Porto, Day 3: Tour of Duoro Valley, Wine Tasting at Quinta dos Castelares, Lunch at Vista D’ouro, Duoro River Cruise, Port Tasting at Quinta de Santa Eufemia, Livraria Lello, Frozen Pizza and Wine for Dinner

Big day today – we had an early wake up (shower, breakfast, and had to walk about 10-15 minutes to get picked up at 8:30 AM). We’re going on a day-long tour of the Douro Valley via Cooltour Oporto.

A few days prior, we got a notification that one of their vehicles was out of service… and they were trying to see about rescheduling. Unfortunately, today was the only day we could do the tour… so they accommodated us and were able to find us a spot with another group.

We walked a bit, and found our pick-up spot (sort of). It was a hotel location, but we were unable to find the front door. After a brief bit of frantic texting with my contact from the tour company (who was also texting with the driver)… we met up.

Liz and I hopped into a van, joining 5 other folks. We then started the 1.5 hour drive, from Porto to the Duoro Valley.

Our first stop: Quinta dos Castelares. After a brief intro to the family and business, we got to one of our first tastings.

After a brief tour inside, we gathered out in the back… and were presented with another tasting.

This was interesting, as we were pairing some of the wines with honey.

Of note, Quinta dos Castelares is an organic producer, and there’s a tremendous amount of effort (and cost) that goes into being certified organic.

One of the main things I recall was that because bees can carry chemicals or pesticides when pollinating, an organic vineyard needs to be located at least 4 kilometers away from another vineyard that does choose to use chemicals/pesticides.

I’m not a fan of honey, but that said – this was pretty good.

Personal note: I used to get honey mixed with warm water, when I was sick as a kid. It helped with sore throats, and was a good home remedy. But for whatever reason (thanks Pavlov), I associate the taste of honey with illness.

I think honey is great, and I know people love it. But it’s not for me.

A view of the property.

As a bonus, we were treated to a small tasting of Port.

One of the interesting things for Quinta dos Castelares is that they ship directly to customers. And for us to purchase any wines from them, we needed to place our orders today.

They don’t take orders online, and you need to be already part of their list if you want their wines. A very different and unique setup.

While some of the others on the tour were looking to make purchases, Liz and I slipped out and went back to some of the areas at the start of the tour. Neither of us had taken photos much, so we got a chance to walk around a bit on our own.

Several of the wines we sampled today.

Interesting inscriptions on the doorway here. I didn’t spot this on the tour, and never got to ask what these represented.

Liz, in the storage area. As we were finishing up, a new group/tour was just starting… and we politely made our exit.

After our tasting, we drove a ways… and stopped off at a small town. I don’t recall where, exactly this was. But there was a town square/fountain nearby.

After a lot of driving, we paused briefly to stretch our legs.

One of the homes nearby. I believe that the material here is schist, which is very common in the area.

Even out here, steep inclines.

A bit later, we arrived at Vista D’ouro, for our lunch.

This photo doesn’t really do justice to the meal. We had a lovely soup + salad as a starter, a lot of sausages, as well as codfish. We also got our choice of desserts, and of course had plenty of wine with the meal as well. And also got a small bit of Port, as an after dinner drink.

Our next step: a boat tour on the Douro river itself. As we drove down to meet the water, I was in awe just looking out of the window.

The view was absolutely breathtaking. If I were driving, I’d be stopping every 5 minutes to just gaze at all the vineyards and quintas.

About to board the boat.

We were among the last to arrive, so we ended up getting seats in the back. A plus: we were covered from the sun; a minus: we were looking at everything through a window.

At various points on the tour, Liz and I would walk to the front of the boat and took some photos.

The tour was really calm and quiet – no narrator, just us gently going out and back along the river.

Amazed to see how these vineyards use all the available space, even along uneven hillsides.

As if it couldn’t get any more scenic, we passed by a bridge for a local train.

While I enjoyed being on the water as a change of pace, looking back… I actually preferred the views we had from the tour van.

Our next stop: Quinta de Santa Eufemia. This is a small mural, depicting the room we’re in (and the process of crushing the grapes by hand [er, feet]).

The mixing area, a combination of old and new.

Upstairs, there was a display room with all the various archaeological finds that were unearthed on the property over the years.

Some very old finds. I think these date back to the second or third century, AD.

Nearby, some incredibly large casks in the storage area.

We walked outside to a newly created tasting/viewing area, which had an incredible view of the property.

Difficult to describe just how gorgeous this was.

Most of the photos taken by us rarely feature us together (I’m usually the one behind the camera/phone).

While we were taking in the view, one of our tour companions offered to take a photo of us together.

Our lovely port tasting.

After relaxing here for a while, we returned to the van and made our way back to Porto. Our guide was kind enough to drop folks back at their respective hotels… and so Liz and I hung out, as we were the last to be dropped off.

Despite the full day, we opted to venture out a bit more and ended up outside of Livraria Lello. The author J. K. Rowling lived and taught English in Porto in the 1990’s, and this bookstore is considered an inspiration for Hogwarts (from the Harry Potter novels).

There was a line, and you had to buy tickets to enter. We were able to stand in line, and as we waited for the next entrance time to begin… I was able to quickly purchase our tickets on the spot.

It’s an incredible interior. And was swarmed with people, as you can imagine. Phones everyone, selfies at every turn. And a magical staircase, at the center of it all.

Looking down onto the first floor, and the back half of the bookstore.

On the second floor, equally crowded.

A view of the second floor, from the back.

A random snapshot of one of the small side streets, near our apartment.

Tonight, we found a nearby grocery store (more like a minimart)… and were able to get some frozen pizza. After a long day out and about, we decided staying in would be easier… and got some provisions for our evening.

I have to say – tonight’s relaxing was quite nice. So much of our trip so far has been going from place to place, that it was nice to just sit and be lazy a bit.

We ended up using the oven in the apartment, and made two small frozen pizzas for dinner. And then we used the Amazon Prime account from a prior tenant, and watched Batman (the Robert Pattison version).

Did I mention we got a nice bottle of wine from Quinta de Santa Eufemia? And it paired nicely with our frozen pizza.

It was honestly just so relaxing to be on the couch, after a full day… pizza, wine, and a lot of motionlessness.

Related:
Porto, Day 1: Vintage Finds at Warehouse Saint Germain, Travel from Bordeaux, Arriving in Porto, Sunset Walk, Drinks at Base
Porto, Day 2: Breakfast at Floresta Cafe, Walking Across the Ponte Luiz I Bridge, Tour and Tasting at Taylor’s Port Lodge, Unexpected Liminal Space, Riding the Gaia Cable Car, Dinner at Tapabento.