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.