Advice for touring port lodges?

[Michael P]

I have an opportunity to spend a couple days in Oporto later this month, and was looking for suggestions regarding visits to the port houses/lodges in the area (and, for that matter, suggestions of restaurants or tasting locations with interesting or off-the-beaten-path port and Portugese wine selections). From reading other posts in the forum and various online blogs, it seems pretty straightforward to visit the big lodges across the river for standard "short tour/tasting room/gift shop" visit. (I am imagining an analogy to visiting tasting rooms of large California wineries, for example). My question is: Is there a better way? Smaller houses? More "wine geek/behind the scenes" visits? I realize that a couple days is woefully inadequate to get a true sense of the area, its culture, its vineyards, etc., but all the more reason that I would be interested to know if there are suggestions on how to best use the time.

Thanks,
Michael

[Eric Menchen]

If you've searched the board, hopefully you already know to visit Vinologia and AVEPOD, and to stop by the Dalva room and tell Goncalo that the folks from FTLOP sent you. I'd recommend a meal at the Taylor lodge. The restaurant has a different name, but you can find it on their website. After that ... is that other place on the Porto side away from the bridge the Salon de ...? I don't remember but can look it up.

[David Spriggs]

I'd recommend the Porto Solar (run by the IVDP). Prices are reasonable, the view is beautiful, and the selection is very broad.
http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=16 ... 5&idioma=1

I also enjoy just sitting in the bar of the Hotel Pestana Porto and drinking some great tawnys. They have a small, but outstanding collection at very good prices.

For smaller houses I like Kopke and Ramos Pinto. I also liked the wines at Offley.

-Dave-

[Andy Velebil]

In addition to what others already mentioned....Two I really enjoy are Kopke Lodge, once inside ask to taste some wines/Ports and you then walk up the stair case to the second level. There is some nice tables and chairs, and a couch next to the windows over looking the river. It's nice, quiet, and relaxing and the perfect spot to just sit back relax and buy some wine/Port by the glass.

Graham's Lodge...Gustavo may have been promoted and not there daily, but Raul still is. There are several upgraded different tours and tasting you can take and the view of from the lodge of Gaia and Oporto is great.

It may be a bit expensive, but having a drink at the bar (and outside patio area) at the Yeatman Hotel in Gaia also has some incredible views of Oporto.

[Glenn E.]

If you're only going to tour one lodge, I'd recommend Ramos Pinto. It's on the waterfront in Gaia and has a museum attached that used to be their old HQ. Very cool tour that goes beyond what any of the other lodges offer because of the attached museum.

The rest of the advice already given is good... Vinologia, the Pestana Porto, and AVEPOD are all within about a block of each other in Porto. The Solar do Vinho do Porto is great but you'll probably want a cab (or a city bus) to get there. Other things in Vila Nova de Gaia are the C. da Silva Port Bar (aka Dalva) that Goncalo runs, the Graham's lodge, the Yeatman hotel, and the restaurant/cafe at the Taylor lodge. All great places to visit!

[Marc Sherwin]

What is the dalva room?

[Andy Velebil]

What is the dalva room?

Not really a room, but an actual tasting "lodge" along the waterfront in Gaia. Goncalo, who many of us here know, runs it and is a great guy. Not to mention there is some very good things to taste there as well

[Glenn E.]

What is the dalva room?

Not really a room, but an actual tasting "lodge" along the waterfront in Gaia. Goncalo, who many of us here know, runs it and is a great guy. Not to mention there is some very good things to taste there as well

Also, it's not called Dalva. The actual name is C. da Silva, so that's what you'll need to look for on the sign outside. We all call it the Dalva Port Bar, though, because C. da Silva owns and produces all of the Port for Dalva and that's primarily what they serve and sell inside.

Goncalo tells me that it's a little hard to find right now, though, due to construction going on with the building. He'll be very happy to see you if you can find him!

[Marc Sherwin]

I'll be there in August and will look for it.

Thanks

[Roy Hersh]

It is not a lodge, the C. da Silva is a Port tasting bar. Lodge infers having casks and a warehouse too, which C. da Silva maintains elsewhere in Gaia, but that's not open to the public. Mention FTLOP to Goncalo and you're "in" with benefits.

[Andy Velebil]

It is not a lodge, the C. da Silva is a Port tasting bar. Lodge infers having casks and a warehouse too, which C. da Silva maintains elsewhere in Gaia, but that's not open to the public. Mention FTLOP to Goncalo and you're "in" with benefits.

Hence the use of "" when using the term. And in reality the historical usage of the term Lodge is very slowly becoming a bit scarce these days as more and more is transfered up river. In the old days a Lodge stored, bottled, and shipped all their Ports from the same building and we know how rare that is getting these days. Quite sad really, but that is another topic.

[Michael P]

Thanks for all the suggestions, and I wanted to report back on what was a brief but fantastic visit!

I stayed at the Pestana, with a riverfront room. Highly recommended if you get the opportunity. As others noted, the port lodges are a short walk across the bridge, so despite a light rain, I made the trek to Graham's first, which is one of the furthest away of the main lodges near the river. I was fortunate to have Raul as my guide for what amounted to a private tour, and since it was early in the day and quiet, he sat with me for over and hour during and following the tasting (85 Dow, 95 Quinta do Vesuvio and 2003 Graham's) and even brought out some dry Douro reds to taste, too. When I mentioned FTLOP, Raul related some fun stories of past visits (it seems Roy has become more than a minor celebrity in the area

The other tour I took was at Taylor's, where they were pouring the outstanding 2007 vintage port in their tasting room (along with some complimentary white ports). Taylor's has spectacular views of the river and city, so it is worth the hike. (It also has a nice restaurant, as othser mentioned, though I did not dine there on this day). As for other lodges/tasting rooms, Ramos Pinto was closed for some renovations, and Offley was closed due to seasonal hours. But I did stop in at the Kopke tasting room, which is very close to the bridge (easy access) and has a very good selection of Colheitas and other tawnies available for purchase by the glass. I tried a 1964 Colheita (my birth year) and a 20 yr. Tawny blend, and the pours were quite generous. Kopke is a nice contrast to some of the traditional "vintage port" lodges in that they specialize in tawnies (incl. vintage Colheitas).

At the suggestion of Raul (Graham's) and others on this board, I also visited Vinologia, which is only steps away from the Pestana hotel where I was staying. This turned into a very long visit, In addition to the wines I purchased in the tasting flight, Jeronimo brought several other wines out for me to try, including the 1952 Dalva White Colheita (phenomenal, and I brought a bottle home) and a 40 yr old tawny. Vinologia is a must for a visit to Oporto, in my opinion. They are very passionate about port and have over 100 ports by small producers available by the glass. (They also had some amazing local cheeses, which paired nicely with the ports).

For dinner (and at the recommendation of Jeronimo at Vinologia), I went to Vinhas d'Alho, which specializes in traditional Portuguese cuisine and wines, but with a gourmet flair. It was reasonably priced and the food and service was outstanding. It was also just a short walk down the riverfront from the Pestana and Vinologia. At my waiter's recommendation, I ended up having a cod dish with a couple different dry Douro whites - a nice change of pace from all the heavier ports earlier in the day. But for dessert it was back to chocolate and port, this time a 1989 LBV from Cockburn. I can happily recommend Vinhas d'Alho.

Overall, I cannot say enough about how impressed I was with Oporto (and Vila Nova de Gaio). Setting aside the wine for a moment, the passion and friendliness of the people there reminded me of Prague. And when you add the port wines, well... Definitely a place I would like to visit again in the future, hopefully for a longer stay next time.