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 sippin' away by arasnosliw
Aside from being unable to understand my tour given in Italian, I highly recommend Graham's. It is further away than all the other caves, but they provide free tours and samples. There is a free shuttle from the waterfront in Gaia, but we walked here. It didn't take more than 20 minutes. I would recommend the shuttle however because the street leading to Graham's is very steep and winds treacherously. Every time a car passes, I was afraid that it would hit be because you can't see beyond the curves.
You'll be given samples of tawny, white, and red varieties of port wine. I prefer the less popular white because it is a dry wine, unlike the super-sweet reds and tawnies. Leave a Comment Address: Rua Rei RamiroPhone: +351 223 776 330Directions: Vila Nova de Gaia the reps will attack you with flyers, ask them for the shuttleWebsite: www.grahams-port.com
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 barrels of port wine aging in
the caves by arasnosliw, 1 more photos
Once in the port wine cellars, embark on a tour (preferably in a language you can understand), There's usually an overview on port wine making, a history of production in the Douro Valley, and more stuff to excite or bore you. The caves are cold, since they are kept at a cool temperature beneficial to fermentation. If you are easily chilled like me, bring some warm clothing! Leave a Comment Directions: Vila Nova de Gaia
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Well, I couldn't visit Porto and not visit the Port caves. The problem was, Which one?
Sitting on the opposite banks of the River Douro, in Ribeira, I could see there were at least 17 advertising boards visible, above the individual businesses. (I was later informed that there are about 35- some of the smaller companies being further along the river, and not so identifiable- many of these aren't members of the prestigious Institute of Port)
Well the decision was made for me; Included in the 6 bridges boat trip that I'd booked, was the chance to visit 2 companies- Croft and Calem
After our boat trip, we set off to find the Croft business. All the main cellars are signposted, from the end of each street, leading off the main street.
We were met at the doorway, by 2 smartly dressed men, who showed us into a room with tables and chairs made from barrels, and surrounded by memorabilia, photographs, and old pieces of equipment.
We were given a sample of white port to enjoy before the guided tour. On the table was a price list for the various types of Port, as well as momentoes such as glasses, umbrellas, playing cards etc.
I quite enjoyed the tour, our guide was quite informative and entertaining, we saw the different processes involved in the aging of port. I particularly enjoyed the demonstration of how to open a bottle of vintage port. Traditionally this was done with a sword, but our guide used a pair of special pincers. We also were told about the different types of port- it was quite interesting to hear that some ports that had been stored away for many years, as an investment, might only procur a thimbleful of port due to sedimentation/evaporation-
to be continued..... Leave a Comment
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These famous boats "barcos rabelos" line the Douro, mainly on the side of Vila Nova de Gaia. These were the original boats used to transport casks of port wine down the river. Now, they are merely used for decoration and advertisement to draw visitors to the port wine caves in Vila Nova de Gaia.
There are several docks over in Vila Nova de Gaia in which you can get an upclose glance of the "barcos rabelos" - crawl along the docks to get a great glimpse! Leave a Comment
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 Zorro by Folbi
Enter any of the several cellars to learn more about the process for creating port wine and experience the wine tasting after the visit. Visits can be free .. or not. I went to Croft and was welcome with a free glass of port wine. Then i had a free visit of the cellar and finally another free glass of wine !
Note that standard port wine bottles are less expensive in the supermaket than in the cellars ! If you buy wine in the cellar, make sure it is a very special bottle such as a vintage wine or a bottle of your year of birth (if you're a collector as it could be very expensive) Leave a Comment
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 port wine cellars. by cachaseiro
porto has more than 50 port wine factories and more than 30 of them give tours around their premises.
some of them are free and some of them cost a couple of euros and they always include a tasting of 2-3 different types of port wine.
generally speaking it´s better not to visit the companies right on the river bank as they are often a little less generous with the wine.
taylors who are located up a steep hill do a good tour for instance. Leave a Comment
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 Port Lodges, Porto by antistar
The English port producers have left their legacy in the lodges on the far side of the Douro. Here their very English names, like Croft and Offley, are emblazoned across the roofs of the lodges and look quite out of place among the very latin style of the rest of the city. The English names dominate the port lodge skyline because of their location higher up the riverbank, safe from the annual floods, whereas the local producers were forced to take their chances further down. Leave a Comment Directions: You can visit the lodges by taking a trip across the Dom Luis I bridge to Nova Vila de Gaia on the opposite bank.
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If you are going to Porto, a visit to a wine cellar is a must. They are located on the other side of the Douro river, oposite the city centre.
We went to Calem (which is one of the top 10 oporto wine cellar in terms of quality). Calem is right on the riverside, you pay 2€ for a 20 min visit. The explanation is not very detailed but you get a very good tasting at the end. You can taste 3 different ports, tawny -5 and 10 years- and white, and they even gave us for free a 1989 port which was amazing!
We also went to Grahams, wich is up the hill but there is a free bus from the bridge -on the Villa Nova de Gaia side- that takes you for free to the Cellar. The place is nicer than Calem, they really have a lot of barrels stored, the visit is longer but you don;t learn much more about the wine making -a lot of photos-. The tour is free and includes a tasting of 3 types of porto -red, tawny and white- and there's an option for trying more sophisticated portos -like vintage- paying something from 5 to 30€.
I've heard is cheaper to buy the wine in a store than in cellar. We bought it at the airport freeshop because of the security measures. Not a good deal, it was more expensive than in the cellar and the options are limited. If you want a vintage or a specific port is better to buy it at the cellar. Address: Porto, Villa Nova de GaiaDirections: Porto wine cellar
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One of the BEST things to do in Porto is visit port wine caves. These are all located across the Douro River in Vila Nova de Gaia. From the Ribeira you can walk across the Ponte Dom Luis I (bridge). Walk along the cais (wharf/riverfront) and you will run across any number of port wine caves. There are also some up the hill from the cais.
Two of my favorites are Sandeman (their guides are dressed up like the Sandeman logo!) and Ramos Pinto. The latter is quite the tour- you see the restored offices of the founder and all kinds of historical artefacts. But any one of the houses has good tours (I have visited: Calem, Taylor, Ramos Pinto, Sandeman, Warre...). And tastings afterward, usually of a ruby, a tawny, and a white port. And of course you can buy any of their ports right on site! One of my favorite port houses is Quinta do Noval, which does not have tours. However, they have nice tastings and their staff is quite knowledgeable and ready to help you. It's lots of fun to learn more about port- I knew very little when I first went to Porto and now I know almost as much as the best of them!
The rabelos of the port house- the boats that used to be used to transport the port wine from the Douro Valley to Porto- only sail one day a year, just after the festival of Sao Joao (Saint John) on June 21. Fortunately I've been there twice to see this- it's a treat! Address: cais of Vila Nova de GaiaDirections: across the Douro River from Porto's historic district
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 by agarciaLeave a Comment Address: Av. Diego LeiteDirections: Vila Nova de Gaia
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