By admin The next stop on our Portugal adventure would be Porto (locally known as Oporto), the second-biggest city in Portugal, and the commercial home of port wine. While the grapes for port were grown in the Douro Valley, and the wine was also produced there, the end product was traditionally traded and exported from Porto. Rabelo boats transported barrels of port along the Douro River to Porto, where it was traded and shipped to England.
After four days of tasting port in the Douro Valley, we were ready to see the commercial aspects of the industry in the beautiful city along the river (while tasting more wine, of course).
Driving to Porto and Staying at the InterContinental
The drive from our accommodations in the Douro Valley to Porto took about two hours. A couple notes on driving in Portugal that I didn’t mention earlier:
- People drive really fast. The country has speed limits that it apparently enforces (based on my research), but I saw no evidence of this in my experience.
- There are SO MANY TOLLS. Our rental car company provided us with an automated tag, so we were able to drive through all the electronic toll lanes with minimal effort, which was a huge lifesaver. I did not do my due diligence on toll roads in Portugal pre-arrival, and was at the mercy of the agent at Sixt Rent A Car at OPO airport, but she was unexpectedly very helpful and did not try to swindle us. It’s worth it to be sure that your rental car includes one of the electronic toll tags in advance.
After dropping off our rental car in town, we hailed a taxi and headed to our hotel: Intercontinental Porto Palácio das Cardosas. While the Yeatman Hotel is know as the best option in Porto, the InterContinental was also highly rated, and I liked the location in the center of the city. Plus, I could book with IHG points.
Food Tour in Porto
We didn’t have much time to settle in to our room, as we had booked a 1:30pm food tour to kick things off. With only two nights in Porto, we didn’t want to miss a thing. I had booked an Eat Like a Local tour through Airbnb Experiences, so we rushed to meet our crew in the center of the city and began to chow down. Thank god this was also a walking tour, as I needed all the exercise I could get in between the numerous food and drink stops.
The first local dish that we tried was a bifana, basically a Portuguese pork sandwich. Since I did not eat meat, I got a soup of broth and herbs. Our guide assured me that was also a local delicacy. It was fine with me, as long as I still got the accompanying glass of wine. I knew I’d be eating a lot more very shortly. For the record, all the carnivores in our group approved of the bifana.
I do not recall the name of the restaurant where we got to try the indulgent Franceshina sandwiches, which were basically the Portuguese version of a croque-monsieur. While at first glance (to my eyes, at least), this appeared to be an inside-out cheese sandwich drenched in tomato soup, this dish was sadly nowhere close to vegetarian, so I opted out.
The three-and-a-half hour food tour was the perfect way for us to get our bearings in Porto and taste copious amounts of the local food. Afterward, we just wanted to walk off the multiple courses, see more of the city, and enjoy some drinks, of course.
Our First Evening in Porto
First of all, I loved how accessible Porto felt. It is a great walking city for those of us okay with some hills, stairs and cobblestones. Karen and I were able to walk everywhere, which really helped us burn off all the delicious food and drinks.
We walked over the Luís I Bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia, which is actually a separate city from Porto and home to many of the port houses and tasting rooms.
Second Day in Porto
For some reason I was not in the mood to take pictures throughout our entire second day in Porto, which now makes me feel like we didn’t do anything. But that’s not true! We did a lot.
We worked out at the hotel gym (ehhh), we had brunch at a very popular and charming spot with outdoor tables (I don’t remember the name, smh), we walked out toward the sea… overall, we had a very lovely and busy morning/early afternoon, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Next, we had booked a tour and tasting at Graham’s Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia.
While many of the port lodges in town did not require reservations for a tour/tasting, Graham’s did, and I appreciated that they kept their tour group sizes small (I think we had about eight people in our group). After getting the personalized overview on port in the Douro Valley, it was interesting to be on a producer-specific tour in Porto. We watched a video, and our guide touched on some of the history of port as we walked through the property, but Karen and I both agreed that we got a significantly more comprehensive background on our full-day private tour. I suppose that should not come as a surprise.
My Key Takeaways on Port Wine
While there are a lot of nuances surrounding port wine, I came away with a few key takeaways (skip ahead if you are not in the mood for an education lesson):
- Ruby vs. Tawny Port – Most port is either ruby or tawny. Ruby port is the most widely produced, and gets its name from its ruby red color. Because it is stored in concrete or stainless steel after fermentation, it does not oxidize, and retains a bright red color. On the other hand, tawny port is aged in wooden barrels, which allows it to oxidize and develop a deep amber, “tawny” color.
- My take: I personally love tawny port, but think it needs to be paired with dessert, so I generally only drink it at restaurants.
- Reserve Port – This term represents a premium blend of several vintages. Unlike dry wine, most ports (except vintage ports, obviously) are actually blends of wines sourced from multiple years of grapes.
- Vintage Port – Port houses do not produce vintages every year. Most wines produced throughout the years are blended to maintain a consistent quality of product. In exceptional years, grapes will be selected for individual production as a vintage, and will be barrel-aged for a maximum of 2 1/2 years. After bottling, these wines are recommended to age 10-40 years (perhaps even longer) before being enjoyed. However, once opened, you need to be ready to drink the entire bottle. The longer the wine has been aging in the bottle, the more quickly it will oxidize and go bad once exposed to oxygen. By the way, these are the most expensive ports, if it wasn’t obvious.
- Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port – These are produced from grapes that were originally designated as vintage quality, but ended up aging for a longer period in the barrel (4-6 years) than vintage ports for whatever reason (marketing, business, demand, etc.). Similar to vintage ports, the grapes are sourced from a single year, but once barreled, the wine is ready to drink much sooner. Because of this, LBV ports are more affordable and accessible, and they last longer than a vintage port (up to a month, versus only a few days).
- My take: Best bang for your buck award goes to the LBV! If I were to buy a bottle of port for home, I would go for an LBV, but it’s still a lot of relatively-high-ABV dessert wine to drink over the course of a couple weeks for a girl living on her own… so, I’ll stick to my red wine and dark chocolate pairings for now.
After our tour and tasting, we decided to enjoy another drink (or two) from the terrace at Vinum Restaurant & Wine Bar onsite. The view over the Douro River was lovely, and it was the perfect place to rest our feet after walking all day.
After our long walk and wine tasting, we returned back to the InterContinental to freshen up and prepare for dinner. We made a somewhat last minute reservation at Intrigo, a small restaurant in Porto with a terrace and a gorgeous view of the Douro River. I would recommend making a reservation farther in advance (at least a few days) to get a prime table out on the terrace. We had to sit inside, but the ambiance was still wonderful, and the food was excellent.
Sadly, we did not get to experience any of Porto’s nightlife, as we opted to be responsible and put ourselves to bed early so we could get some sleep before our 8:05am flight to Faro in the Algarve region of Portugal. The nonstop OPO>FAO flights were frustratingly very limited, but we were both very excited for some beach time. Early morning Ryanair flight (nope, I’m not joking), we’d be ready for you.
