Old and new blend perfectly in Porto and the Douro Valley. Kate Rouse is your guide.
You don’t need a Tardis to be able to turn back time. Welcome to the Douro Valley.
This is the location of the world’s oldest demarcated and regulated wine region (100 years before Burgundy, if you must know). Way back in 1756, port wine was first made here, and for all intents and purposes, things haven’t really changed that much since. Of course, luxury hotels, quality restaurants and all mod cons have arrived in this area of Portugal – two hours upstream from Porto, the country’s second city – but it is still a place where you can take a seat with a stunning view, relax, sip a 40-year-old tawny, and really imagine the world as it was then.
A flight into Porto is your starting point, and with Ryanair flying direct from Birmingham, it couldn’t be easier. This majestic yet compact and very ‘doable’ city sits at the mouth of the Douro, straddling the river, with Porto on one side and its sibling Vila Nova de Gaia on the other. It’s pretty much one city now, but it’s good to know you have a river in between you when you are planning your visit.
As a city-break destination, Porto has really taken off in recent years, partly fuelled by the general food explosion in Portugal, and its growing international culinary reputation. The number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the country now stands at 28, with six in Porto alone and two of those boasting 2 stars.
National pride in its food heritage is a big thing in Portugal, and nowhere more so than in Porto, where traditional rustic recipes and seafood dishes are being reinvented, with added sex appeal. From humble street food, all the way up to the stars, the ‘Tripeiros’ as the locals are called (it’s due to a love of tripe, although that’s not compulsory!) are passionate about three things: food, wine and how to party.
This city really doesn’t sleep. It’s a constant buzz of glorious European café culture, art, festivals and wine, yet without the over-commercialisation or over-familiarity of other perhaps more famous destinations. You feel that Porto exists first for its residents, and then allows the visitor to participate. It’s the way it should be.
Heart
If you want to treat yourself in Porto, stay at The Yeatman. Owned by the Taylor family of renowned port wine fame, it’s a dip into the genuine luxury and hotel service standards of old Europe. Dominating the skyline in Vila Nova de Gaia with views over the famous Dom Luis bridge, it offers magical sunsets, a giant wine barrel to sleep in, a swimming pool shaped like a bottle, a glorious spa, and a Michelin 2-star restaurant. Ideally located to allow you to wander (or stagger) between the many wine cellars over the course of a weekend, we suggest grabbing a tuk-tuk and zipping around the city to familiarise yourself with the lay of the land.
Then head to Cockburn’s for your first instruction in port wine. Take note. This is not the stuff your granny drinks at Christmas. The really good port is complex, seductive and available in a variety of colours, and understanding the difference is all part of the fun.
Start with a pink or white, with tonic over ice and lemon, for the locals’ version of a long drink. A dry white is perfect as an aperitif. Then move to a light ruby with chocolate or lunchtime cheese. And my personal favourite? Tawny, accompanied by a really ‘stinky’ matured local cheese at the end of dinner. Tawny port has all the great flavours of a great fruit cake – apricots, sultanas, dates and overripe figs – and a sticky richness that captures new fans at every taste. Now put that with cheese, especially the local ewes’ milk cheeses of this region or the runny Serra de Estrella, and you can almost taste it, can’t you?
Porto is so full of good restaurants it’s almost impossible to go wrong, but for a quick fix at trying to encapsulate everything – the wine, the food, the view and the history – I’d recommend Vinum by Grahams, another name familiar to those who really know their port. It’s maybe a little more commercialised than some, but it gives you a fully-rounded experience to help understand the marriage of food and wine in this area, and it’s massively popular with the locals.
And last but not least whilst in Porto, don’t forget to visit Livraria Lello: the bookshop that inspired Harry Potter’s library when JK Rowling lived in the city is one of the most beautiful in the world.
Process
After a brief hello to Porto, wave goodbye for a couple of nights and embark on one of the best train journeys in the world, from the fabulously blue-tiled Sâo Bento Station in Porto to Pinhâo, deep in the Douro Valley. Keep an eye out for the Pullman trains which run on special occasions and sporadically through the summer months. Failing that, the regular train, whilst not plush, allows you to sink into the view and gradually become absorbed by miles and miles of vineyards. Stacked high are the steep schist terraces, making you wonder if the grapes aren’t picked by mountain goats. Machines can’t do this work, a labour of love that helps you understand that wine-making here is an intense process, in what is now a UNESCO-protected area. History, tradition and consistency are its backbones.
Arriving in Pinhâo, the prettiest of train stations, is a delight – especially in Spring, with the amazing smell of orange blossom. Grab a few blooms to take to your hotel, as the orange trees are literally everywhere.
The Vintage House Hotel sits in quiet grandeur on the banks of the Douro. With only 47 rooms, it’s another step back in time: swish around the corridors and you can fantasise about being Agatha Christie, finding inspiration for her next novel. Now also in the hands of Taylor’s, this beautiful petit dame is a haven of tranquillity, and is perfectly located to allow you to buzz around traditional vineyards and quaint quintas.
To learn the story of port wine, head to Sandeman, who have led the way for some time in marketing and positioning the product. The British links are everywhere in this region, and when wine merchant George Sandeman founded the dynasty in the 1790s, he set out to specialise in two great Iberian fortified wines, port and sherry. The world-famous logo of ‘The Don’ is, in fact, a combination of the Portuguese cape favoured by university students and a Spanish hat.
We love to start our tasting at the Quinta de Seixo estate here and complete it back in Vila Nova de Gaia. It’s a journey, literally, from vine to glass, whilst playing I-spy and spotting larger-than-life cut-outs of ‘The Don’ on the various vineyards owned by Sandeman throughout the region. Sandeman’s state-of-the-art visitor centre explains the full story and their 100 Years of Port Wine tasting educates in the intricacies of this glorious tipple.
Peace
Alongside eating and drinking, a spot of exploring is always in order, and a gentle cruise along the famous river is the way to travel, courtesy of the Vintage House’s own rabelo, the traditional boats which carried the barrels downriver. This area is opening up to tourism, with new roads, tunnels and access points combining with modern cruise boats. Slowly but surely, they may infringe on the peace and quiet of the region, but you can still find a serene moment, a corner, a vineyard or a perch to picnic, contemplate, and hear nothing but the quiet chug of life moving slowly in the background. Walking in the area is also a real get-away-from-it-all, with walking trails along the old narrow-gauge railway line into Régua a must for energetic types.
Excellent opportunities also exist in this area to satisfy appetites. As well as the Vintage House, Régua offers Quinta da Pacheca with its excellent wine cellars and the modernity of Rui Paula’s DOC. The celebrated chef has two Michelin stars in Porto, but this was one of his original restaurants. Unencumbered by tied vineyard ownership, here is an opportunity to combine flavours and wine pairings to truly understand the exceptional quality of both table and fortified wines in this area, and to eat whilst looking at the actual vines that the wine sprung from: a truly special moment.
This region has so much to offer, and it could take you a lifetime to explore all the nooks and crannies. This is a selection of some of our favourites, however, for those who love food and wine and exploring new places filled with the slow charm of a bygone era. An exploratory toe-in-the-water journey into this region is on offer via a private tour, as part of a group, or on an organised accompanied tour. Cheers!
• Kate Rouse is a Travel Counsellor and offers ATOL-protected trips to this and other food, wine and travel locations. Contact her at kate.rouse@travelcounsellors.com