The city of Oporto has a long and colorful history in Port Wines.  The Vila Nova da Gaia area (or south bank of the Douro River) is where the world famous Port "Lodges" ( there are no cellars here) are located.

• Taking a few days away from me Bob and Tania traveled up the coast to Oporto and the Douro River Valley (which flows over 927 km - 576 miles from its source in Spain to the Atlantic Ocean). They visited the Port Lodges (or "Armazéns" - there are no "cellars" for the Port Wines in this area.  The area across the Douro River from Oporto is called Vila Nova de Gaia where up until 1987 (regulations were relaxed then) was the only area where port could be blended and aged. "Barcos Rabelos" such as those used to bring the port down the Douro River to Oporto over the ages.  Various signs indicating the local "lodges" nearby in Vila Nova de Gaia while looking at the "Ponte de Dom Luis I" which was built in 1886 by an assistant of Gustave Eiffel.  The Sandeman Lodge.

• On the tour of the Sandeman Lodge Bob and Tania were able to learn a bit about how port wine is created.  The Sandeman "cellars" so to speak, were wonderfully presented.  Behind the cages were some ports that have been there a long, long time (you can seen the 1904 and later years here).

• After the Sandeman tour, they were able to partake of a tasting and then drove down the valley to their stop for the night - the Pousada "Solar de Rede" which proved to be a most relaxing spot.  The views were amazing and they were able to enjoy a lovely stop there.

• The view from the Pousada at Rede.  When grapes are seen traveling down a road in some conveyance it can only mean the harvest (or "Vindima") must be occurring.  At the Quinta da Pacheca (a "Quinta" or "Adega" is the word for vineyard) the pumpkins and flowers were out in full force.

• The Quinta Da Pacheca was a smaller quinta that Bob and Tania stumbled across near the famous port town of Peso da Regúa.  Owner José Pimentel gave them a cook's tour of his family's  (his grandfather started the business in the early 1900's) wonderful quinta.  More than 40 varieties of grapes can be used in the production of port.  The grapes are still tread upon in large stone tanks or "lagares" to extract the juice or "must".  Bob and José are standing at the steps of the Quinta's cellar "lodge" where the tasting parties are held.  This cellar was built by his grandfather and he is hoping to add rooms above this area to include a B&B in the future for guests.

• Another view of the beautiful tasting room at Quinta da Pacheca.  Bob enjoying a tasting at the on site shop with owner José Pimentel.  Afterwards Bob and Tania drove along the spectacular Douro River Valley and had lunch at another lovely hotel "The Vintage House" in Pinhão.

•   After driving deeper into the Douro River Valley and viewed the hundreds of hectares of terraced vineyards, they turned southward and spent the night in the border town (with Spain) of Elvas. They toured the fortifications there, which are some of the best preserved in Europe.  Wellington used Elvas as a base to besiege Badajoz (in Spain which lies across the Guadiana river).  Here is an entrance  into the Parada do Castelo which was built in 1226 and is Romano-Moorish in design (in the distance is the 18th century Forte de Graça which is still a military post).  Until the 16th Century, Elvas used a well for drinking water.  When this started to fail, the citizens decided to build an aqueduct to bring water from the spring at Amoreira (some 5 miles away).  Work started in 1498 and did not finish until 1622.  The Aqueduto da Amoreira has a total of 843 arches up to five tiers in height and is over 100 ft tall in places.

• Next they drove to the town of Borba to visit the Adega Cooperative of the red "tinto" wine they had come to enjoy.  They found a delightful sculpture of grapes made out of the world famous white and grey marble which is mined nearby (Portugal is the world's second largest exporter of marble and over 90% - over 500,000 tons a year is quarried in the area - the "white gold" and was used since Roman times). 

• Driving through the Alentejo area they noticed forests of "red" bark trees.  These evergreen cork oaks provide the Alentejo with a thriving business of 30 million corks a day (Portugal is the world's largest cork producer).  Harvesting cork is a skilled task.  Mature trees are stripped in summer every ten years or so and then reveal a raw red undercoat until their new bark grows.  Bob and Tania could see miles upon miles of trees marked with the year they had been stripped.  Next they headed to Moura so Tania could purchase her favorite olive oil for cooking "Azeite Moura - Azeite Virgem Extra Agricultura Biológica" from the Cooperativa Agrícola Moura e Barrancos.  Moura, legend says was named for a Moorish governor's daughter who is said to have thrown herself from the castle tower upon learning that her lover had been killed.  The Nossa Senhora do Carmo, founded in 1251, is the first Carmelite convent in the country.

• After a bit of traveling about, they finally found the Cooperativa.  It was that in every sense of the word, as not only was the olive oil sold there (hand labeled - and recently awarded the gold medal), but also any farm supplies you might need to produce the stuff.

• They also traveled over and stopped to view the Alqueva Dam (which Tania  thought reminded her of Hoover Dam in the US).  Just completed a few years ago, this dam helps supply water to the region and helps control the Guadiana River.