Last Updated on September 15, 2021
Northern Portugal – Porto Part I – Port
My recent trip took me to Guimarães and Braga and then on to Porto. And, although we received a fitting and warm welcome at the Sheraton Hotel in the form of a glass of port when we arrived, the trip was not just about port. I’ll be writing a little more about what else to do in Porto in a separate feature, despite an increasingly strong conviction that I could so easily just have taken up residence in the Port Houses on the south side of the Douro (I wonder if there’s such a thing as a Port House crawl?)
Port is a fortified wine with a curious origin; the result of an English boycott of French wines during the Napoleonic Wars in the late 17th century. Rather than drink French wine, the English decided to source their wine from allies in Portugal – and in order to stabilise the fragile, still wine on the longer journey from Porto to England they started to add a little brandy. The result was port, a sweeter, fortified wine that has a higher alcohol level than the Claret it was meant to replace.
Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal, on the estuary of the Douro. For centuries, the wine was brought downstream from the vineyards of the Douro to Porto and stored in the Port Houses of Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Oporto. And for centuries merchant ships would be loaded with casks of port for export to England. Now the market is broader and port is appreciated worldwide, though for many English people a glass of port is the only way to finish dinner.
Our first encounter of one of the Port Houses was a tour of the cellars at Taylor’s followed by a tasting of three of their Port Wines. Founded in 1692 by Job Bearsley from England, Taylor’s is still family owned and run.
We learnt that there are about 30 traditional port grape varieties, mostly red and all varieties that I’d never heard of before. Some of the better-known grapes include Touriga Francesa, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Amarela and Tinto Cao. Grapes are harvested by hand from September onward and put into huge granite tanks where, even today, they are trodden by foot.
Once the fermentation has turned about half the grape sugar into alcohol, the treading stops and the wine is run out into a vat. The wine is fortified by the addition of a clear grape spirit which stops the fermentation and preserves the sweetness of the grape.
The port is left at the Douro valley winery until early the following year when the casks are transported downstream to Vila Nova de Gaia so that they can mature in the cool cellars of the Port Houses. At Taylor’s we saw rows and rows of barrels, stacked neatly waiting to mature. And, we were fascinated by the curious white markings on each barrel. It turns out that it is all to do with capacity. The traditional unit of volume of port is a ‘pipe’ of 550 litres. Each pipe is made of of 22 ‘almudes’ and each almude of 12 canadas. The numbers in the ‘X’ indicate the capacity of each barrel – the one on the right would be (6×25) +550 litres, while the one on the left is smaller, (3×25)+(10×12)+550. Needless to say, there’s another way of explaining what each measure constitutes – to the Portuguese a canada is as much as a man can drink in a day, an almude the quantity a woman could carry on her head and a pipe as much as could be transported by an ox cart.
Originally the port barrels were transported by special boats called Barcos Rabelos. Designed to help negotiate the fast running Duoro, the Barcos Rabelo had a flat bottomed hull, a long steering oar and a sail, to help the barge journey back upstream. By the 19th century, there were hundreds of these barges making their way from the Quintas to the Port Houses. But, the introduction of the railway meant that there was an easier way for the port to be transported and today the barges have a new use, taking visitors to Porto along the river.
You can also visit many of the other Port Houses, for a tour of the cellars, for a tasting experience or to eat in the restaurants. A good place to start is at Porto Cruz, where you can have dinner or just a tasting and where there’s a remarkable rooftop terrace and bar looking out over the Duoro. It was a great place to dine, we enjoyed a selection of regional dishes
A light pickle, Legumes Salteados com queijo de cabra, salted vegetables with goat cheese which we enjoyed with our bread, then a dish of Cavala fumada com escabeche de cebola – smoked mackerel with fried onions. Cogumelos salteados com Porto –a rich dish of salted mushrooms with port wine. Morcela da beira com maçã e cebola – smoked blood sausage with apple and onion – one of my favourite dishes of this meal – a dark, intense and smoky sausage with a garnish of fine apple and onion slices. Then, Bacalhau à Brás – fried sliced salt cod and potatoes mixed with onions and egg – comfort food for the Portuguese I think – I’ve had variations of this almost everywhere in Portugal
All finished off with a slice of Bolo de chocolate – chocolate cake and some port!
Despite all the fantastic food and wine, the highlight of the evening had to be a trip up to the rooftop bar, with stunning views over the Douro and to Porto itself.
There are plenty of options to eat at the Port Houses and on our short trip we just had time to try two.
Also recommended is Vinum, the restaurant for Graham’s Port where we enjoyed lunch the next day. It’s a room in the heart of the wine cellar dating back to 1980. A glass wall lets you peek through to the seasoned oak casks full of port wine. And, the food is excellent.
After a white port cocktail aperitif and canapes on the terrace, we went into the main dining room, where we feasted on salada de feijão branco, tomate seco e queijo com manjericão, a white beans salad, dried tomato and cheese with basil, an impossibly pretty dish with the salad mixture carefully arranged inside a fine slice of cucumber
followed by lombo de bacalhau com caldo verde – cod with vegetables in a rich broth. Here the cod was served as a piece rather than flaked up – the salting made a firmer, meatier fish which must have been very carefully prepared as at least one of our party refused to believe it had been salted! Then to finish off the meal a pretty and delicate tarte fina de maçã – a caramelised apple tart with a dollop of ice-cream
Once again the food was matched with some of those wonderful Douro wines that we seldom see in this country. I was impressed with both meals in the Port Houses (and with the port tasting experience at Taylor’s). The quality of the food was superb – and unsurprisingly, both restaurants were packed. It didn’t feel ‘touristy’ though and the food was uncompromisingly Portuguese.
Port Tourism is clearly developing fast in Porto, with plenty of options both in Vila Nova de Gaia and in the main city for port tastings. If you are looking for a more sybaritic experience, then the Yeatman Hotel, a has a Caudalie spa so, you could spend all day drinking port and then visit the spa for a vinotherapie detox.
Perhaps one of the best ways to learn about port would be to do something like the twin-stay itinerary, offered by Taylor’s at the Yeatman Hotel in Vila Nova de Gaia and at the Vintage House Hotel in the heart of the Douro. Vintage House was built in the 19th century as a home for the Taylor’s Port family and has recently been bought and is being refurbished to provide the perfect base to discover one of Europe’s oldest wine regions and UNESCO world heritage site, the Douro Valley.
Is Porto all about port? resoundingly no. But, if you happen to have an interest, then the vibrant and colourful city of Porto is definitely a great place to start learning. Next, I’d love to visit the vineyards and wineries in the Douro – preferably when the grapes are being harvested and trodden.
Fact Box
For more information about Northern Portugal check their website
TAP Portugal flies direct from London Gatwick to Porto twice daily, prices start at £89 return including all taxes and surcharges.
For further information, visit www.flytap.com or call 0345 601 0932.
I stayed at The Sheraton – a five star luxury hotel with amazing spa facilities
I was a guest of Porto and Northern Portugal Tourism Board
The images of the Douro and of The Vintage House are copyright Vintage House.
Thinking of visiting Porto? Why not pin this post for later
Sounds like a perfect holiday destination with the various ports to taste.
I’ve never been to Portugal before, but it’s on my list. Thanks for the article.
Thanks for the great article. Lots of interesting information.
I don’t normally drink Port,. but it was interesting to read this article.
That’s fascinating. I always wanted to learn about this stuff but assumed that you have to be born with the right sort of pallate to understand it.
Fascinating – going to tell my husband to read this as inspiration for our next trip. I really fancy the Douro region now !
Fascinating, I never realised there was so much I didn’t know about Port
Nothing like a decent bottle of port to get you through the winter months, quite fascinating to read some of these facts, you can drink something for years without knowing much about it.
Interesting article, sounds like a place I would enjoy visiting too.
We’re hoping to get to Porto in the spring so this was a lovely inspiring read!
Wow very interesting. I would love to go to Porto
Such an interesting article and I’ve learnt more about delicious Port , Porto sounds a lovely place to visit your photos made me very envies thanks for the great article Porto here I cme
Great article – didn’t realize Port could be so interesting!
Thank you for such a comprehensive article. I am amazed that the grapes are still trodden by foot!
I hadn’t realised that there are so many different kinds of port!
Great read, I’ve been to Porto but many years ago. Would love to go back!
We went on a Douro river cruise a few years ago and got chance to visit Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia and found it fascinating. Lovely place, lovely people and especially lovely port.
A very interesting read, would love to visit Porto someday.
A very interesting article, I learned something new!
I’m desperate to vist porto and you can’t beat a glass or two of port after a meal.
I’d love to go to Porto
Definitely worth visiting – especially if you love port!
That blood sausage dish looked so good, I really shouldn’t read these type of posts at night, always makes me so hungry
I loved the facts about port, as I didn’t know these.
The Portuguese certainly know a thing or two about great food and drink! The history of Port is fascinating. I would love to have seen the barrels being transported on boats. A visit to Porto sounds wonderful. .
This is a really interesting article
Very interesting, thank you! We have just moved Porto quite a few places up on our bucket list!
A few years ago, I was very fortunate to spend a day in Porto. A beautiful place, even if it is a bit on the steep side when on foot. We enjoyed a white port. I always presumed port was red.
Good caz
So interesting to read about the history of this lovely drink
Very interesting read,i’ve been to Portugal loads,never took time to find out more about Port x
an interesting article that has added quite a bit to my knowledge and has corrected a few things for me too
Always been a favourite of my husband especially at Christmas
On my bucket list
I’ve been to Porto too. It’s amazing there. I really want to go back!
Me too! Hopefully we will both get the chance;)
I had the pleasure of visiting the Duoro Valley a few years ago and sipping delicious port was definitely a highlight! Your photos are making me want to return for another trip as I’d love to visit some more port makers and learn more about it.
Never been to portugal or Port or Villa Nova de Gaia.. By reading your post I immediately got the sparkle to teletransport myself there 😉
This article has brought back nice memories of Porto and our Port adventure – Porto Cruz roof top has amazing views and I enjoyed the food as well. Thanks Fiona!
I love learning how things are made, so this would be right up my alley! Porto looks like a fantastic area. All the food you had looks amazing, as well! Sounds like a really great experience!
This is such a different Porto from the one I used to visit regularly on business. I know I must have missed out and this makes me want to rediscover it. GG
I was last in Porto during my honeymoon in 2007. We adored the city and of course the port. We even bought t-shirts from Graham’s after enjoying their tour and tasting. Perhaps we should return this year to celebrate our 10th anniversary and drink more port!
I think you should DEFINITELY do that Mindi;)
Wow this is really making me want to visit Porto! Looks like such a lovely place to spend a long weekend and I love Port too! Gary x
IN 2018 we are going to Algarve, Portugal and I am sure my husband will not hesitate to travel up to Lisbon and even Port. He loves wine and port wines are part of it.
I REALLY love Portugal – it’s worth seeing other parts to the Algarve. – I really recommend the Alentejo and Centro too.
This place looks delicious, I mean beautiful 🙂 I love ports and the food looks amazing too. I think I will have to focus on trying to get to Porto in the near future.
I now want to do the trip from Porto to the wineries – I loved porto, but I think seeing the grapes being trodden in the traditional way is on my personal wishlist!
My Porto visit was for a few hours. I did tone of the cathedrals there and spent some time by the river side. Loved reading your version of Porto, wish I had thought about the wines then.
Aaah what a wonderful post, Fiona. I’m going to forward this to a few friends who expressed interest in Porto after I posted about our trip, as I didn’t go into depth at all about port and this is such an excellent introduction!
Thanks Kavey – It is very much the reason I wanted to visit – now I just want to go back. Wasn’t the food WONDERFUL!
Mmm, I love port, especially with some blue cheese. Porto looks absolutely beautiful. I’ll have to get myself over there at some stage.
Definitely worth visiting – especially if you love port!
I am not a wine-drinker, and even though I have visited several Portuguese wineries along the Douro River, alas I am not a fan of port. I am, however, a huge fan of Porto. It is one of the most picturesque cities I have ever visited, and I could not stop taking pictures day or night. My best adjective to describe Porto is “sunkissed.”
My next piece is going to be about the other things you can do in Porto. Even on our short trip it was really easy to see there were some fabulous things to discover in Porto
I loved Porto it was one of the first places I visited when I started my travelling adventure. I didn’t realise they had white port though think I might have to go back and try some of that. All the pictures of the food has made me really hungry I really want those mushrooms now
There’s white and rose Port – and Tawny too
What a beautiful spot and that food, oh my! How did you find Portugal compared to other countries around that part of Europe?
I love Portugal – the people have an innate hospitality. The weather is generally pleasant and there’s a lot of heritage – and some great beaches (in Alentejo as well. The food, as you can see, is fabulous – particularly if you like fresh fish.