Porto

I arrived in Porto on Wednesday evening after a long and scenic bus ride from Lagos. As we went further north, I was taken in with the green hills and mountains and beautiful scenery. The city of Porto and the Douro River have also captured me. Porto is a city that is draped across a series of riverside bluffs, is a mishmash of styles, eras and attitudes: wide streets, small alleyways, baroque churches, bulging beaux-arts façades and Parisian-style squares. And yet the disparate parts add up to an enchanting whole that equally reflects exuberance and melancholy, urbanity and upcountry charm.

Yesterday I played the ultimate tourist by taking one of the double decker buses that allow you to hop on/hop off at various locations around the city. As I will only be in Porto for three days before moving inland, I thought it would be a good way to get an overview of the city. I started near the camera municipal and traveled through many of the neighborhoods, both new and old, along the coast and then went along the river before crossing the river to Vila de Nova Gaia where many port wine lodges are located.

As it was early afternoon by the time I reached the Vila de Nova Gaia, I decided it was time to take a bus break, have some lunch and taste some port. I did not know a lot about how port was made and had never been a big fan as I had found them too sweet. Now I know how they are made and the different types and have a whole different attitude towards port. Since I love to share -- the grapes are harvested and immediately crushed (sometimes still by foot) and allowed to ferment until alcohol levels reach 7% . At this point, one part brandy is added to every five parts of wine. Fermentation stops immediately, leaving the unfermented sugars that make port sweet. The quality of the grapes, together with the ways the wine is aged and stored, determines the kind of port you get. Now that my horizons have been expanded, I found my favorites are the ruby and vintage. The ruby port is aged at least two years and is rich, red and has sweet and fruity flavors. The vintage is made from the finest grape from a single year, and only select years qualify. Aged in barrels for two years and then aged in bottles at least 10 years and often many more than that, the result is a dark ruby, fruity yet extremely subtle and complex.

Off to explore some of the riverfront districts today and taste some more port – it’s a tough job but I’m happy to do it.