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.

Vindima 2014 7th October 2014

Thursday started with another great breakfast at Quinta de la Rosa. As we had been summoned by Jean to have lunch at one at her lovely Quinta do Val da Figueira we decided to join the winery tour at la Rosa, which started at eleven. It was joined after it started by several late arrivals from Pinhão. As a result of the large group and the noise of the machinery it was sometimes difficult to hear what Marça was saying. We had a marvellous lunch with Jean and Johnnie which didn't end till four. Dot was quite taken by Jean's new dog. After all that we were so full of food and drink we just had a quick swim and spent the rest of the day reading with just a banana and apple each for dinner.

On Friday we thought we would hike over to Quinta Nova da Nossa Senhora do Carmo as the weather looked set fair. After a hot walk of more than two hours we scrambled down a slope into the quinta's own vines. However when we went in and asked to buy a glass of port we were shooed away empty handed. The dragon who chucked us out watched us like a hawk to make sure we were gone.

The Dining Room at Quinta Nova

After such dreadful treatment you can imagine that we won't be going near the quinta or its products ever again! We lunched on the fruit we had brought with us before the long walk back. The pickers at Quinta do Infantado gave us a cheery wave which made us wonder if they remembered when we had lunch there a couple of years ago. That experience of traditional Portuguese hospitality was in marked contrast to our appalling treatment at Quinta Nova. Back at la Rosa we had a cooling dip and a good rest before heading down to Cais da Foz again for the big meal we felt we had earned that day. We had one of my favourite dishes, feveras, and I managed a breakthrough with my Portuguese by asking for and getting boiled potatoes rather than chips. On our way back to our room we were again persuaded to join in the evening's treading.

The weather on Saturday looked pretty good too so we thought we would have a go at walking to Quinta do Portal so I could stock up on 27 Grapes. First there was the steady hot climb up to Provesende on the marked trail. We slaked our thirsts with beers in the delightful bar cum museum in the village square. This is a real must-see as the premises are packed with all manner of old implements sometimes arranged in amusing sculptures. Early on in my Portuguese course I had learned what a turtle was (tartaruga) little thinking that I would ever use it. However there was one swimming around in an old enameled bowl! We

Well it had been quite a climb!

proceeded up to the amazing São Domingues view point, which I think was an old stone circle before it was christianised. After that came my downfall as whilst trying to find the quickest way to the Quinta do Portal I lead a terrified Dot down what seemed to be a neat vertical path of scree. We lived to tell the tale but we certainly won't be going that way again. The delightful ports we tasted helped ease our tired legs after a good five hours on foot. We arranged for a taxi back to Pinhão and were soon catching up with Gloria in her Princesa do Douro pastelaria over a glass of tawny port and a sticky cake. The waitress at Cais da Fox was amazed at our appetites as we tucked into a scrumptious platefull of stewed red fish. As we were so tired we were let off treading duties that evening.

Sunday was our transfer day to Quinta de Marrocos. There was no rush so we had a leisurely breakfast before packing. Dot even made time for a quick dip. When I came to pay they let us off one night because of the disruption caused by the building work, which was a jolly decent gesture to make. As we walked to the station Jean pulled up and gave us a lift for the rest of the way. She was miffed to find Dot in the Sunday market half an hour later. I stayed at the station reading. Dot considered buying a machete for my next rambling escapade, either that or to kill me with afterwards! The train and taxi trip was uneventful apart from talking with our fellow passengers. The family was pleased to see us again at Marrocos. Our room was charmingly old fashioned and rustic with lovely personalised towels. We did a tour and a tasting with a Canadian couple and then got to know the three Americans who were also staying. Before we knew it it was time for an excellent four course meal followed by an evening of chat and port.

We needed a chill out day on Monday. After a pleasantly substantial breakfast we

Looking for vine roots in the schist

spent a good couple of hours exploring the vertiginous vineyards before settling down on the swing seat for a good read accompanied by the quinta cat and an enormous hound. We were the only two eating there that night. The carrot, pumpkin, potato and garlic soup was scrumptious. Then, o joy o bliss, the main course was feijoada. I was so full I could only eat half my fruit salad and one bite of chocolate cake afterwards. After a chat and a couple of ports with Cesar, the owner, we made an early night of it.

Today we had a taxi back to Regua to stay at the Imperio Hotel. After leaving our bags at reception we walked along the river and up around Godim. On the way back we popped into the Caves Vale do Rodo to try out and buy a bottle of their Réccua pink port. We also bought bananas and apples for lunch at the town market. We found a bench by the river close to the hotel to eat them on and realised we had been walking for two hours. After checking in and resting for a bit we headed out to Castelinho at Quinta de São Domingos where we had a great tasting whilst watching a new video. We came away with a bottle of the renowned Castelinho white and one of Martha's 2005 Colheita. A stroll along the recently restored foot bridge was called for to walk off the tasting. We are now getting ready for what should be a good night at O Maleiro restaurant.

Vindima 2014 1st October 2014

It seemed like a good idea at the time to set up this blog so I could record my port wine adventures as they happened. However this time we arrived in Porto on Sunday and now it is Wednesday and I haven't written anything yet. It is time to put that right.

Sunday evening we made it to our hotel by 5 pm after an uneventful journey. After a quick chill out to recover from travelling we headed out for a quick stroll before our evening meal (jantar). We were trying to track the source of some drumming we had heard from our hotel room but it seems it was just someone practising in an upstairs apartment. Eventually we took a table in one of our favourite restaurants, Lagostim. They seemed well pleased to see us again and it wasn't long before we were enjoying our first port of the trip. It was a white port under Rozés's São Pedro das Aguias label. Of course we finished the proceedings with a tawny reserve from Cálem.

On Monday morning we decided to try to find Churchill's caves, which had eluded

View from Churchill's

us on previous visits. This time we found it easily thanks to a large banner outside. The tour in French was interesting but at the tasting we were disappointed by the dryness of all three of the ports we had whilst recognising that this was the deliberate house style.

Wandering on up the hill we discovered that Graham's had been revamped so felt that we had better check out the new tour and tasting there. The tour was thorough and informative so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a great introduction to the mysteries of the port wine world. We opted for the superior ruby and tawny tastings so that was another excellent six ports under the belt.

After we emerged Dot spotted some people walking along with a Cockburn's bag.

In the heart of Cockburn's

It has only been rarely that we have been able to visit Cockburn's so we took a devious walk around Gaia until eventually we found ourselves in the reception area. We killed the half hour wait for the next tour in English with an excellent white port having opted to taste a combination of six ruby and tawny ports after our tour. Sadly the tour was a disappointment compared with our last visit when we were shown the vintage bottles in the garrafeira. However the ports we tasted were excellent.

By this time it was around four in the afternoon, we were well oiled and feeling peckish. So we had a chouriço cooked outside at the Taberninha do Manel washed down with a small bottle of red wine. The accompanying rye bread was satisfyingly wholesome yet soft.

After getting back to our room and freshening up we didn't feel like a huge meal so we opted for a bacalhau dish and a vinho verde at a simple nearby restaurant that we had enjoyed previously. Both were good. As we couldn't face another course we settled up there and then and headed home for an early night.

Tuesday morning was time to catch the train to Pinhão.  On the journey up we had a great conversation with a well travelled Swedish tour guide who was taking a group of forty to Regua to catch a cruise back to Porto. After settling in at

Quinta de la Rosa we headed into town for cash and supplies. Somehow we ended up having a couple of excellent ports at Real Companhia Velha's Quinta das Carvalhas. By the time we got back we were hot enough for a good swim in la Rosa's pool. After an appetising glass of Offley's white port it was down to Cais da Foz for a delicious meal followed by a digestive tawny of course. When we got back to the Quinta treading was well underway and we were badgered into joining in. Interestingly in the lagar we bumped into Roy Hersh of For the Love of Port fame. I don't think there can be another person alive who has tasted so many different vintage ports. After all the exercise it was time to open and try the Quinta das Carvalhas ten year old and very good it was too.

We had a quiet morning today as we had a lunchtime appointment at Quinta da

Azelujo at Quinta da Foz

Foz. There the winemakers Pedro and Philipe took us through the range of wines

and introduced their newly launched ports. All were excellent and I hope they will be able to play a role in the portfolio of db importo. We were then joined by Carlos the marketing guy for an excellent outdoors lunch of typical Portuguese fair, which was made all the more enjoyable by the good conversation and excellent wines. We didn't get back to Le Rosa until four by which time it was so hot that a long swim was called for to cool down and work off the boozy lunch. In the evening we popped down to Cais da Foz again but could only manage one helping between us as we were still rather full from lunch.