Port in Porto

This morning we had a tour of the old city with a pick up from our hotel. The only glitch was they thought we were French because of the spelling of my name, thank you mother! To simplify things we were handed over to an English speaking group at the Cathedral. There were great views from here over the red roof tops of the oldest part of town that used to be enclosed by 11th century medieval walls.

From there we walked down to the station of Sau Bento. Only a hundred years old but adorned by 20,000 hand painted tiles all done by one man. They depict transport in Portugal up to the time of the coming of the railways and history from the regions of Douro and Minho. It was magnificent - extra.

After a coffee stop near the main centre, where they were queuing to get into the book shop that hugely influenced J K Rowling's depiction of Hogwarts (4 euros to get in refunded if you buy a book) and is said to be the 3rd most interesting bookshop in the world, we headed down to cross the Douro River to Gaia.
Here are the many Port producers of the region. We went to visit Graham's which incorporates several other producers including Cockburn's. It was an interesting tour and I now know the difference between Ruby, Tawny and vintage port.
Ruby is stored in a huge vat so the wine has little contact with the wood and therefore doesn't oxidise. Tawny is put into barrels so the increased contact with oak causes oxidation and afffects both the colour and flavour. Vintage is aged in the bottle. (This is very simplified!)
Walking through the wine cellar smelt very headily of Christmas cake.

We then had a tasting of course. The Ruby was very rich and sweet, the Tawny, which should be served slightly chilled, less so and to me more pleasant. The third was a 2012 LBV which means late bottled vintage. It isn't a special wine just one made from one year's grape. I liked this the least. All ports are made from mixed grapes grown in the Douro valley and are usually made from a mix of years. So a 10 year vintage port is an average age from a mix of 8. 9,11 year old etc.

Interesting I thought. But best of all was this view across the Douro from the terrace of the wine cave/lodge. Our guide said the best thing about industrial Gaia is the view back across to Porto.

Had a leisurely lunch at the market featured in last night's blip from a stall specialising in Bacalao, salt cod, with cheese and olive salad accompanied by Sangria, full of strawberries and raspberries. Very tasty.

I like Porto and it's port very much.