, José's son, and his

girlfriend gave us a lift down to Pinhão with our suitcases. Manuel was busy but it wasn't long before we were fixed up with a taxi to take us to Quinto do Tedo, where we planned to undertake their vineyard trail walk. We were pressed to drink a little rosé port before we set off, such a hardship! It really is a delightful if challenging walk. The previous year when we had done the walk it was fearfully hot, but, as it was cooler this time we managed to make it to the two marker stones that were set up just outside the quinta during the Marques do Pombal's demarcation. One of the stones had a very clear inscription due to its sheltered position from which it was clear that it had been raised in 1761.

After completing the walk we had our usual robust tasting of the quinta's superb ports and placed our order for shipping home. Following a smooth taxi ride into Peso da Regua we were soon installing ourselves at the Hotel Imperio where we both fell soundly asleep. In the evening we had our usual meal in the Restaurant O'Maleiro followed by a good night's sleep.

We had decided to spend Monday in Regua before getting the five o'clock train bank to Porto. We set off in the direction of Quinta da Pacheca only to notice that a house that had previously always been closed up had its gates open and a sign saying provas. We were soon inside the Quinta de Tourais  having a tour and tasting their wines. We were given a very special taste of the family's port, which wasn't for sale as it was unregulated. We learned that they have a couple of rooms so we are thinking it would be a good place to stay in the future. After that we passed some time and sampled a few more ports at Quinta da Pacheca before returning to Regua to visit Castelinho's Quinta de São Domingues to buy some of their delicious white port.

Afterwards the train journey back to Porto was largely uneventful except that the train stopped for ages at Campanhã. I was so worried that it was going to set off in the opposite direction that I persuaded Dot and the french group in our carriage to disembark. Luckily I noticed just in time that the train was about to go to São Bento so we all leapt back on board and I had a very red face. We had a brief rest at Peninsular before going out and braving a new restaurant where we had one of my favourites, feveras.

After breakfast we headed up to the offices of Vallegre in Vila Nova de Gaia. We had a fruitful meeting there reviewing their new products and revised labelling. We were given

a half bottle each of 20 and 30 year old tawny. Also Maria had kindly arranged for us to attend a fado performance in the early evening. After the meeting we made our way down towards the waterfront following a devious route that included the ancient Rua de Barão Forester. We lunched on chouriço assado and sangria made with ruby port at the delightful 3+ Arte emporium. They had an empty demijohn that had been used in making Niepoort's garrafeira port, which is about the only style that I haven't tasted yet. The guy thought he could get hold of a bottle for just over €500; we ummed and arred but decided it was too much.

We took in the tour at the Quinta dos Corvos cave, which is next to Quevedo. After which time was getting on and we had been warned by Maria that we needed to collect our tickets for the Fado in good time. We found a short cut up to the top layer of the Dom Luis bridge that we hadn’t known about before. It was steep but quick. We easily found the Casa da Guitarra following the directions we had been given. This shop is must for any guitar aficionados because it is packed with all shapes and sizes of acoustic guitars. When we were given our tickets we were told the performance was due to start at 6:30 pm rather than the usual six. This gave us a chance to pop back to our hotel to freshen up.

We arrived early for the perfomance and were shown to our seats. The other seats at the front soon filled up but there were a lot of empty ones at the back. Eventually at about a quarter to seven a large group of youngsters started to occupy them. We later found out that they were studying tourism. The performance started soon after and was truly wonderful. It was completely acoustic with no amplification before. Both the female and male singers’ voices were superb. Sadly though we were a bit too squashed in to be able to get up and dance. After the perfomance I bought a CD and we went to have a chat with the female singer. It turned out that she recognised us from our dancing at the Quevedo cave. What a small world.

We had spotted a restaurant in Gaia offering javali so we found another shortcut, this time down to the bottom layer of the bridge. I have to say that the javali was excellent if somewhat filling. It had been cooked with chestnuts and potatoes. We couldn’t manage a desert and didn’t stay to have a port as we fancied a drop of Vallegre 20 year old back in our room.

Well here we were suddenly at our last day. Our legs were feeling all the walking we had been doing so we decided to take it easy. We popped over to Gaia to do the tour and tasting at Augusto’s before it got busy. We had been there last year but as it was very busy we didn’t have time to appreciate it. This time there was only two other people who came round with us. We had a jolly good tasting. It was interesting to see how giggly our companions became; they obviously weren’t used to drinking port in the morning. During the tasting we found that the owner also owned Quinta dos Corvos, which explained the similarity in the presentations. We bought a couple of bottles and went to sit by the river for when we thought Kopke would open at two.

However when we walked in we found that there was only one member of staff on duty as the others had just gone to lunch. We decided to have a look round the shop to kill time. We got chatting with the lady there and before long she was giving us a tasting of some really special colheitas. We ended up buying a bottle of the white 2003, which had been bottled earlier this year. By now it was time to go upstairs to enjoy some ports paired with chocolates. We ended up by treating ourselves to a glass of their superb more than 40 years old. By now it was gone four and we were feeling a bit ported out so we walked back up to our hotel for a rest before supper.

That evening we ate at a simple restaurant at the other end of the Rua das Flores because they had dourada grelhada on the menu. Although they were really busy the food was brilliantly cooked. Unfortunately there was a break down in service after the main course so after waiting a good half an hour we paid up and left. I don’t think it did our bulging waste lines any harm not having a desert for once. On the way back home we passed some buskers playing rock and roll so we just had to have a jive. Dot nearly went flying on the uneven pavement but managed to stay upright. Luckily the band decided to take a break then so we carried on up the hill back to our room.

Today, after stocking up with supplies for the journey, we took a taxi out to Foz as Jean had invited us to join her for an early lunch on our way to the airport. As usual we had a lovely meal in her fascinating house accompanied by her anecdotes and experiences. Jean was mortified though to find that she had no tawny port to offer us after the meal. All too soon our taxi was waiting outside to whisk us away to the airport. Being a careful half yorkshireman I had planned to be taken to the nearest metro station and to continue our journey by train. However Dot and the driver overuled me so we travelled all the way in style and comfort. It was interesting to see some different countryside as we went. So after tasting three ports at the airport here we are at goodness knows how many feet flying back to cold old blighty.

 

Vindima 2016 Saturday 1st October

Vindima 2016 Saturday 1st October

It is hard to believe that this is already our fourth day here. I had better get on with it.

As the Easyjet flights to Porto are now at inconvenient times of the day, we decided to give British Airways a go this time. In the end the fares were only slightly higher than they would have been with Easyjet anyway. We flew out from Gatwick on Tuesday leaving shortly after 5pm. It seemed to be a good time to travel as the airport was quieter than usual meaning that we sped through the formalities. What made it better was than by the time we got on the Metro in Porto it was around 8pm so it too was quieter than usual. After a filling meal at Lagostime we had a restful in night in a superior room at the Peninsular Hotel. Such a shame that the jacuzzi bath wasn't working though.

After breakfast we wandered down to Ribeira taking in what had changed and what hadn't since our last visit. We bought a bottle or port and some fruit in a local supermarket. Luckily I decided to buy our train tickets early as there was quite a queue at the ticket office in São Bento station. It was the best part of half an hour before I was served. While waiting people kept coming up and asking me questions about the trains; fortuneately I know most of the answers. By the time I had the tickets it was time to retrieve our cases and catch our train.

We had to take the Urbano up the line to Campanhã. We nearly got on the wrong train but realised our mistake when we saw there was no one else on it. We had to walk up the platform to the next train along. At Campanhã we soon found the Douro line train and after half an hour we were on our way. It was reassuring to see Manuel waiting for us at the station in Pinhão. He soon had us in his taxi and whisked us away up to the Casa do Vilarinho where we had booked to stay. It turned out to be a bit further out of town than we had thought.

Once we had found our way in we were introduced to the owner José Cálem, who

is a major figure in the Cálem family. He has proved to be very hospitable and welcoming. He gave us a tour of the winery and house and said we could join them for a light meal that evening. We met his sister Luisa and her friend Teresa who were staying for a few days and we were able to get to know each other over the meal. Needless to say a few ports were tasted over the desert. Then just before nine it was time to pop down to the lagar for a couple of hours of serious treading. We joined José's team, who turned out to be the same guys that we had seen at Quinta da Foz some years ago. They looked the part in their smart uniforms. I am afraid to say that Dot fermented disssent in the ranks which ended up with the owner having to supply an extra bottle of wine to keep us all going.

The weird thing is that, despite the pitch black in our room caused by the wooden shutters, I have been waking up every day at exactly six. There is good wifi here so I have been able to keep up with my Duolingo classes before breakfast. The breakfasts have been modest but enjoyable. The best bits are the freshly squeezed orange juice and even fresher scrambled eggs.

After making enquiries I found, as I had suspected would be the case, that it would be best if we settled our bill with cash. As we needed more than we had at the time we too up Louisa's offer to drop us off in Pinhão. It was another gloriously warm sunny day. After topping up the cash we popped over the bridge to the Royal Oporto shop at Quinta das Carvalhas to buy a couple of things we wanted. We popped in to see Gloria in the Princessa do Douro pastelaria to fuel up for the walk back. The first hour was a jolly hot slog up hill to Casal do Loivos. Luckily we didn't get lost. After a rest and a refill of the water bottles at the town tap we continued on our way. The last part of the walk wasn't nearly so arduous and the views were stunning in every direction. Needless to say we were quite hot and tired by the time we got back so we decided to try out the tiny little swimming pool but, by gum, it was icy cold.

While we were talking the night before it transpired that Jean and her friend Rachel were coming to dinner the following day. When José realised how well we knew them he asked us too. It was great seeing the expressions on their faces when they arrived and found us here. Dot had brought all sorts of presents for Jean so it helped that they were able to take them away with them. They included a tortoise shaped tea pot full of all the teas that Dot had purloined from the hotels we have stayed at recently. Jean was highly amused and promised to add it to her tortoise collection. From then on we had a great evening of tasty food, good wine and entertaining conversation. Needless to say we didn't make it to the lagar and more excellent ports were provided. I must say it is the first occasion that I have experienced three different bottles of port being passed round the table at the same time.

Rather than having to do the slog up  from Pinhão again, the next day we decided to explore the charms of the nearby village of Casal de Lovois. First we went to the Quinta do Jalloto , which we found was owned by the caseiro of Quinta da Val da Figueira. We opted to try a couple of Johnnie's vintages there. We also so tried their honey and olive oil. The honey was so good that I bought a jar. After a while the caseiro's wife appeared to say hello. We have seen her a number of times over the years, once she gave us a lift up to Quinta de la Rosa in the back of their harvest truck, so it was good to be able to say hello to her. It transpires that they use the lagars at Figueira to start their wines off in. While we were there a tour group came and went. As it is quite high up we were pleased to be able to sit back and enjoy the views.

After that we popped up to the Miradouro in the village and spent more time enjoying the stunning view. Dot was feeling peckish so we popped in to the village cafe for a couple of beers while Dot munched her way through a packet of crisps and a Cornetto of a variety that we don't get at home. By that time it had gone two o'clock so we wandered down to see if the Olive Oil Museum was opened. As it didn't open for another twenty minutes we did a little circular walk down an old ox road and back round part of the way we had walked the day before.

By then we found that the museum was opened. It was fascinating to be shown the old equipment that they used to extract the oil by the hot method.

Everything had been painted up wonderfully and we were appreciative that someone had had the idea to preserve this piece of rural history. After the tour we had a tasting of some jolly good wines although I wasn't so keen on the name. Velha Geração (Old Generation) was a little close to home although it was meant to celebrate the generations of the family that had been involved in making wine. Needless to say, while we were there various other groups came and went. I couldn't believe that by the time we left it was gone four.

It was only half an hour back to where we were staying, by which time I needed a bit of a rest. There was only José and ourselves for dinner but we had a good time with more excellent wines and ports to try alongside the food. What's more we did make it into the lagar for an hour's treading as well.

Now I ought to explain that José Cálem is in the line of the Cálem family. The firm

itself was sold off some time ago and is now owned by Sogevinus. At that time the family retained the Quinta da Foz in Pinhão. However José has had to sell that recently and we sensed that both he and Louisa felt some regret about it. He had retained the adjacent Quinta do Sagrado and built a winery here at Casa do Vilarinho to process its grapes. During our time here there have been a couple of wine tastings and we have been able to sample the left over bottles, much to Dot's delight. In fact she has just poured herself a glass of white port. Last night we were treated to a white and a 20 year old port from Quinta da Trovisca. We thought the name sounded familiar and found out why when we read the small print on the back; they were offerings from Oscar Quevedo, whose ports we are delighted to wholesale ourselves in the UK.

After breakfast today we took a two hour constitutional walk down the road to

the village of Povoa and back. The weather was just gorgeous again so we were able to enjoy the views and other sights as we went along. The village seemed very old and tranquil. The newly refurbished well was impressive. When we returned we joined a wine tasting with a group from Brazil. I was able to follow a little of the conversation but not as much as I would have liked. I am afraid this afternoon my legs are saying they have had enough so I am taking the opportunity to write this up as well as reading my book.

Vindima 2015 Monday 5th October

Well what a glorious sunset we saw from our hotel room window on Friday

evening. I fould my feijoada but wasn't so impressed with it as previously.

On Saturday we had a great walk along the front at Vila do Conde before walking back to our annual visit to Lidl. On the way Dot was over the moon as we chanced on an outdoor market. It was amazing to see such an array of vegetables and even livestock available at miniscule prices. After all the morning's exertions we spent the afternoon chilling at the hotel before having another long session in the hotel's spa pool.

One of our favourite foods in Portugal is javali, wild boar. As we hadn't had any and it was our last night we decided to track some down. We ended up in a restaurant that we had spurned before because the prices were a bit steep. However the javali was beautifully cooked and the flavour combinations well worth what we paid for them. I also had a scrummy cheesey creamy desert that was served in a Kilner jar, most unusual. I chose it as it was the only thing that they hadn't managed to transalate from the Portuguese for the English menu. The French couple at the table next to us were amazed when I managed in fluent (ahem) Portuguese to decline coffee, ask to look at the bottle, and then order two glasses of Nierpoort tawny port. Unfortunately the port was served in cocktail glasses, which I found challenging. We struck up a long and interesting conversation with our neighbours which made me realise how much of my schoolboy French I had lost.

For the first time in the whole two weeks, Sunday dawned wet and windy. The weather made it easier to say goodbye to Portugal than it would have been had the sun shone. Our journey home was tiring but not particularly eventful despite having to take the rail replacement bus from Three Bridges to Lewes. Oh joy, oh bliss, the port that we ordered at Quinta da Pacheca arrived this afternoon so we can carry on where we left off.

Vindima 2015, Friday 2nd October

Sunday saw us getting up late and not rushing the packing ready to catch the train back to Porto. The trip was largely uneventful with us reading our books most of the time. Back at the Hotel Peninsular we found that we had been put in
the same great room that we had on our first night. After recovering from the journey and unpacking we headed over the bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia. We were given a leaflet about a producer we hadn't heard of so decided to check them out. the Porto Augusto's had a place for tastings and tours up a narrow side street. The tour wasn't great but the port made up for it. The guide mentioned that they aged the tawny in half size barrels and the complexity of the wines reflected this. In fact I am sipping a glass of the tawny reserve we bought while we were there as I write this. By then it was time to pop round to Quevedo's for fado, dancing and a wee drop of port. By the time we left there was just time to pop back to our room before heading out for supper.

On Monday we had an appointment for lunch in Foz with Jean from the Quinta do Val da Figueira. She had kindly invited us while we were in Pinhão. We headed out on the metro to Mastosinhos and walked down to find her place. We were a little early so popped down to the seafront to sit for a bit. On our way back we spotted Jean outside her gate. Her house was wonderful being packed full with all sorts of interesting objects. We had a jolly good meal too as well as an excellent white wine from the quinta followed by the best ten year old port in existence. The main course was octopus rice and very delicious it was too. The octopus had been cooked to perfection so it just melted in the mouth. Jean was remarkable full of vigour considering that she had been late back the night before from a wedding in Braga. During the conversation we mentioned that we had never been able to see inside the Factory House in Porto. Before we knew it Jean had fixed us up with an appointment at ten the following day. It goes to show what a great time we had as we didn't leave until 4:30.

We walked down to where the trams go back into town from. We sat reading our

books on a nearby bench and by some weird leading we got up just at the right time to catch the next tram, which only runs hourly. Now when I say tram, these are really ancient ones. It was great but noisy fun rattling back into town and a lot easier than walking. After all that excitement we just had enough energy to walk back to our room. After a rest we headed out to a little cheap restaurant we know of as we didn't need a huge meal.

We woke up early on Tuesday morning full of anticipation about our visit to the Factory House at ten. We couldn't believe our luck as we waited inside the entrance hall for our guide to be Dona Olga. She was brilliant and showed us everything including the map room, the library, the drawing room, the ballroom, the famous twin dining rooms, the old kitchen, and, of course, the cellars. We felt so priviledged and honoured and could hardly believe it was happening. We were surprised that most of the books in the library seemed to be English novels. We discovered that, like Jean, Olga had grown up at Quinta da Roêda as her father took over the running of the place for Croft after Jean's father. We were so grateful to her for giving up an hour and half to give us one of the best exeriences of our lives.


Afterwards we popped over to Gaia to the Porto Cruz place to try out some vintages. Feeling the need for something to soak up the port we went to 3+ arte where we knew we could get the genuine chouriço assado. We were recognised from when we went there last year so had a great experience, after which it was time to pop back to Quevedo for more fado, dancing and, of course, port. We saw Oscar Quevedo again as he was waiting for an appointment with some people from Holland. There was no pressure as we did a tango for him. Blow me down if it wasn't soon time to pop back to our hotel for a freshen up before supper.

The next day we were faced with the problem of what to do after the highs of the day before. From the tram ride on Monday Dot had seen that the Terracotta Army exhibition had just opened in Porto. By some miracle I managed to lead us through the backstreets and passages to come out exactly at the right place. The exhibition was very thought provoking and only cost us €9 each to get in. I bet it was a lot dearer when it was in London! All the information was in Portuguese but I more or less managed to transalate it for Dot much to the amusement of one of the other visitors.

We decided to walk along the front to Ribeira. Going past a small wine shop we decided to try their offerings. It was Quinta do Sagrado and was based in the

green and white house we had seen from the other side of the rivera with Cálem written large at the top. We were given a whopping glass each of LBV and Tawny to try. We had a great talk with the girl who served us. Dot bought a bottle of the tawny for €7.50 which meant we didn't have to pay the €6 for the tasting! As we were leaving I looked at the map inside and it dawned on me that these were the people that had sold Quinta da Foz that I really wanted to get in touch with. As a result we are planning to stay at the property next time we come.

Feeling well oiled we wandered back to 3+ arte for a lesson in cocktail making. The ruby orange consisted of half port wine, 2 slices of orange peel, 6 drops of fresh lemon juice, half orange juice and cinamon sprinkled on top. It was lovely. Not quite so impressive but subtle nevertheless was the white lady, which had a cinamon stick and mint leaf in chilled white port. We plan to try these out when we get back to England. Well we just had to have another chouriço assado to accompany them before our last afternoon of fado, dance and port at Quevedo. Before leaving for Quevedo we had to return the favour of the cocktail lesson by dancing a tango, which was filmed for their Facebook page. That evening I took my tablet along to Lagostim to show them pictures from our first visit there in 2004. They caused quite a stir among the staff.

Yesterday we had breakfast at Kopke before catching the metro here to the Santana Hotel in Azurara. When I say breakfast I mean a 20 year old tawny, a 1983 colheita, a 1978 colheita and a 40 year old white accompanied by chocolates. As usual we had a great welcome and overall experience there.

Since coming here on the metro we have been generally chilling out and recovering from the packed days we have had. Last night we had a somewhat expensive, but justifiably so in view of the quality of the cuisine, meal at the Repúblika Restaurante with a scrumptious main of duck with forest fruits. By some miracle I managed to marry this up with a local regional wine that was also redolant with hints of forrest fruit flavours. We finished up with pão de ló washed down with a Ferreira 10 year old. Today I've been catching up with sorting out photos and blogs etc. However we have found time for a lovely long swim in the deserted hotel swimming pool and a good soak in the jacuzzi. The health suite has been given a great make over and is now looking really good. It is a little confusing though as in the refurb they have swopped the mens and ladies changing rooms around. Tonight I am hoping to track down some genuine fejoida before we have to fly back to England.

Vindima 2015, Saturday 26th September

Another sunny morning woke us up on Wednesday morning. We decided to try out the new visitor centre at Quinta da Roêda after having been to Bomfim the day before. It was a lovely walk up the long sweeping drive along side the

Douro. When we arrived we found that the facility had only opened less than a fortnight before our arrival. We were the only ones there so we had the tour all to ourselves. As usual with us the allegedly 30 minute tour took twice as long as we talked about port with our young guide. A highlight was having the opportunity to taste grapes of different varieties in the vineyard. However we were not able to see the winery proper, just a scaled down area with half height lagars for the tourists to have a go in. It was interesting that they were keeping the visitors' wine separate for aging. The tasting was better than average consisting of the ubiquitous Croft Pink but also a ruby reserve and a ten year old. We were able to enjoy this on the shady veranda.

After heading back to our hotel to freshen up we caught up with our taxi driver to head off to our appointment with Oscar Quevedo at the family quinta in São João da Pesqueira. The quinta is the Quinta Nossa Senhora do Rosário.

Unfortunately due to a misunderstanding Manuel took us to the wrong quinta which involved a long detour almost to Quinta do Vesuvio. Never mind, with the help of a postman we were only a little late when we arrived and had seen some spectacular scenery. Oscar was pleased that we had made the effort to get there. He explained how they made all their ports without using lagars, which was interesting. This was followed by the most amazing port tasting ever as all the ports came direct from the wood. We were also able to see the bottling line, reception of grapes and quinta shop. The journey back was not nearly so adventurous but the views were impressive.

The good weather continued the following day. After breakfast we were suddenly hailed by the hotel staff as Jean from Quinta do Val da Figueira was trying to get in touch with us. We were invited to drinks at six. As we were feeling recovered from our long walk on the first day in Porto we decided to do the walk to Provesende. It was a solid uphill slog for a couple of hours. More than once I thought why am I doing this. It was a great sense of achievement to arrive once more in Provesende having enjoyed the dramatic countryside on the way.

Dot had heard about an old bakery which I spotted on the other side of the

square. It is the Padaria Fátima. We went in and bought a loaf of bread and were given a guided tour. The old ladies were proud of their ancient but enormous bread oven. They were rattling away to us in Portuguese. Towards the end I managed to understand when one of them asked why we didn't understand very well. She seemed quite surprised when I explained that no one spoke Portuguese where we lived! We popped across to the bar with the tartaruga (turtle) for a beer and sat outside savouring it with the bread which still had a little warmth in it.

This time we took the easy way to Quinta do Portal, which was a more or less level walk of an hour through the vineyards. After a tasting and buying a couple of bottles of 29 Grapes (I am sure it was 27 Grapes last time I bought it) we asked the assitant to summon Manuel to drive us back to Pinhão so that we had time to freshen up before going to see Jean.

After our exertions earlier in the day it was a hard slog walking up to the Quinta do Val da Figueira. On the way a car screeched to a halt beside us and we saw it contained Tim and Patricia and their daughter Sophia who own the Quinta de la Rosa. They were sorry that we hadn't been able to stay with them this time and encouraged us to join in the treading that night. We carried on up the hill and had lovely time with Jean and her delighful dog Tua. Like mad things after supper we walked back up the hill to la Rosa for an hour's treading. I had a great time in the lagar practicing my portuguese with a lady who was trying to learn english. We were just about as bad as each other so there was no embarassment. By the time we got back to our hotel room we were bushed.

Friday was the day we transferred to Peso da Régua. We got Manuel to drive us to Quinto do Tedo where we were soon recognised. The owner, Vincent Bouchard, and his wife were there and we were introduced to them. We asked to

do the tour and were able to see the lagars for the first time along with the new azejulos that had been installed. We had a stonkingly good tasting and ordered a load of port to be sent home. While we were tasting we saw M. Bouchard making a hash of opening a bottle of vintage, which could explain why the 2003 we tasted wasn't up to much. We elected to try out the new vineyard walk. It was really hot by then. After the exertions of the day before we took it steady and decided to leave seeking out the Marquis de Pombal's marking stones to another visit. We were soon on the rest of our way in another taxi. That evening we were greeted fondly a the Restaurante Almeiro. Afterwards we listened to an outside concert, which was conected with a book fair. At the fair there was the launch of a Dictionary of Port Wine. After umming and arring for a bit I splashed out €45 as it was a beautiful book and I could just about cope with the portuguese. One of the compilers was there so he signed it for me.

Today it has been really hot. In the morning we walked over to Quinta da Pacheca where we were given a great tour and tasting by a guy who recognised us from when he used to work at Tedo. It was an hours walk each way so we spent the afternoon chilling out reading books, sewing and writing up blogs. We popped down to the Castelinho caves but it was so heaving with three coach loads of visitors that we aborted and went back to our hotel. Soon it will be time to pop out for supper and maybe a little dancing in a bar we spotted yesterday.

Vindima 2014 14th October

Sunday saw the start of our detox with a light breakfast and a long walk along the seafront towards Povoa de Varzim. We walked the length of the harbour arm

Atlantic Rollers at Vila do Conde

before heading back. Dot was delighted to find her favourite crystallised pumpkin amongst other goodies in Lidl. After we got back to the hotel I was too whacked out to do anything else but Dot managed a short swim. We returned to Les Villagoises for dinner and found a shared plate of veal between us was ample.

On Monday we had to pop back to Porto to meet up with Oscar Quevedo to talk about his ports and wines. He gave us some samples to try which we will have to have before we leave on Wednesday as our cases are copies to our weight limit. In the afternoon I managed a long swim. That evening we ate in a different place right next to the public auditorium called Republica where we were allowed to wash our bacalhau down with Oscar's white and no corkage was charged. We were delighted with this wine's crisp and fruity nature.

This morning called for a serious workout in the revamped gym here at the Santana. All the equipment worked apart from the clapped out rower that had been kept for some odd reason. I worked up quite a sweat in the course of two hours. In the afternoon we tried in vain to find some lemons for Dot to take home. We ended up in a favourite pastelaria where Dot had a port, a cake and an ice cream. I played safe with a beer and lanche quente. After all that exercise it was time for a rest! Tonight we are planning on having Oscar's red wine with a bit of duck back at Republica because we thought it was such a great restaurant. Let's hope this red proves to be as good as the white.

Sorry about the lack of photos in these last two posts but my camera still hadn't dried out after its dousing in Porto. Tomorrow it's back to Blighty time.

Vindima 2014 12th October

Wednesday began with a good breakfast at the Imperio Hotel. You really can't beat the value of this place. The rooms are comfortable and airy and it is only €35 a night for both of us. As the weather didn't look so promising we were soon on the train back to Porto. When we checked in at Peninsular again we found we had been allotted a bigger room, which was welcome. As the weather was looking better we went for a good walk towards the sea on the Porto side of the Douro. We caught the little ferry across to Gaia at €1 each and headed back inland. The rain started and got steadily worse necessitating the donning of waterproofs. We popped into Porto Cruz for an explore and tasting. After watching several Douro related videos we opted for the superior tawny tasting. We were supposed to have a 20 year old, 30 year old and a colheita. However the assistant wasn't happy about her bottle of 20 year old and so upgraded us to the 40 year old instead. No way were we going to complain about that! By the time we were ready to leave the rain was coming and going. We decided to head back to our hotel during a lull but before long it was frighteningly torrential. How I longed for my walking boots rather than my drenched trainers. The roads were like rivers in places. Back at the hotel we found that our supposedly waterproof back packs and their contents were sodden. It took three days to dry my trainers out and our cameras and binoculars are still not right. Fortunately the rain had stopped by the time we had to go out for a bite to eat prior to our tango lesson.

After all that excitement the day before we woke up late and still tired on Thursday so we decided to have a cultural day in Guimarães. The train was ridiculously cheap at just over €7 each return. On arrival we soon found our way through the charming old town and up to the castle. I was only able to take one

Guimarães

photo as my still damp camera went on the blink after the first shot. It was a real shame as the castle was impressive. How come in Hastings we can only manage a ruined 11th century castle whilst the 9th century done in Guimaraes is perfectly preserved. We enjoyed a good wander round the Duke's Palace which had been restored during the Salazar regime. It reminded me in places of the Victorian fantasies inside Cardiff castle. As it was only one euro each extra we got combined tickets which included the architectural museum in the old town. However we didn't find this nearly as interesting as the palace. Having had enough culture for one day and as they rain was threatening again we bought a big bag of fruit and headed to the station for the next train back to Porto which pulled in shortly after we reached the platform. After a rest in our room and a fabulously degenerate hot chocolate each it was time for our next tango lesson. Afterwards we looked at several restaurants for our dinner but ended up back in Lagostim where the food is both good and reasonably priced. This time we enjoyed the simplicity of turkey steaks washed down with a light yet fruity Dão red.

We had an appointment to meet Oscar Quevedo at eleven on Friday morning so we timed our getting up round that. Unfortunately Oscar couldn't make it as his new son had be born just the day before. We had a good tasting of the basic ports before heading up to Offleys as Dot wanted to try their pink offering. Before we got there we chanced into a delightful artistic tapas bar establishment called Taste4Art where we met our second tartaruga of the holiday. We ended up staying there for a delicious chouriço assado washed down with a Nierpoort tawny. By the time we left Offleys it was almost time for the free fado show back at Quevedo. We had a wonderful party of an afternoon listening and dancing to two talented chanteuses. As a result we were too tired to make it to that night's milonga, which didn't start until eleven. After another good meal at Lagostim we were soon in the land of nod.

Yesterday we were due to transfer here to Vila do Conde but couldn't leave Porto without a visit to Kopke. On the way Dot was highly amused by the motorcyclists who were competing over an obstacle course that had been set up along the waterside in Ribeira. After much urging I managed to get her inside at Kopke where we ordered a couple of colheitas accompanied by dark chocolates. The assistant also gave us samples of their delicious ten and twenty year old whites. What a treat they were! After that we collected our cases had caught the metro. We soon settled in and recovered from hauling our luggage up to the Santana Hotel so we decided to take a swim. We were delighted to see that the pool and gym had had a major refurbishment. Having worked up our appetites and had a white port appetiser we headed into town to find a multibanco and something to eat. We ended up in Les Villagoises where we confused the waiter so much that we ended up with only one main dish to share. Actually it was fine as after Dot had a huge ice cream and I had a lump of cheese we left feeling full but not bloated. The dish we had was an absolutely delicious salmon in French garlic sauce, which came with a scrumptious helping of vegetables. Back in our room we ended the day with a glass of the Martha's colheita, which we had bought at Castelinho in Regua, before dropping off into an exhausted sleep.