For The Love Of Port

We have been to Porto a bunch of times, but for various reasons I have never been able to visit during the harvest. Seems like Porto is getting busier and busier every time we go, but the Douro Valley is always a calm and quiet. Spent a day at Quinta da Gricha and had a glorious time. Was finally able to tick off a bucket list item- my brother and I got to tread. We had a tasting in Jonny’s Private Cellar at Churchill’s, which was way beyond the typical tourist offerings at some of the other lodges. Was sad to find out that Raunak will be leaving- he’s an amazing guide.
I think I will continue to visit in April as I have been, but so glad we made this trip.

Ricardo Nunes at Churchill’s/Quinta da Gricha was incredibly gracious and insightful- learned so much.

If I win the Powerball, you’ll be able to find me in Pinhão.

Harvest is fun, all the hustle and bustle and whatnot. And you can tread! A lot more work than it looks but also fun. Glad you finally got to experience harvest. Where else did you visit?

Great pics, Andrew! That tasting line up looks great, especially that 40 y.o. Tawny. Did you buy any Port to ship back while you were there?

This was just a great trip all around. I had three friends who had not been there previously, so I had a chance to visit some lodges I hadn’t been to for a while- we had flights at Noval, Graham’s (stayed for dinner at Vinum) and Calum in addition to the tasting in Jonny’s private cellar at Churchill’s (I had done this tasting before- but the selection was completely different the second time. I had the privilege of being Raunak’s first customer for this tasting, as well as his last, as he had some family issues to sort and was heading home for an indeterminate period of time. He will definitely be missed at Churchill’s- super knowledgeable and thoughtful in his ability to find Porto’s in their catalogue that you would enjoy.)

We also did a tasting of some smaller houses at Lado (literally in the alley behind Pestana Vintage, a few feet away from Postigo do Carvao). Miguel is also very knowledgeable and can direct you towards some smaller houses based upon your likes and dislikes.

For me the highlight was spending the day with Ricardo Nunes at Quinta da Gricha. It was wonderful to be able to see the vineyard in action, tread on some grapes, and get all of my questions answered. Apparently, you can stay at the lodge on the property, which they had recently renovated to a very high standard. Absolutely gorgeous, and the next time I can visit with Donna, will likely be a stop for us.

As for wine purchases; I picked up several bottles of the Quinta da Gricha 2005 as well as a small assortment of Quinta das Lemelas- I had not had their 20 y/o Tawny previously and really enjoyed it, so figured I would try a cross section of their offerings.

Spent too much money on a bottle on the roof of Porto Cruz (essentially rent for the fantastic view), and enjoyed pizza at Antonio Mezzaro- the THIRD location change since we started visiting them. i still think their first location was the best.

Really just a lovely trip overall. Hoping to be back in April.

Great pictures, and sounds like a really wonderful trip!

That does sound like a fantastic trip. Thanks for sharing!