Duoro Valley
Day 9: May 3
I'd been looking forward to this day since the beginning of our tour! We traveled today to the Duoro Valley region, where we were the guests of the Carvalho family at their wine estate, Quinta de Santa Eufemia.
The Duoro Valley is the oldest and most famous of Portugal's 14 wine regions. In fact, it is famous throughout the world because it is where the grapes for Port wine are grown. Port is usually thought of as a dessert wine. It is heavier, sweeter and higher in alcohol content than other wines, due to its fortification with distilled spirits. Fortified wines are produced in other countries, but you can't call a wine "Port" unless it's from Portugal, made exclusively from Duoro Valley grapes (just like you can't call a sparkling white wine "Champagne" unless it's from France and made only with grapes grown in the Champagne region).
Now that I've been there, I'll offer my opinion that no trip to Portugal would be complete without seeing the beautiful Duoro Valley. It's named after the river that runs through it. The vineyards are terraced, carved into the hills that rise up from the river. From afar, it's reminiscent of a patchwork quilt. We had the privilege of not just seeing this area but immersing ourselves in its culture with our visit to Quinta de Santa Eufemia. "Quinta" is the name for any farm or country estate in Portugal. Quinta de Santa Eufemia has been in operation for over 150 years. Bernardo Rodrigues Carvalho founded the estate in 1864. His passion for his land and the wine produced from his vineyards was passed down from generation to generation in his family. Today the hilltop estate, with its magnificent panoramic view over the Duoro River (shown above) is managed by his seven great-grandchildren. One of them, Teresa, was our warm and gracious host for the day.
Teresa first took us on a leisurely hike through the vineyards. We walked among the vines that were still awakening after their winter sleep, light green in color, with the tiniest buds of grapes. Teresa explained that the terraces were created to make it easier to harvest the grapes, all done by hand. Even today, no machines are used. As we ambled, enjoying the fresh air and views, Teresa told us about the Duoro Valley region and the vineyards and shared stories of the history and present-day operations of the quinta. The estate produces not just Port but also red, white and rosé Duoro wines. The family also cultivates olives and almonds, as those trees grow extremely well in the microclimate that makes this area so perfect for grapes.
On our way to the wine production rooms, we passed the family's small private chapel. It is dedicated to St. Eufemia, leading to the name that was chosen by Bernardo for his estate back in the 1860's. In the wine production rooms, we learned that the large, open granite vats are called lagares. On grape harvest day, they're filled about knee-deep with grapes. Not all wineries in the Duoro Valley still have manual crushing of the grapes with bare feet but Quinta de Santa Eufemia does! A team of "treaders" carefully climbs into the vat. They link elbows or place their arms around each other's shoulders and they rhythmically tread in unison. Don't think of it as "stomping" the grapes. It looks more like slow-motion marching. If you take this tour during the fall harvest, you might get to kick off your shoes, put on a pair of borrowed shorts, and participate! Bare feet put just the right amount of pressure on the grapes, enough to crush them but not so much that the seeds shatter and release bitter-flavored acids. The grapes are then left in the vats to begin fermenting. Each vat has a drain in the bottom that is connected directly to the steel tanks where the fermenting is continued. There is a separate large room where the wine is aged in oak barrels. A large window in the barrel room permits visitors to view the bottling operation taking place in the adjacent room.
The family's pride in its heritage is evident. The walls of the production rooms are decorated with enlarged black-and-white photos that show the way they did things in the past. Large hand-painted blue tile murals also tell the story. Workers carried the picked grapes from the fields in huge wicker baskets lifted onto their shoulders. Back then, the grapes for Port were grown, crushed and fermented in the Duoro region, but forification had to be done in Porto. The wine was taken down the river to Porto in barrels loaded onto flat-bottomed boats called rabelos. Aging, bottling, storing and exportation took place in Porto in "lodges" along the river. It was only in 1986, when Portugal joined the EU and the lodges' monopoly was abolished, that wineries in the Duoro Valey could start aging and bottling the Port themselves.
The tour was over; we'd learned so much! And now, experts that we were, our palates were well prepared for what was next to come: a four-course wine-paired lunch feast! Teresa and her sister-in-law, Maria José, lead us into a dining room that had portraits of the family's ancestors on the walls, a big window for checking out the goings-on in the room with the steel vats, and a large window wall for an expansive view of the vineyards.
This was no dainty tea-sandwich luncheon with polite little servings of food for us to nibble as we sipped. Instead, Teresa and Maria José served a big hearty meal of homemade, traditional dishes that the farm workers are fed during the harvest, food intended to stick to their ribs and give them the energy needed for the big job at hand! Cheese, sausage, bread drizzled with the family's olive oil, and ham sandwiches made up the starter course, paired with a white Port. Next was a bacalhau (salted cod) casserole with cheese, vegetables and bechamel sauce, served with a white wine. The third course was a robust red bean dish with a side of rice, accompanied by a 10 year Tawny Port. Dessert was an orange cake and crème brûlée, enjoyed with a Vintage Port.
The food was fabulous! The wine was wonderful! The opportunity to enjoy this meal with three of the family's Port wines, and one of its whites, after learning how the wines were produced, and while gazing out the window at the vineyards where the grapes were grown, was priceless!
Wow!!
Today's experiences at Quinta de Santa Eufemia were a perfect package, definitely another Wow moment of our tour! From now on, when I think of Port, I might still picture refined men and women in dinner jackets and gowns who've retired to the drawing room after dinner to enjoy sophisticated conversation while they sip their Port from Waterford crystal glasses. But right alongside those images I'll remember the terraced vineyards of this beautiful estate and the friendly, down-to-earth and hardworking family who run it and who treated us like family ourselves during our visit. Here we are, posing with our new friend Teresa before saying goodbye.
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Our one night stay in the Duoro Valley was in the town of Lamego. Before taking us to the hotel, Paulo let us out in Lamego's town square so that we could admire the Santuario of Nossa dos Remedios (Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies), a pilgrimage church dedicated to people who suffer from illnesses. It sits majestically atop 686 steps. We were then dropped at Lamego Hotel & Life, an upscale spa hotel. After our very filling lunch, I didn't think we'd need another meal today, and there wasn't one on the itinerary, but Claúdia told us on the bus that she had arranged for the hotel to serve a light supper to our group. Until then, we were on vacation from our vacation, with time to relax. Gary took a book out onto the hotel's back deck and I took a stroll, enjoying the beautiful gardens in the area. In the evening, our bonus "light supper" in a lovely private room turned out to be a buffet that included soup, a green salad, an octopus salad, a chicken salad, hamburgers, sandwiches, fresh fruit, and custard. Waiters poured more wine whenever they saw our glasses empty. Have I mentioned you will not go hungry on this tour?
Day 10: May 4
Thanks, Paulo! We loved the ride!
Yesterday Paulo had so expertly maneuvered a tight pivot in the steep, narrow and guardrail-less drive of the quinta that he nearly earned a standing ovation. Our driver was awesome! Today we sadly realized that this was our last day with Paulo. We'd be saying goodbye when he dropped us in Porto. We very much enjoyed this final ride in his comfy big bus. It was a beautiful blue-sky day and we enjoyed the serene views out of our bus windows as we left the Duoro Valley.
