From Monsanto, it was time to head to Portugal’s wine region: the Douro Valley.
The Douro Valley is one of the most picturesque regions of Portugal, with steep terraced cliffs descending to the winding Douro river. The area is most well known for its production of “port wine”, and more recently, other Portuguese varietals.
We decided to see the area best we would stay at one of the vineyards, also known as quintas, which offer accommodations. We stayed at Quinta da Ventozelo, a beautiful winery offering stunning views of the region, hiking trails, and a swimming pool overlooking the vineyard. From here we took day trips to surrounding regions, enjoying the winding cliffside roads and appreciating the various local wineries (which were often clearly labeled with large “Hollywood”-style white letters that could be seen from afar).
One of the most unique parts of our stay was our hotel room: the large spherical dome seen in the image above. This round concrete vat used to store wine, but has since been recreated into a one-bedroom suite. The main room sits within the large sphere, which is architecturally unique and creates interesting sound acoustics!
What Makes the Douro Valley Unique
I was surprised to learn the Douro is the world’s oldest formal wine region. It was the first to be formally demarcated, almost a century before Bordeaux, despite the latter being more internationally renowned. Port wine itself has been regulated since 1756.
The most striking feature of the Douro Valley are the dramatic, steep cliffs which border the river. Somehow, winemakers have managed to fill the cliffs with grape-filled terraces that can handle hot, dry summers and extremely cold winters with heavy rainfall. The soil is predominantly schist and granite, which is poor in nutrients but excellent at retaining heat. The vines have to dig deep into the ground for water and nutrients, some roots growing as deep as 9 meters!
The other noticeable difference from other European wine regions is the lack of castles and fortifications along the river. Unlike areas like the Loire or the Rhine, the Douro Valley has never been a strategic military site, so instead of these dramatic strongholds, the valley is instead full of farms and quiet villages.
What is Port?
The creation of Port wine is felt to be somewhat accidental – British merchants transporting Portuguese wine in the 17th century discovered that adding brandy to the wine helped preserve it during long sea voyages. Furthermore, the wine would pick up the enhancing flavour of oak during its travels to Britain, and suddenly a new type of fortified wine was created!
The Douro Valley is the only region in the world that can legally produce authentic “port wine” – a fortified wine made from a blend of several grapes. The process is a labor of love which is mostly still done by hand. Grapes are hand-picked and crushed by foot. During fermentation, before all the sugar turns to alcohol, brandy is added to the wine to halt the process and preserve the wine’s natural sweetness.
There are different types of Port, the most major including Ruby, Tawny, White and Late-Bottled Vintage.
Ruby is the most produced, least expensive Port, best enjoyed young. It is stored in concrete or stainless steel tanks, which minimizes contact with oxygen and preserves the ruby-red color. Tawny Port is aged in wooden barrels, which provides more oxidation, changing the color to a more tawny/rusty red and adds more depth of flavor. Late-Bottled Vintage are the most sought-after and expensive Port wines, made from grapes of a single year and matured in bottle for a minimum of 3 years. These can age for 40-50 years before being enjoyed.
Taylor Fladgate? Graham? I Thought Port was Portuguese?
Was it only me who wondered why a wine so central to Portuguese culture and history has names like “Taylor Fladgate”, “Graham”, and “Croft”?
Though Britain had long relied on wine imported from France to satiate their thirst (Britain isn’t the most suitable place for growing grapes, after all), the two countries went to war with one another in the 17th and 18th centuries. Britain was forced to look elsewhere for wine, and as a result, Portuguese wine grew in popularity.
At this point in time, the Douro vineyards were predominantly owned by locals. However, things changed in the 19th century with the infestation of phylloxera which devastated much of Europe’s wine crop. Terraces were left decimated or contaminated with harsh chemicals, leaving them unsuitable for growing grapes (one of these abandoned terraces can be seen in the pictures below). Many Portuguese winemakers gave up and sold the land to British companies willing to wait it out until a solution could be found.
Eventually, phylloxera-resistant American rootstock was brought to Europe and production resumed in the now British-owned vineyards. The British managed to perfect Port production in the upcoming decades, which explains many of the British-sounding names of the bigger and well known Port producers.
Writer Karen MacNeil said it best: “if Portugal is the mother of Port, Britain is certainly its father.”
Porto: Port’s Best Friend
Port is named after the city “Porto”, Portugal’s second largest city and where the Douro river comes to spill into the Atlantic Ocean. Porto has played a critical role in the supply of Port wine, as the site of packing, transport and export. For centuries, Port could only be marketed and sold in Porto, though this has been deregulated in 1987. On top of that, many types of Port are still aged in Porto, where the climate is milder and more suitable.
On that note, Porto is where we are headed to next!
